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
   

• Celebrating in secret
  
• We live in a culture that values diversity.  Our faith is, at worst, regarded as a curiosity, or a hobby.  But what if that were not the case, what if we were not in a culture of tolerance? How would you celebrate your faith?
• How might that change your faith?
• Why?
  

• Relying on God
  
• At least in theory we know that to rely on anything/anyone else than God is a mistake.  But if you think about it, is God all that reliable?
• Have you ever prayed fervently  for something that meant the world to you, and it didn't come to pass?
• How did you explain that to yourself at the time?
• How do you explain that to yourself now?
• What does that tell you about God?
• What does that tell you about you?
  

• Welcoming from afar
  
• We each have a deep-seated need to belong, be it to a family, community, parish, lodge.  We feel lost and alone otherwise.  It our eagerness for that belonging, it's easy to settle for something less than the belonging that all of us have in God.
• Where do you belong?  Is that a community, place, association, family, all of the above?
• Why is it that you belong there?
• What does that belonging entitle you to as a member?
• Why do you stay?
• How does that belonging relate to your belonging to and in God Himself?
  

• The reward for being responsible is ... more responsibility
  
• Jesus calls on us to be ready, waiting, engaged, and patient, all at once.  That seems like a tall order.  The reward for those virtues is that we get more responsibility.  Personally, I think I might favor a recently renovated home in Bel Air and a bigger pension.
• As a disciple of Christ, what would you say your responsibilities are?  Try to sum them up in as few words as possible.
• When you put it that way, are your responsibilities in any way different from any other Christians?
• How have those responsibilities worked out on a day to day basis?
• Is Jesus' coming to you, to all of us, to each of us, a single event, occasional, or daily?
• How can you be more ready for that coming of Jesus?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. What would God want for me to hope for?
   
2. Where is God being faithful in unexpected/unlooked for ways in my life?
3. Where is my belonging taking me?
4. Where can I be more ready for Jesus to come to me?

 Shalom!