11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Ezekiel 17: 22-24
   
2. Psalms 92: 2-3, 13-14, 15-16
   
3. 2 Corinthians 5: 6-10
   
4. Mark 4: 26-34
   

• Part of God's revelation
  
• God reveals Himself, His nature, His priorities to us every day.  By using easily dismissed people like Dorothy Day and Mahatma Gandhi, God reveals His love for all of us, no matter what our station in life is.  He reveals that riches in this world are not what brings power in the truest sense, but humility.
• Who is someone in your life who has helped your relationship with God deepen?  Maybe that's your spouse, or some other family member who has shown you what God is like.
• What was it about them that revealed God's true nature to you?
• Have you ever thanked them for that gift?
  

• Bearing fruit in old age
  
• As I age (and not very gracefully mind you) I have become more and more aware that things that I can do now I will not be able to do forever.  So I need to prepare myself for losing one ability after another, perhaps (if I'm lucky) discovering other ways to contribute along the way.  It would be hard to bear not being able to bear fruit in old age.  Aging is enough of a bear as it is.
• What are the ways that you are bearing fruit for God today?
• How much longer do you think that you'll be able to keep doing that?
• What are some new ministries that you might see opening up for you in the future?
• Or, some ministries that you will be able to emphasize more in the future?
• How will you know when it's time to make those transitions?
• How can you make that process easier?
  

• Pleasing to God
  
• At least in principle, all of us want to please God.  Sometimes though, figuring out whether we're getting it right can be a challenge.
• How do you know when you're pleasing God in any particular thought, word, or deed of yours?
• How, and how often, do you check in with God to find out His reaction to are thinking, saying, doing?
• In those times when you come to realize that you acted out of fear, selfishness, or some other vice, what have you done to get things right again?
• Are you getting any better at this?  Do you feel that your conscience is becoming more finely tuned, that you are more sensitive to God's will in your life?
  

• Come Holy Spirit
  
• No matter how scientific you get about your farming, I'm sure that there will always be room for divine intervention, mystery, wonder about growing things.  We do our part to prepare the soil, sow the seed, irrigate, maintain the land, harvest the results, but in the end, without God's intervention, nothing would come of our efforts.
• What is a case in your life in which God took work that you had done, and blessed it, made it into something much greater than you could ever achieve on your own?
• Were you expecting that?
• Would your work have succeeded without God's intervention?
• Define success.
• How can we be more open to that gift of God in our work, our prayer, our lives?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where is God calling me to reveal Him to others?
   
2. Where might God be showing me how to age?
   
3. Is my life, right here, right now, pleasing to God?
   
4. Where can I be more open to God's presence in my life?

Deep Down

The earthen farrows lie expectant under the April sun.

Moistened with just enough water to help the seeds to take root.

Carefully fertilized for maximum effect.

Ready to receive the final ingredient needed

To bring in the next harvest.

 

The old farmer blessed himself and his tractor before climbing in.

His neighbors had seen him start his sowing thus for many years.

They used to kid him about his unscientific methods.

He only smiled and said

It's not just about me and my work.  Now I hand it off to God.

 

The old farmer's luck with his crops wasn't especially better

Nor was his luck with his crops especially worse than his neighbors either.

But when the hard years came, and they always did,

He seemed to always weather those trials better than anyone.

In spite of blight, blizzard, and destroying insects, he never lost hope.

A longtime friend once asked him

"When all seems lost, your land forlorn, the banks after you, do you hope for abundant yields?"

"Nope", the old farmer would answer.

"Well then, do you think that God will somehow make it all better, even without good crops?"

"No necessarily" the old farmer shook his head.

"What then, do you hope that God will do for you?"

"Be faithful to me His servant.

Reward my faithfulness with His Presence.

I believe that serving Him, in whatever capacity He calls me to,

Makes this world a better place.  Maybe in ways I'll never know.

And that's all I know, all I ask for, all I care about.

Maybe this family farm will someday go under.

Maybe me and my family will have to endure poverty.

Maybe we'll all be forgotten before we're even cold in the grave.

But none of that matters, but one thing.

At each turn in the road of my life, was I where God called me,

Doing what He was calling me to at that time?

Every time I can say yes to that question,

I know I'm a success.  I know I've planted a seed that will yield now and forever.

No matter what the rest of the world thinks of me or my life.

When you see me bless myself each Spring,

It's a prayer to God, rededicating myself, my strength, my all

To His service, whatever that might be, wherever it might lead.

Knowing that I and my kin are but sojourners in this place.

Knowing that this is just a stopping place in our journey."

Shalom!