19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Wisdom 18: 6-9
2. Psalms 33: 1, 12, 18-19, 20-22
3. Hebrews 11: 1-2, 8-19
4. Luke 12: 32-48

• Burning bridges?
• You have to wonder whether there were any of the Jews who stayed behind in Egypt when the Exodus took place.  Once the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, there was no going back, figuratively or metaphorically.
• When you have started a new venture, be it moving to a new job, leaving a home that you have been in for years, breaking up with someone that you have been with for a long time, is it easier if there is no going back, it has to be a clean break, or is it easier if you can change your mind later?
• When you make those sorts of big changes in your life, it represents a commitment on your part.  Who are you committing to?  Yourself, your family, your community, God Himself?
• What does it mean if things don't "work out" when you make such a change?  Was God unfaithful, did you maybe get His direction wrong, was the timing wrong, ...?
• How do you know if such a change actually "works out".  What does "works out" really mean?

• Waiting for God
• In some ways, all of us are waiting for union with God.  Some are more intentional and focused on that than others.
• What do you think that eventual union will entail?  Vindication for all of times that others have not appreciated your devotion to God, reward for your faithful service, finally understanding the meaning of life, reuniting with lost loved ones, freedom from having to mow the lawn each week, ...?
• Given your expectations, how ought you to be preparing for that?
• How much time and attention should you put into the preparation?
• Is there any part of your life that is not supporting that preparation?

• What legacy?
• 20 years after you are gone, what do you think of your present life will still be around in any form?
• Is that encouraging, or discouraging?
• What sort of a legacy do you want to leave?
• Do you think that is at all realistic?

• Losing my way
• "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" is attributed to Lord Acton in 1887.  I suspect that observant folks have felt the same way long before then.
• Are there any servant leaders in your life?  These leaders put their people first.  Servant leaders see their first obligation to serve, to protect, to foster the growth of their people.  Everything else grows out of that.
• Are such leaders always successful?
• Define success.
• All of us lead in some manner.  What sort of leader are you?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How committed am I to the course that God has set me on?
2. How am I getting closer to God today?
3. What's on my "bucket list" for this life?
4. How can I be more Christ like toward those who depend on me?

Clearly we Needed a Plan B

My mother hen instincts are raging full throttle.
I'm sure that the tribe straggles over far too much terrain
To be safe out here in this howling wilderness.

So far, our most visible companion is not the God of our fathers,
But the buzzards circling effortlessly on the rising thermals.
In my experience, the buzzards are never disappointed.

This Moses character told us that we would be free
Free from the shackles of our Egyptian task masters
Free to worship our God with all our heart, soul and mind.

From the looks of things, that freedom will be cut short
By lack of water for us and our flocks,
Lack of food for our bellies, and lack of shade.

This God we worship seems to have a sick sense of humor.
First getting us past the clutches of the Egyptian army
Only to abandon us to a far worse enemy, the desert.

Maybe there's still time for me and my family to go back.
Sneak away from the community late at night.
Find our way home in time for a hearty breakfast.

This nomadic life that we seem to have embarked on
Was not what we voted on at the last meeting.
I wrote the minutes, I ought to know.

I'm pretty sure that I would not have signed up for this
This wanton deprivation, if anyone had asked me.
The risk of failure is too high, the consequences too dire.

I'm not even sure that anyone did a cost benefit analysis here.
And yet, there is still singing in the camp.
Dancing even around our camp fires at night.

Folks here are giddy with delight that they have been delivered.
Confident that things will somehow work out in the end,
If only we stick together and rely on our God.

I suppose that if I and my family bail on this venture,
We could start a trend, and avalanche of departures,
And ruin it for everyone.

Out here in the desert, we need each other more than ever.
Finding God here in the desolation is easier.
Fewer distractions than we've ever had before.

Maybe not knowing for sure where my next meal will come from
Helps me focus on things that are even more important.
Maybe its better to support my tribe, this nation, this people,

And hope that God who got us on this journey so dramatically,
Plans to stick with us to the end.
Wherever that "end" might be.

Shalom!