31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Exodus 22: 20-26
   
2. Psalm 18: 2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
   
3. I Thessalonians 1: 5c-10
   
4. Matthew 22: 34-40
   

• One father
  
• No matter who that other person is in your life, no matter what their background, point of origin, life work, or the size of their bank account, you do know one thing about them: they are God's child to the same extent that you are.  Yet there are many people that we meet in life who are very different from us.  And that can be a real challenge.
• Who is one person who you have a hard time relating to?
• What is it about them that makes them so difficult to understand, to even approach them?
• Prayerfully imagine that you come upon that person in an hour of need for them.  It can be anything: flat tire, loss of a loved one, disappointment at the way the lotto turned out last night ...
• Imagine that Jesus is in the room and you are the only one who can see Him.
• What would you do/say to/for this challenging person?
• What if Jesus promised to be with you if you can touch this other person the way that Jesus would?
  

• Haughty eyes
  
• "Looking out for number one" isn't a bad sentiment, as long as you don't get confused over who "number one" really is.  A hint: it's not you, and it's not me.  A really nice set of humility prayers can be found here.  I like the last two the best.
• Who are some of the humble people in your life?
• How do you think that they got that way?
• How does their humility help them in their ministry?
• What could you learn from them?
  

• Sharing your life
  
• Back in the day, evangelically fired Christians would greet each other with "how many souls have you saved today?"  In all honesty, the intent was celebration of the ongoing work of God in the world, saving sinners one at a time.  Turns out, getting someone to respond to the altar call was one thing, helping them to find a true home among the believing community was quite another.
• Who is someone who has had a profound effect on your faith, helped you go deeper, more profoundly into your relationship with God?
• Did they have that effect on you because of things that they said or wrote, the way that they lived, a combination of both, ...?
• How do you think that your life is inspiring others?
• What would you like to hear at your eulogy?
  

• Looking up to others
  
• At first I found it hard to work for managers who were younger than I was.  After all, I thought, how is this kid who's too young to remember punch cards going to tell me what's important?  That, it turns out, has been the start of a long journey in humility for me that will probably never really end.  At least on this side of eternity.
• What do you do when you find yourself looking down on someone?
• Do you think that they have anything that they could teach you?
• Do you think that Jesus might be trying to touch you through those disdain-worthy folks?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where is God calling me to be His Presence?
   
2. How can I think more of others than myself?
   
3. Where is God calling me to share more deeply?
   
4. Where is God calling me to see him in places I've never seen Him before?

Shalom!