4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for this 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Deuteronomy 18: 15-20
2. Psalms 95: 1-2, 6-7, 7-9
3. 1 Corinthians 7: 32-35
4. Mark 1: 21-28

1. Hear oh Israel
• The prayers of the faithful can be prophetic in that they can point us to God's attitude towards current events, current challenges that the Church is facing.
• What other parts of the Liturgy can be prophetic?
• How can we, as ministers, heighten or sharpen those prophetic moments?
• How would you like to change the selection and training of those ministers?
2. If today you hear His voice
• What are some things that make it difficult for you to hear God's voice in your life?
• Lack of trust?
• Lack of energy?
• Lack of desire?
• ...?
• Are these things that make it difficult for you to hear God's voice in your life intrinsically evil?
• What can you do to lessen their influence in your life?
3. Blessed indifference
• One of the Ignatian principles that comes up over and over again is the doctrine of "indifference" which basically takes the position that God's will in a given situation trumps any inclination that I might have.
• How do you see such an attitude providing you freedom in your life?
• How would such an attitude help discerning where God wants for you to go as you make decisions?
• How does one go about achieving such indifference?
4. Confronting evil
• How did Jesus learn to be so decisive?
• Do you think that all of us are called to confront the evils in our world head on?
• What are some evils that you wish would be confronted head on?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What have I done this week to make myself more sensitive to God's voice in my life?
2. How far will I trust God?
3. Am I honest with God when my desires clash with His?
4. When I speak, do others hear authority?

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for this 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Jonah 3:1-5, 10
2. Psalms 25: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
3. 1 Corinthians 7: 29-31
4. Mark 1: 14-20

1. Speaking out
• How would you define prophecy in general?
• Would you go to a prophet for stock tips?
• How many prophets does a people need at any one time?
• Can you see where prophets could get a bit annoying?
2. Guiding the humble
• How would you define humility?
• As virtues go, does this one seem at all useful?
• What can we learn from Jesus in this regard?
3. On standby
• Do you think that these times that we are in are more urgent from God's perspective than any other age?
• How do we keep that sense of urgency, that "edge" day in and day out, month after month, year after year?
• How do you keep from getting too attached to things of this world?
• How do you tell if you are too attached?
4. A net change
• How do you think that God calls us today?
• Do you think that God had anything to do with your choice of job, spouse, where you live?
• Do you think that it's possible to miss the opportunity to follow God for individual calls that He makes in our lives?
• How do we get better at listening to Him?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How serious would an injustice have to be before I would speak up?  Whom would it have to affect?
2. Have I thanked God for what He has done in my life?
3. What in my life would I be unable to give up for Jesus, were He to ask me?
4. How is God calling me today?

Freedom

Jesus left His peace with us.

If I could just find where He left it, I'd feel a lot better.

Each week brings fresh demands

Getting to sleep at night is all about setting things aside until later.

That elusive quality of life

Comes only to those who are focused and aligned.

Focus on what matters,

Let the rest recede in attention for awhile.

And when you discover that center,

Don't let it out of your sight, but rather savor that pivot,

And there you will find peace,

That passes all understanding.

Shalom all!

Questions for the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for this Second Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. 1 Samuel 3: 3b-10, 19
2. Psalms 40: 2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10
3. 1 Corinthians 13c-15a, 17-20
4. John 1: 35-42

