18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time:

1. Ecclesiastes 1: 2; 2: 21-23
2. Psalms 90: 3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17
3. Colossians 3: 1-5, 9-11
4. Luke 12: 13-21

• Pep talk
• It's always a good exercise to occasionally compose your own eulogy.  It also helps to think about who you would want to be delivering that eulogy.
• Would you rather be remembered for what you were able to give others, or what you were able to acquire?
• When you think about taking on a new effort in your life, how do you decide whether or not to make that commitment?
• Do you sometimes wonder whether some significant part of your life's work has been in vain?
• What makes you feel that way?
• How do you feel God looks at the things that you have labored over? 

• Numbering my days
• My days on this planet are numbered.  I just don't know what that number is yet.  Maybe that's a good thing.
• When you were young(er) what did you dream of doing with your life?
• Have those dreams come true in any measure?
• Why?
• Do you think that God has dreams for your life?
• Do you know what those are?
• Should you ask? 

• Setting my mind on things above
• I'm beginning to think that Jesus never had to make a mortgage payment.  Life is full of things that must be attended to.  Watching the rising cost of homeowner's insurance, trying to find the best deals on groceries, and the fact that the new puppy has decided to chew on the area rugs for some reason, just to name a few.
• How do you make sure that the mundane things of this life are set in proper perspective?
• How can you tell when you've let that proper perspective slip?
• What is it like for you when the "things above" get their proper attention? 

• False security
• I remember a skit that Steve Martin did on Saturday Night Live advertising insurance insurance.  In the skit, you could pay for insurance that would cover the rising costs of insurance.  We all laughed back then...  "The Lord will provide" certainly rings true.  But how does that work out in practice?
• How has the Lord provided for you in the past?
• What have you learned from those episodes in your life?
• Do you think that you can predict what God will do in the future, based on what He has done in your life in the past?
• Does it reflect a lack of trust on your part to set aside money for retirement? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• What might God be calling me to give of myself today? 
• Will what I have planned for today bring me closer to God's dream for me? 
• Where do my priorities come from?
• How is God calling me to greater trust? 

Shalom!