14thSunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 14th Sunday of Ordinary are:

1. Ezekiel 2: 2-5
2. Psalms 123: 1-2, 2, 3-4
3. 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10
4. Mark 6: 1-6

• Appreciation is over rated
• Who does not want to be successful?  And a sure measure of success is how well we are received, affirmed, appreciated.  But all that God desires of us is that we are willing to serve.
• If you suddenly stopped receiving tokens of appreciation for your service, be they thanks, your picture in the parish directory, even a stipend, would you begin to doubt your calling to that ministry?
• If human appreciation for our work is an uncertain barometer of how God sees our work, how do we tell if we are in the right place at the right time, doing the right thing?
• Is it necessarily a bad thing to feel lonely in your ministry?

• For the greater glory of God
• Thomas Merton in New Seeds of Contemplation makes the case that the truly humble person is able to accept complements graciously because they know without a doubt that the complement goes straight to God who made us all.
• What are you proud of in your life?  Maybe its professional accomplishments, the respect of your peers, the respect of your family (often much harder to earn than respect from your peers), things that you have learned ...
• How often do you thank God for those?
• Why do you think that is?

• Dealing with the baggage
• We all carry baggage in our lives.  Maybe is the sting of divorce, or resentment over suddenly losing a cherished job, maybe a friend who betrayed you when you needed them the most, maybe just general disappointment that life didn't turn out the way that it was supposed to.
• If someone asked you for a catalog of the baggage in your life, would you be able to list those things pretty quickly?
• Is that from steady practice listing your baggage?
• If you don't feel as though you are carrying baggage, why is that?  How did you resolve/heal from those experiences?
• Where was God in those experiences, and your healing from them?

• The power to grow
• None of us like change, particularly in those around us.  When they grow, deepen, mature, it either inspires us to do the same, or intimidates us.
• Who are some of those from your life who have really matured over the years that you have known them?
• How did they manage that?
• What might you learn from them?
• Do you think that it's too late for you to grow/change?
• Why?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. Why am I afraid of losing other's approval?
2. Where is God calling me to more gratitude?
3. How can I find more healing in my life?
4. Where is God calling me to grow beyond my comfort zone?

Coming Home

The journey home was a long one.

At first the young inventor wanted to show them all,

That he was more than they had seen in him as a youth,

That he had realized the potential that no one saw.

Then he realized that wasn't what he was after.  

What he really wanted was for them to appreciate his accomplishments,

To realize that he had potential long years ago when they knew him,

And it just took some hard work and courageous mentors to awaken it.

Then he realized he didn't really care what they thought, then or now.

What he really wanted to to show his old crush what a great opportunity she passed up.

And let her know that her rejection of him had inspired rather than beat him,

And maybe give her a genuine "thank you" for being honest.

Then he realized that he didn't really have anything to prove to anyone.

Instead, he wanted to reconnect with the frightened young boy that he was so long ago,

Embrace that young man, let him know that he was treasured and complete,

And let him know that he had always been loved, never left behind, 

Just forgotten for awhile.

Shalom!