11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. 2 Samuel 12: 7-10, 13
2. Psalm 32: 1-2, 5, 7, 11
3. Galatians 2: 16, 19-21
4. Luke 7:36-8:3

1. Act of contrition
• Unfortunately, Scripture doesn't often give us insight into the inner workings of people's minds.  I can only imagine King David struggling with a whole range of emotions when Nathan confronted him about his infidelity.  I can even imagine David struggling with thoughts such as "this is what kings do, we take what we want", or "how dare you try to tell me that I am wrong after all that I have done for this nation?".  All we get is the outcome from that struggle: "I have sinned against the Lord".
• In your past, how have you come to grips with the sin in your life?
• Who are some of those who have helped you with that process?
• Why do you think that is so hard?
• For those of us over 20, does it ever get easier?
2. Freedom is a funny thing
• Particularly in the US, we hallow freedom, but the problem is that the true nature of what freedom really is can become indistinct in our minds when we stop thinking critically about the purpose of that freedom.
• How has God made you more free in the past few years?  Think of freedom perhaps in terms of being set free from preconceived notions, free from habits of mind, approach, or activities, free from fears about certain outcomes, not because you were certain that things were going to go your way, but because you knew it was going to work out regardless.
• How has that freedom transformed you into a better person?
• How have others around you benefited from that transformation?
3. Mending fences is hard to do
• How do you think that our relationship with God impacts our relationships with others?
• How do you think that our relationships with others impacts our relationship with God?
• If you gave your best friend the same treatment that you gave God, how long do you think that friendship would last?
4. If only Jesus had Twitter
• You have to respect this woman's resourcefulness in tracking Jesus down.  She had to find Him in some public setting, yet not one that would be mobbed with people, she had to get the ointment together and get it to him, and most of all, she had to have the courage to approach Him.  All of that without Facebook or Twitter to tell her what His status was moment by moment.
• Have you always felt welcomed by the Church?
• How would you say that the mercy of God has been evident around you and to you in recent years?
• How can we show more mercy, more hospitality, be more godlike in our dealings with others?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Are there things in my life that I don't want to talk to God about?
2. Where do I need to seek more freedom?
3. Where are the relationships in my life that need tending?
4. How have I been the mercy of God to others?

Servant Leadership

History is full of sad accounts of great leaders with feet of clay.
Oddly, most of these are men.  I'll have to figure that out someday.

Made great contributions, inspired others, improved their communities,
And fell into sin somehow, and felt trapped in the jaws of a vice.

To let that failure come to light would devastate those innocent ones
Those who had drawn strength from our once mighty hero.

Disappointment, loss, sense of betrayal would wound them
If they found out about this secret sin, this hidden failing.

The merciful thing seems to spare them all of that, keep it secret.
When the reality is that Jesus is calling for a true healing, a release.

And what of those who have looked up to our fallen leader?
Maybe, just maybe, they'll be inspired by humility and honor

Inspired in ways that they never could have been by success and triumph.
Greatness doesn't lie so much in fruitful campaigns, but in courage and honesty.

Admitting who we are to one another is just so hard.
Admitting that we all have that in common isn't easy either.

It's said that Jesus came to comfort the afflicted
And to afflict the comfortable.

Lord grant me honesty with myself and others
And the courage to be free.
Shalom!