18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Isaiah 55: 1-3
2. Psalms 145: 8-9, 15-16, 17-18
3. Romans 8: 35, 37-39
4. Matthew 14: 13-21

• What are your deepest needs?
• Last week, we read of Solomon's prayer to God for wisdom.  In deciding what to ask God for, Solomon first had to assess what God had called him to in life, and what it would take to step into that calling fully.
• What is it that God has called you into in life lately?
• What traits, abilities, resources would make it possible for you to succeed in that calling?
• Do you think that God wants those things for you?
• How are you praying for them?

• Needs versus wants
• Happiness relies to a great extent in discerning the difference between needs and wants, and putting each into its proper perspective.
• What are your deepest needs?  Don't stop with the first thing that comes to mind, try to find the need behind that need.  For instance, during COVID-19 I find that I need human contact.  I think that I need that contact to remind me that there's more to life than just my thoughts, issues, and concerns, that I'm part of something much bigger.  The wider my human contact, the more open I am to new possibilities, new connections, and ultimately to God Himself.
• Where did those needs come from?
• Have they changed through the years?
• Where do your wants come from?
• Have those changed through the years?

• The isolation of need
• Folks in real need can be hard to relate to.  It's easy for them and the rest of us to let that need in their life define them.  Once that happens, they become more and more distant from the rest of us who do not share that need.
• Think back to some point in your life that was a real challenge for you.  Perhaps a health crisis, loss of a loved one, loss of a job, ...  Did that passage in your life draw you closer to anyone else?
• How did that closeness happen?
• Did that challenge in your life draw you closer to God?
• Why or why not?

• Veronica's veil
• Catholic tradition has it that one of Jesus' followers, Veronica, stepped forward to wipe Jesus' face as He was making his way to the Cross.  I find that particular station of the cross compelling because it required a great deal of courage and faith on her part.  Jesus was a condemned man, the object of ridicule and shame.  To do anything but jeer and mock Him in that crowd was to risk falling victim to the same shame that He was bearing.  Veronica probably struggled, trying to think of something that she could do to help, and feeling so helpless.  Yet she did what she could despite all of that, turning her love and concern for Jesus into action.
• What are some needs in your community that you are aware of?
• What are some things that you could do to support, sustain, comfort folks with those needs?
• How could you be the bread of life in those situations?

• Preparation for Reconciliation

1. What needs am I really trusting to God?
2. Have I been faithful to God with my prayer for my needs?
3. Am I letting my need draw me closer to God?
4. What are some small ways that I can meet needs within my communities?

I can't figure Him out

I could tell that the news of His cousin John's death hurt Him.

Memories of growing up together, rough housing through the village,

Trips to Jerusalem together, family gatherings through the years,

All of that gone now, a horrible execution for no good reason.

Jesus needed time alone, to process, to grieve, maybe strategize

And see what the future might bring for him, with John now gone.

We took Him to an isolated place, far from any village,

To give Him time and space to be by Himself, without the crowds.

But they got there ahead of us by some means, shattering our plans.

Vast numbers of them from every corner of Palestine, 

All so needy, all looking for Jesus, frightening in their intensity.

If I had been Jesus, I would have gotten back in the boat and taken off.

But Jesus waded into that sea of humanity, touched their lives,

Spoke lovingly to them of His Father and theirs, healed their hurts,

Blessed them with hope, all the while bearing his own pain inside.

As if He found comfort of some sort in serving those who came to Him.

We could barely keep up, and we wondered when the tide of humanity,

Would ever ebb, give Jesus a rest, grant Him some peace at last.

Finally, a few of us decided to take matters into our own Hands.

Remind Him the hour, the place, even His own needs, for His own good.

When He told us to feed them, my first thought was that they might riot.

If there was not food enough to fill all of them, there would be anger.

But He merely took what we had to offer, no matter how poor and small,

And blessed it, and gave it to us to distribute, scared as we were.

I never know when Jesus is going to call on me to journey beyond my limits

Serve longer, harder, more than I know how to muster the energy.

I'm never sure when enough is enough, and it's time to quit giving.

But I know that at least sometimes, there's more to give than I realize.

Shalom!

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. 1 Kings 3: 5, 7-12
2. 119: 57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130
3. Romans 8: 28-30
4. Matthew 13: 44-52

• The wisdom of trust
• As we mature in prayer, we gradually learn that God is far more than a vending machine, and prayer far more than merely putting coins into that vending machine and choosing what we want from it.
• How do you decide what to pray for?
• Think of a time when you desperately needed something from God, and prayed for that devoutly, for a long time.
• Did your prayer change any along the way?
• How?
• Why?

• Finding inspiration
• Creative folk fear "writer's block", that horrible moment when they realize that they have nothing left to say, that no amount of discipline is going to rescue them, that they just need to ride it out.
• What about God do you find inspiring?
• What has God inspired you to do lately?
• What do you think God might do to make that inspiration easier?

