10th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 10th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Genesis 3: 9-15
   
2. Psalms 130: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
   
3. 2 Corinthians 4: 13 - 5:1
   
4. Mark 3: 25-35
   

• Where are you?
  
• Most of us have at times longed to hear God in our lives as an audible voice, speaking bold and true, bringing consolation, peace, direction.  Be careful what you wish for.  Anyone who has that close a relationship to God is also going to hear the heartbreak, the agony of God when His children, lost and alone, cry out and they don't even know who to call upon anymore.
• If Jesus were available to you visibly, audibly, for one hour each day at a set time and place, would you show up?
• What would you want to discuss with Him?
• How do you think that conversation would evolve over time?  Do you think that you would bring up the same things over and over again?
• How about Jesus?  How do you think His conversation might change with you over time?
• How would you see your life changing in the wake of such an experience over time?
• What's stopping you?
  

• Saving from error
  
• Sometimes, our actions are driven by beliefs that are very deep within us, but which we can hardly articulate in words.  Sometimes these beliefs can only be expressed in pictures, or other media.  But they are just as real, and when they are wrong, they are just as devastating.
• How would you define God's mercy?
• When, in particular, has God been merciful to you?
• Did you have any trouble trusting God for that mercy?
• Is mercy ever easy or cheap?  Is it just some sort of easy excuse from the true consequences of our actions?
• If not, why not?
  

• Will we wear name tags in heaven?
  
• I'm really bad with putting names to faces.  If I go before Mary does, I'm in trouble because I'm afraid I'll keep bumping into people in heaven who remember me very well, and whom I cannot recall to save me.  Mary is much better at that.
• What of our time here on earth will carry over into Eternity?  Would it be the trust that we have in Jesus, our awe of the world around us, the relationships that we have here on earth, our sense of humor, ...?
• Given that, how can you better concentrate on the things that last.
• How can you use the things that don't last to build things in your life that do last?
• How do you tell the difference between them?
  

• Work/life balance
  
• Once word got around about Jesus, His preaching of hope, His healings, His mercy, it always seemed as though there was not enough of Jesus and His disciples to go around, to meet all of the clamoring needs that rushed Him.  His family feared burnout.
• How do you think that Jesus protected/protects His disciples from burnout?
• How can we be better at at bringing more of God's people into active ministry?
• Every year we confirm a batch of young people.  Many of them disappear.  What's with that?
• What can we do to make our parish more vibrant and alive?
• Where can we start?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where is God calling me to deeper prayer life?
   
2. Where might God be showing me His mercy right now?
   
3. Where are my priorities?  Where do I spend my time?
   
4. Where can I be more inviting to others?

Where Are You?

I gave you a hug this morning from your four year old daughter.
You seemed more aware of the pizza sauce on her little hands that made you change your shirt.

I kissed you on the cheek this morning at sunrise when you were on your way to work.
You thought it was just a wisp of a breeze caused by the sun's heat on the dewy grass.

I called you to prayer in the rainbow.
But all that you saw was the slowdown on the freeway caused by the unseasonable rain.

I tried to comfort you when your boss laid his hand on your shoulder.

But you were too afraid of what he wanted of you to feel me.

I showed you my love in the lunch that your wife packed for you.

All that you remember is that she gave you one of the kid's spoons by mistake.

I tried to call you to prayer when you had some time left over after your lunch.

But all that you could think of was getting back to that that quarterly report due tomorrow.

You cry out without lifting your eyes to me.

You don't want to be disappointed yet again by silence from me.

But I'm calling you night and day.  But your worry and insecurity has made you blind and deaf.

I have so much to share with you if you will only open your heart to me.

You scatter your energy before rapacious strangers who only want to take advantage of you.

And you miss my breath, my caress, my consolation when I offer them over and and over again.

Come with me and find beauty in all of the places that I have hidden it in plain sight.

Let my out poured love for you give you peace.

Then you will hear the choirs of angels,

Hear them, and join in.

Join in and find your place in the grand orchestra that you you are in -

And find your one true purpose in this life -

And the next.

Shalom!