28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Wisdom 7:7-11
2. Psalms 90: 12-13, 14-15, 16-17
3. Hebrews 4: 12-13
4. Mark 10: 17-30

1. Wisdom isn't very splashy
• One mark of a truly great athlete is that they make it look easy, seamless, flowing.  Is there anything in your life that works that way?
• How did you get to that point?
• Was it easy?
• How might that process of achieving that flowing execution be adapted to your prayer life?
2. My days are numbered, I just don't know what that number is!
• Have you ever been working towards a deadline and had no real idea of how you were going to get there at first?
• There's entire libraries of books on project management out there.  If you look at your eventual departure from this planet as the ultimate "deadline", what do you hope to have achieved by then?
• Is achievement what we are about as God's children?
• If not achievement, what then?
3. Good news
• Do you have friends who would be better off with Jesus in their lives?
• How do you think it might be possible to convey that message?
• What sort of a "community within the community" would you bring them to so that they could get that Presence of Jesus without being overwhelmed by sheer numbers?
• Do we need something like small faith communities for those of us who have been here awhile, and those just entering?
4. Freedom is never cheap
• No one wants to be shackled by things in our life, we all intrinsically want to be free to follow God's promptings.  But that can be hard at times.
• How do you keep from letting stuff, success, a job, home, possessions, associations, ... from dominating your life and choking your relationship with Jesus?
• Do you ever "take inventory" to see how that's going?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. When confronted by a decision in my life, is prayer the first thing that I think to do?
2. Am I willing to count on God to make something significant/meaningful of my life and not worry about what others think?
3. What am I doing in life to make sure that God's word is active within me?
4. Am I truly free to live life simply, or are there things that I cling to, no matter what?

Breaking down the altars

Back in the old days, worship was easy to identify.
You went to a shrine or temple to do it.
There were well identified times for it.
The practices were well known.

Now, it's so much more woven into things.
Worship of your job might be happening,
When you realize that you're not able to focus
On Little League because your reviewing a sales pitch in your mind.

Or you find that you're telling someone
About that new boat you bought
For the third time at the same party
And you wonder how you ever lived without it.

Maybe the esteem of your colleagues
Has a choke hold on you
Preventing you from speaking up
When justice demands.

Freedom costs dearly.
It's absolute.  One shackle, one chain,
And you're no longer free.
The master's calls drowned out in the din of things.

Living simply isn't simple.
It's not a decision made once and then never revisited,
For freedom is a living thing, and needs constant tending.
But that's the price for being who we were born to be.

Shalom!