8th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Sirach 27: 4-7
2. Psalms 92: 2-3, 13-14, 15-16
3. 1 Corinthians 15: 54-58
4. Luke 6: 39-45

• The potter's kiln
• Richard Rohr says that we never get in touch with our real self until we have been through great loss and/or suffering.  Part of me hopes that he's wrong.  Part of me hopes that my real self isn't really all that important.
• When have you felt tested by some sort of loss or suffering?
• Did you get better, or bitter?
• Why do you think that that experience affected you that way?
• Would you react any differently to that today?
  

• Bearing fruit in old age
• I have lots of things that I never had as a younger man: a bald spot, wrinkles where I didn't even think that you could wrinkle, more and more joints that click, and the list goes on.  I hope that I can look forward to different sorts of fruits as I venture deeper into my golden years.
• What are some of the fruits that God has brought about in your life?
• How did those come about for you?
• Were you looking for them?
• How are those fruits blessing those around you?
  

• Labor in the Lord
• What are some of the things that you have labored over in your life?
• Looking back on that labor now, was it really worth it?
• Is it worth it because of what you accomplished, or who/what you became along the way?
• How do you know if you are, or have been, laboring in vain?
• Is it enough for our labor to just put food on the table?
  

• Soul friends
• Friends are essential.  They bring out the best in us, sometimes in spite of us.  But finding really good friends can be hard.  Nurturing friendships has to be intentional.  A soul friend is someone who you can share deeply with, and whom you trust implicitly.
• Who is someone in your life that you would term a soul friend?
• What is it about them that helps you on your walk with God?
• Have you ever thanked them for that?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be calling me to embrace loss or suffering in my life?
• Where might God be calling me to bear new/different fruit?
• Is my labor at all fruitful?
• Are all of my relationships really good for me?

Your Inheritance

The old man had died poor. 
He had never held on to much.
Instead, he gave it all away.
Saying "you can't take it with you.
So why bother so much now?"

To the first son, he gave a fishing pole.
"Learn to relax a little each day"
Said the attached card.
"And you'll never go to bed with regrets."

 Disappointed, the son left in disgust. 
For his wealth was vast,
And his worries even larger.

The second received a journal.
"Write what you are grateful for."

But the young man would have none of it.
Because he never had enough.

The third son received a smooth, round, pebble.

Seeing it, he clutched it to his chest and sobbed.

"Dad and I would search the stream banks
For the smoothest stones, the ones tumbled by the currents
Until all of their rough edges had worn off.
Until they had become beautiful in the hands of God
Worn and embraced in a thousand trying times and seasons.

And now here he is,
Showing all of us the beauty of trials, the love found only in turbulence."

Shalom!

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. 1 Samuel 26: 2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23
2. Psalms 103: 1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13
3. 1 Corinthians 15: 45-49
4. Luke 6: 27-38

• Trust is a path where there is none
• Trust in God is something that we all want.  We know that, with that trust comes hope, and with hope comes peace, and peace leads to a joy that is unstoppable, no matter how dire circumstances might get.
• Have you ever found it hard to trust God?
• What did you trust Him for?  Was God supposed to make something bad go away, restore something to you that you had lost, bring healing of some sort, prosper the work of your hands in some way, bring you closer to himself?
• Did God come through for you?
• What did that tell you about God?
• What did that tell you about you?
  

• A father's compassion
• A father's compassion can be a powerful thing in our lives.  Looking into those eyes that know you so well, that cherish you for all that you are this very moment, that longs to hear from you where your road has taken you, with all its joys and disappointments.
• What makes you think that God has compassion for you?
• How does that compassion make you feel about God?
• How does that compassion make you feel about yourself?
• Do you ever wonder if God would like compassion from you?
  

• The image of God
• What do you think it means that we were formed in the image and likeness of God?
• How do you know if you are fulfilling that destiny, being the image and likeness of God?
• Can you think of a time/event when you were able to fulfill that destiny?
• Was that hard for you?
• What did that experience teach you?
  

• The lure of judgement
• Judging others is easy.  And sadly, it only gets easier with age.  After all, if someone else is noticeably different from you, they must either be ignorant or mistaken.  Otherwise, they'd be just like you in their perspectives, actions, attitudes.  Judging others cuts us off from them, makes it impossible for them to really hurt us.  Especially when that other is God Himself.
• Has God ever done something unexplainable in your life?
• How did you come to terms with that experience?
• Did that change how you looked at God?
• Did that change how you regarded yourself?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be calling me step even where there is no way forward?
• Where might God be trying to reveal His father's heart to me?
  
• What of God might others see in me?
  
• Where might I be judging others?
  

Shalom!

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Jeremiah 17: 5-8
2. Psalms 1: 1-2, 3, 4, 6
3. 1 Corinthians 15: 12, 16-20
4. Luke 6: 17, 20-26

• Staying connected
• The need for water is universal among living things.  We all need that simple substance in abundance, and it has to come from the outside.  We are unable to manufacture it ourselves.  And in a very similar way, we rely on God to fulfill us, whether we realize that or not.
• Who are some folks who have nourished you during your life?
• How did their lives enrich yours?
• Do you feel that you have been able to pass any of that enrichment along to others?
  

• Where is your hope?
• What do you hope for in the future for yourself, your family, your various communities?
• How do you think any of that is going to happen?
• Where did you get that hope?
• Do you feel that God has the same hope?
• Why do you think that you have that hope?
  