1. Here I am
• How is God revealing Herself to you of late?
• Do you feel that God's self-revelation to you has changed at all over the years?
• How are you revealing yourself to God?
2. I come to do your will
• Do you feel that God's will is framed as a series of do's and don'ts that apply universally, or does God have something specific in mind for you?
• If you had to characterize the relationship that God has with you, would you say God's like:
• coach
• mentor
• teacher/rabbi
• counselor
• ...
• Why is it that you try to obey God's will in your life?
• Does that motivation depend on what you feel God is asking of you?
3. Tabernacling
• If God is all powerful, omnipresent throughout time and space, why does He crave to manifest His Presence through us?
• Why do you think that our bodies have to be involved in all of that?
• What do you think that implies about how we treat our bodies, ourselves?
• Would that include getting a pedicure for Jesus?
4. What are you looking for?
• When you approach God in prayer, what are you trying to accomplish long term?
• Have you ever shared that with God?
• How is that working out for you?
• Do you think that there's any way to improve your prayer life?
• What's stopping you?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What has God been calling me to lately?  Am I acting on that call?
2. Do I feel that I can talk about the really important, urgent things with God?
3. Have I been treating this body as though it's borrowed from God?
4. What am I willing to leave behind to follow Jesus?

Come and See

Growing up, I would run into evangelists.

They would start in on me, thinking that I looked receptive.

I'd tell them that I was Christian, and then they would ask:

"Brother, how many have you saved today?"

That question bespoke an urgency

A drive to get everyone into the fold

Before it was too late.

I never knew what to say to that question.

Hospitality begins with each of us.

Revealing us, our community,

As a place where others can meet the God who has already called them

Providing them a home.

No one of us can be community

But together we offer a place

Where the weary find rest, and purpose.

Which leaves me with the question -

If someone asks me about this Jesus I follow,

Where do I take them?  The front office,

Bring them along with me to Choir?

Invite them to a Confirmation class?

At the same time, there's something impersonal

About just handing someone off to a committee.

They just made a tentative contact,

And now they are in the hands of specialists.

Lord, teach me how best to be inviting

That I might shine to those who hunger for you

That I might be the Andrew

To the next Peter.

Shalom!

Baptism of the Lord

Our readings for Baptism of the Lord Sunday:

1. Isaiah 55: 1-11
2. Isaiah 12: 2-3, 4bcd, 5-6
3. 1 John 5: 1-9
4. Mark 1: 7-11

1. Come to the water
• Do you ever take inventory of your deepest desires?
• Why not?  Do you think that it's too late to fulfill your deepest desires?
• Where do you think those desires come from?
• Do you think that God might at all be interested in fulfilling those desires?
2. Drawing water joyfully
• What do you think brings about the joy of the Lord?
• Can you think of the last time that you felt such joy?
• Do you think that the joy of the Lord is compatible with difficulties, danger, even persecution?
3. Loving obedience
• What do you think the commands of God are in our lives?
• If you had to summarize them to someone quickly, what would you say?
• If it's that simple, why are there so many disagreements among Christians?
4. Baptism into the community
• What happens at baptism, or stated another way, what is the matter of baptism?
• What do you think happened at Jesus' baptism?
• Why do you think that He needed to be baptized?
• Why do you think that He needed to be presented at the temple as an infant?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Have I been completely honest with God in my prayer?
2. What decision(s) is/are facing me that I would need strength and courage for?  Have I taken those to God?
3. Do I believe that God is there to help me conquer evil in my life, even if this isn't the first time?
4. What am I doing so that I might be more faithful to my baptismal call?

The Family Business

Back in the old days, it was pretty clear what you would grow up to be.

From your youngest days, Dad would show you around the shop,

Show you the tools of the trade, how to use them on the materials.

Gradually, you got a sense of purpose, of continuity.

These tools, this trade, these customers would all one day be yours,

Just like your father, and his father, and so on.

It's hard to absorb that same sense of purpose these days,

From folks who lived so long ago, or in different circumstances.

Unquestionably, these were great people, left quite a mark in their day.

But you always wonder whether the saints of old would know what to do

In the culture, the times, the people, the places that you live in,

It's hard to sift out what changes with time from the eternal values.

Sometimes, it takes learning of someone else's devotion to a saint,

Hear of the relationship forged between them by difficult times,

To learn how these ancestors of faith continue to speak to us today.

This great cloud of witnesses, cheering us on,

Will take us to places that we've only dreamed of,

If only we let them show the way.

The joy of the Lord be with you all!