31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 31th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Wisdom 11:22 - 12:2
   
2. Psalms 145: 1-2, 8-9, 10-11,13, 14
   
3. 2nd Thessalonians 1:11 - 2:2
   
4. Luke 19: 1-10

• Finding God in the little by little
  
• Perhaps God's greatest show of mercy is patience.  Instead of hitting each of us full on with all the things that we should be doing/praying/saying, He nudges us.  Maybe we would appreciate that more if we took stock of where that nudging has gotten us.
• Can you think of a time when you felt that everything was OK, and God opened your eyes just a little to see otherwise?
• How did you respond?
• Do you think that God was able to build on that response?
• Where do you think God is taking you?
  

• Land acknowledgement
  
• The land that we occupy had people before us, and maybe yet other people before them.  I ask myself when someone makes a formal acknowledgement of that  fact: "great, my ancestors ripped this land from the hands of others.  Now what?"
• If God has mercy for all his works, how can we reflect that mercy?
• Do you know anyone in need of mercy?
• What do you think God would have you do?
  

• Worthy of the calling
  
• I remember Kelly Evans sharing once that it suddenly hit her while she was teaching that she was, that moment, doing what she had been born to do.
• Do we have to earn that sort of realization/recognition?
• What does it take to get to that place in life, courage, determination, blind luck, contemplation, ...?
• Do you think that destiny changes for us over time?
  

• Touching the untouchable
  
• Jesus seems determined to surprise, perplex, and scandalize those around Him.  Zacchaeus had something worse than leprosy, he collaborated with the Romans.
• Who are the untouchables today?
• Do they deserve that status?
• How can we convince them that they are worthy?
• What is it that they are worthy of anyway?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where has God been leading me through the years?
   
2. Where are some unexpected places that I can be God's mercy?
3. Am I fulfilling my destiny?
   
4. Who are the untouchables in my life?

Pity Jesus' Agent

Every great celebrity needs an agent to look out for them,

Make sure that they get proper treatment, proper notoriety. 

 

It's all about connections, knowing the right people,

Being seen in the right places, showing what you got.

 

This Jesus is an amazing man, full of courage, compassion, wisdom.

All He has to do is get the Word out the right way, use proper channels.

 

Otherwise, well otherwise He'll join thousands of other noble men

In total obscurity, hidden by the ashes of time and forgetfulness.

 

Jesus could make a difference in a lot more lives if He's just listen.

Listen to reason that is.

 

No one will know what He does for the poor, the lame, the leper,

The outcast, the trodden upon if He just becomes one of them.

 

Disappearing into the anonymity of  the downtrodden.

You cannot rescue someone from a plight that you share.

Can you?

Shalom!