24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Exodus 32: 7-11, 13-14
   
2. Psalms 51: 3-4, 12-13, 17, 19
   
3. 1 Timothy 1: 12-17
   
4. Luke 15: 1-32
   

• Your people
  
• Sometimes a husband or wife will try to blame their spouse for one of the children.  Dad opens a conversation with "Do you know what your son did today at school?"  That's shorthand for "I fail to see any contribution of mine in this son of ours."
• Think of the last time that you prayed to God on someone else's behalf.  How did you try to motivate God to do what you wanted?
• Reminding God of all of the good that this other person has done?
• Reminding God that God is first of all merciful and kind?
• Reminding God that you, the one doing the praying, has been good and faithful, so now God owes you this?
• Offering God faithfulness and discipline on your part, if only God will have mercy on your friend?
• ...
• How effective do you think any of those are in moving God?
• What does that tell you about God?
• What does that tell you about you?
  

• Give me a clean heart
  
• How would you define a clean heart?
• Knowing what you do about King David, Moses, Abraham, did any/all of them have a clean heart?
• How clean is your heart before God?
• What would you think it would take to make your heart more clean?
  

• Mercy me, mercy why
  
• All of us can pinpoint times/areas in our lives in which God has shown us mercy.
• Why do you think that He did that?
• Did that abundance of mercy from God change you in any way?
• Did that mercy equip you for anything later in life?
• Have you found a way to share that mercy with others?
• Did God's mercy teach you something profound that you would not have realized otherwise?
• How are you doing in making good use of that mercy?
  

• Expectations
  
• The prodigal father in this parable forgives so much.  You would think that the father would rest assured that this lost and found son would never do anything so heartless again.  But we know that is not a given.
• Think of a time when you have extended mercy to someone.  What sort of changes did you look for in their life?
• Was that reasonable?
• If you knew for a fact that this other person was not going to live up to your expectations on them, would you still be merciful towards them?
• Why does God extend mercy toward us?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where might God be trying to reveal herself to you in new ways?
   
2. What would your life be like with a truly clean heart?
3. Where is God's mercy in my life changing me today?
   
4. Where might God be calling me to reckless mercy?

 Shalom!