• Finding your glory
• Hebrews 1: 1-3 describes Jesus as the refulgence of God's glory. When do you feel most in touch with that glory?  Is it maybe in prayer, at the end of the day as the sun sets and you think back over how God was present with, in, and through you, when you gather around the table with family ...?
• These epiphanies in your life, what do they have in common?
• What makes you more open, more sensitive to those divine revelations?
• How can you become more sensitive to God in the day to day?

• The joy of the Lord
• Possibly the most corrosive thing that can happen to us is to lose our sense of purpose.  Our days begin to melt one into the next with no accomplishments worth noting to punctuate the time, we feel worthless and useless.
• Why do you get up in the morning most days?
• What does that have to do with your faith?
• How did you find your purpose in this life?
• Do you think that purpose ever changes?

• Preparation for Reconciliation

1. How has my prayer changed me lately?
2. What about my life could/should inspire others?
3. Where is God revealing Himself through me?
4. What am I doing to give the better parts of me a better chance to grown and develop?

Shalom!

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Wisdom 12: 13, 16-19
2. Psalms 86: 5-6, 9-10, 15-16
3. Romans 8: 26-27
4. Matthew 13: 1-23

• God's might
• It's a pretty rare person who would openly say "might makes right", but we act as though we believe that.  We're always attracted to the successful, the beautiful, the famous.  God for His part seeks out the lost and the marginalized, those with the least to offer.
• Have you ever been moved to perform a random act of kindness for someone?
• What prompted that?
• How did that action change you?
• What do you think we need to do to bring more kindness into the world?

• Loving and forgiving
• Think of a time when someone really wronged you.
• Have you find it possible to forgive them yet?
• Is there a process to forgiveness, or is it strictly an event?
• What is the hardest part of forgiving someone?

• At a loss for words
• One subtle bit of sarcasm that you'll occasionally hear is "words cannot express how that makes me feel ..." often meaning that the speaker feels outrage, anger, betrayal in response to what has just been done/said, but they don't want to be too obvious about their reaction.
• Have you ever been at a loss for words in prayer?
• Have you ever prayed to be shown how to pray in a given circumstance?
• How did God respond?

• It's the yeast that I could do ...
• Situations of creative tension are often termed "yeasty", meaning that they are generative, creative, unpredictable, perhaps even mildly explosive.  Bringing folks together of many different cultures, ethnic groups, religions ... all tend to yeasty mixes.
• Have you ever gone out of your way to cultivate a different perspective than you already have, to get out of your comfort zone?  Maybe it was picking up a brand new skill, meeting new people, taking on a new job ...
• What prompted you to do that?
• How did it turn out?
• Do you think that was the will of God in your life?
• Why?

• Preparation for Reconciliation

1. How can I grow in humility?
2. How am I becoming more forgiving?
3. What am I doing to improve my prayer life?
4. Where am I being yeast to the communities that I serve?

Shalom!

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Isaiah 55: 10-11
2. Psalms 65: 10, 11, 12-13, 14
3. Romans 8: 18-23
4. Matthew 13: 1-23

• It's all gift
• Please take a look at: https://www.aish.com/j/j/132691198.html.  Sometimes, it helps to put things into a larger perspective.
• What do you think it takes to be a good preacher?
• If it's God who created the universe, sent Jesus into the world to save us, and moment by moment gives you the breath that fills your lungs, what responsibilities do we have as His children in spreading His word?
• How would you define a successful person?
• Are you a success?

• Everything is ready
• Please listen to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgQf5tx1hi4 and see what you think.
• Walking onto a stage in a theater production must be heady stuff.  All of the preparation on the part of the set designers, the costumers, the makeup artists, the musicians who have trained, the countless hours in rehearsal, it all comes down to this moment, this very second when the first line is uttered as the dialog between the audience and cast begins anew.
• Do you ever embark on anything new and feel totally prepared?
• How prepared do you think God is for those big moments in your life?
• Is there really any such thing as a "small moment" in life?

• We owe it to creation
• Part of the attraction of the Harry Potter myth is that all of us seek to step into our destiny, find who we really are, and achieve greatness by owning our true identity.
• Are you proud of who you are today?
• How has your vision of your place in the universe changed since you were 10 years old?
• Would that 10 year old boy or girl recognize you today?
• Do you feel that your true self has been revealed in your life?

• Seizing the opportunity
• Carpe diem was Robin William's advice to his students in Dead Poet Society.
• What are some of the opportunities that have come along in your life that you passed up?
• Why didn't you give that a try?
• How important is timing in life?
• Do you think that God puts opportunities in front of us that only last for a time?
• Why is that?

• Preparation for Reconciliation

1. How can I grow in humility?
2. What is God calling me to today?
3. What is God revealing in my lately?
4. Where are God's opportunities for me?

Shalom!