1st Sunday of Advent

Our readings for the first Sunday of Advent are:

1. Isaiah 63: 16b-17, 19b; 64: 2-7
2. Psalms 80: 2-3, 15-16, 18-19
3. 1 Corinthians 1: 3-9
4. Mark 13: 33-37

• Going to pot in a big way
• The soft clay that a potter starts with has to be worked quickly, because it soon becomes dry and hard.  How flexible are you?
• Do you feel that God ever finishes with us?
• Think of some a time in your life when you had to change.  Was that change called for because you were in a bad place, or just because it was time to move on?
• How can we be more flexible?

• Convincing God
• When you have had something that you prayed for, that really, really mattered to you, how did you pray?
• Do you think that God wants for us to pray for things that are life-giving?
• How are we supposed to learn what those are, for us and others?
• How do we learn to pray with confidence?

• Pray for perserverence
• As we age, our focus changes, hopefully gets sharper, life gets simpler.
• Looking forward to the last few months of your life, however far away those might be, what do you desire most from God?
• Not knowing how you are going to go, how can we prepare now?

• Be alert, the world needs more lerts.
• The world that we live in is awash in a sea of information.  You can follow a limitless number of twitter streams, facebook is everywhere, there are more news feeds than I can count.  How much of that is really necessary for us?
• How do you tell what really matters, and what is just noise?
• How can we shut out the chaff from life without losing touch with those that we seek to serve?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Do I have an attachment to anything?  A person, place, thing, job, ...?
2. What do I know of God's desires for me, for others?
3. How am I building strength for the journey in my life today?
4. How am I simplifying my life?

Shalom!

Christ the King Sunday

Our readings for Christ the King are:

1. Ezekiel 34: 11-12, 15-17
2. Psalms 23: 1-2, 2-3, 5-6
3. 1 Corinthians 15: 20-26, 28
4. Matthew 25: 31-46

• Finding the lost in our midst
• There are many reasons that making peace is hard to do.  One of them is that the estranged one, the stranger, harbors deep resentment and anger over injury that they have suffered at our hands, and it is painful to encounter that hurt.
• Who are those in your circle of acquaintances, or family members who have left their faith?
• If you felt a strong calling to bring them back, where would you start?
• Why do you think it is that we seem so slow to seek out those who have left?
• How could we make our parish, our community more welcoming, a place where they would feel safe, nurtured, and secure?

• Knowing the shepherd's voice
• Multitasking has been honed to a fine art in the workplace, in our personal lives, in our families, or has it?
• Do you feel that your life is pulled in too many directions, or do you feel as though the various facets of your days, who you are, all contribute towards a central goal?
• In an ideal world, how would you go about getting better "focus" in your life?

• The ultimate sovereign
• Our God is the king of kings, but he has a funny way of showing it.  No pomp, no circumstance, no loud blaring of trumpets attend His arrival.
• How would you define true humility?
• Why do you think that humility is so important to God and His work here on earth?
• How might we be more humble in our dealings with our community, our families?
• If we are humble, do you think that will "infect" the world around us?

• In the end, all that matters is what you gave away
• Who are some of the truly generous people that you have known?
• What were some of their strongest characteristics?
• How do you suppose that they were able to give so generously and not burn out?
• As seasons of our lives come and go, how do we tell when it is time to set aside one sort of giving, to retire from that work, and pick up another?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Would anyone describe me as a peacemaker?
2. How is God bringing focus to my life today?
3. Am I more humble than I was a year ago?
4. Am I going to have given it all away by the time I die, or will there be "loose ends"?

Shalom!

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Proverbs 31: 10-13, 19-20
2. Psalms 128: 1-2, 3, 4-5
3. 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-6
4. Matthew 25: 14-30

• Giving generously
• Who are some of the generous people in your life?
• What of themselves do they give that impresses you?
• Does it matter more that we give generously or effectively?
• What do you think makes a person a cheerful giver?

• Eating the fruit of your labors
• We all feel that life should be fair, that hard work should pay off, that the investments that we make in life should have predictable results.
• Has that worked out in your life?
• What does that tell you about God's work in your life?
• Does it tell you anything about justice?