• Transformed by resurrection
• I wonder whether the resurrection is an ongoing journey in a similar fashion to the incarnation.  Yes Jesus came at a specific point in time, and ascended to the Father at a specific point in time.  But that incarnation is far from over.  It happens every time someone applies a healing touch to the traumatized, or shares God's presence with the afflicted.  Maybe our resurrection is happening even as we speak, we are being transformed into that eternal us that Christ has made possible.  I could be wrong there ...
• What are some transformations that you have undergone in your life?
• Would that have been possible if you were not looking forward to the resurrection?
• What would you like to achieve/be by the time that you are loved into eternity?
  

• Blessed are those who mourn
• What makes you mourn in your life?
• How do you think that God feels about that sorrow in your heart?
• If He cares so much for us/about us, how could he have let that happen?
• How would you like to find comfort for that sorrow in your life?
• How can you start making that happen?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be calling me to deepen my connection to someone else?
• Where is my hope found?
  
• Where is my own resurrection coming to light right now?
  
• Where might God be calling me deepen my trust in Him?
  

  Give me Eyes to See

Lord, grant that I may see more clearly.

See that which is really important.

And that which is just flash and bang.

 

Help me to count on you alone.

In my every moment of need.

And not be distracted by all else.

 

Give me gratitude for what you give me.

Release me from my envy of others.

That I might be free to see your abundance.

 

Help me trust in you and you alone.

For my safe passage day by day.

That I might be bold and courageous in Your service.

 

Give me ears to hear the cry of the poor.

Even above the clamor of the superficial.

That I might lend a hand and heart where they are needed most.

 

Give me eyes to see that you are all that matters.

That nothing else will stay.

That nothing else is worthy of my adoration.

 

Shalom!

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time are:

1. Isaiah 6: 1-2a, 3-8
   
2. Psalms 138: 1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 7-8
3. 1 Corinthians 15: 1-11
   
4. Luke 5: 1-11
   

• Finding your calling
  
• True humility helps us to know when to ask God for help, versus a) thinking that we can go it alone (presumption) or b) waiting endlessly for resources/gifts/graces that we either don't need or already have (despair).
• In times past when you started something new, how did you know that it was time to step into that new role/ministry/position?
• Did you see that transition as a call from God?
• Do you think that opening would have been there forever?
• How did you tell when it was time to take action?
  

• Forsake not the work of your hands
  
• God is always at work in our lives.  He's very invested in each of us.  He never gives up hope on us, He's always ready to receive us back and to move forward.
• Have you ever felt despair because of something that you said or did that you just thought that there was no way to recover from that mistake?
• What sort of "recovery" were you looking for?  Did you want the whole thing to go away?  Were you hoping for some sort of healing to take place between you and God, you & others, you & yourself?
• Were you maybe hoping that everyone else involved in that fiasco would just forget it ever happened?
• Do you think that God was able to make any use of that experience in you?
  

• Christ within me
  
• There's this scene in The Shack where Mack (the protagonist) decides to walk on water back across the lake.  He & Jesus had just walked across the water to get to that side of the lake.  It was time to get back to the other side, so he figured he'd get started.  Only trouble was, he floated like a rock.
• How do you know when you are working with Jesus, rather than against Him?
• How do you make sure that you don't get caught in that awkward position of trying to do something on your own?
• Are you getting any better at that?
  

• Missing the point
  
• Poor Peter always seems to get the wrong message.  I remember an episode of The Chosen where Jesus gives Peter and his friends a miraculous catch of fish, and Peter immediately sees the vast potential in Jesus - to make them all rich with one huge catch of fish after another.  Reminds me of his response to seeing the glorified Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.
• How do you come to understand what God is trying to teach you in your life experiences?
• Do you ever get more than one life lesson from an experience, perhaps over some period of time?
• How do you come to those deeper insights into your life?
• Do you ever think that you've got it all figured out?
• Would you really want that if you could have it?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where might God be calling me to leave behind something that is not doing me any good?
• Do I trust God to bring joy from everything in my life?
  
• Who might I be missing the boat of God's call in my life?
  
• Where might God be calling me deepen my understanding of His work in my life?
  

  Finding Fulfillment

I like Peter.

He has the unabashed quality that I long for.
That capacity to say what's on his mind -
Without any editing, endless rewrites and revisions.
Just get it out there, totally unvarnished.

I suppose that his father was pretty proud of him.
Peter worked hard at his craft.
The villagers probably knew him well.
He doubtless fed many with the fish he caught.

If you had asked him, he would proudly tell you -
That he was closest to God out on the lake.
Suspended on the water from a thread of moonlight.
Sending ripples across the surface with his nets.

One with nature, one with his boat, his crew.
At peace, knowing that God was good,
The lake was full of fish,
And all was well with the world.

And suddenly, Jesus turns everything upside-down.
That last catch of fish changed everything.
Peter realized that those fish crowded his nets to bursting
At Jesus' command that day.

And he realized that all the earth, skies and seas
Served God's will and purpose.
Just as God was calling Peter.
And he must have looked mournfully at that lake one last time.

Knowing that he would never see it the old way again.
Knowing that all of his time out on that water
Had been preparing him for this moment, this place.
To leave everything, and take it all at the same time.

But transformed, transubstantiated
Into a new man.
A man intentionally seeking his destiny.
A man on a mission bigger than all creation.

A man on a mission that would redeem all creation.

Shalom!