• Being ready
• There's a story that W. C. Fields was near death, confined to his bed, when an old friend came to visit and unaccountably found Mr. Fields reading his Bible.  The friend asked incredulously "what on earth are you doing?".  Mr. Fields replied "cramming for finals."
• What's wrong with that approach to life?
• Do you think that it's possible to be too ready for eternity?
• Is there a balance that needs to be struck between the day to day and the eternal?
• If so, how do you find it?

• Day of reaconing
• We are a people of grace, so salvation for us is at Christ's initiative, not ours.
• And yet, we know that our lives will be somehow weighed against what God had intended for us.  How do you think that you will come out?
• Do you think that we get any sort of progress report along the way?
• How do we tell if/when we are on the right track in the meanwhile?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Who am I giving my life to?  Who am I giving my life for?
2. What expectations do I have of God?
3. What sort of eternity am I readying myself for?
4. How am I getting the right perspective in life?

Finding your genius

I once worked with a guy, his name was Jeff.

He was pretty quiet, never beat his own drum.

Yet when I had a particularly challenging project,

I'd do what I could to get Jeff on it

Because Jeff always seemed to make things go smoother.

I never really figured him out, try as I might.

I figured if I could somehow teach others his approach,

Soon the world would be a better place for it.

Wherever Jeff went, people got along better,

What needed to be done somehow got done.

And it wasn't just Jeff's direct work at all.

Somehow, he inspired others to lend a hand

Give support, help each other out

Always at just the right time and place.

He was a genuine force multiplier.

I think about him often when I see folks

Talking about the skills they want to acquire,

What they want to do in life to make it rich

Thinking that all they have to do is get 

The right certificate, the right degree.

Where I would say to them, learn from Jeff.

When you get up in the morning, ask yourself

Where you can help the most, 

Where you can lend a hand

Where a quiet boost will do wonders.

If only we lived in a world that valued such.

I think that the Jeffs in the world would come forth

And teach the rest of us how to help each other more

And look for our own glory less.

Jeff is a genius, just not the obvious kind.

Shalom!

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Wisdom 6: 12-16
2. Psalms 62: 2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
3. 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18
4. Matthew 25: 1-13

• Getting to know wisdom
• Who are some of the wise women/wise men in your life?
• How do you think that they got to be that way?
• Do you think that it's better to have a font of wisdom within yourself, or is it better to just have someone that you can go to with questions whenever you have them?
• Is wisdom more than merely counsel, or is there more to it than that?
• If God is so eager to give us wisdom, why don't more of us have it?

• What would make you happy?
• In customer service, we are taught to ask that difficult question, knowing that customer demands can often be uncaring, unreasonable, and sometimes impossible.  But at least that serves as a starting point for a discussion.
• If God were to come to you in a dream tonight and ask you what it is in all of the universe that you most want, that would make you happiest, what would that be?
• Has that deepest desire changed any in you over the years?
• Why is that?

• Different views of judgment
• You've seen this scenario play out.  A couple of guys from the old 'hood meet up in unexpected circumstances years after they each went their separate way.  One starts up with "Remember when ..." and maybe they share some fond memory of the old days, or maybe, the first guy has an ax to grind that's been lying dormant for 30 years, just waiting for this sort of an opportunity.
• When we meet up with loved ones in heaven, do you think that forgiveness will be any easier there than it is here?
• Do you think that forgiveness will be instantaneous, or a process?
• How does that affect the way that you conduct your life now?

• Living for the long term
• Much of life seems to be tugged in two directions: survival versus planning for the long haul.  Sometimes, they seem incompatible.
• How do you see God calling you to a life that both attends to the day to day, as well as eternal values?
• How do you tell when you've struck the right balance?
• Who is there in your life to gently nudge you when you get it wrong?

Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. What am I doing to seek wisdom in my life?
2. Are my deepest desires anything like God's deepest desires for me?
3. How am I preparing for meeting people in my life now, in eternity?
4. Am I merely surviving, or striving to thrive?

Shalom!