4th Sunday of Lent

Our readings for the 4th Sunday in Lent:

1. 1 Samuel 16: 1b, 6-7, 10-13a
2. Psalms 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
3. Ephesians 5: 8-14
4. John 9: 1-41

• God's chosen
•  Usually, we're so grateful for volunteers, that we don't really ask whether the person applying for a particular ministry is God's choice.  We're afraid that if we set standards, we won't have any takers.
• Do you believe that the only reason that someone wants to be in a ministry, be it choir member, priest, catechist, food drive worker ... is that they feel called to that ministry?
• If they feel called, are they called?
• What responsibility do we have to select new members?
• What responsibility do we have to search out new members? 

• What is it that you want?
• If we are following God as best as we can, it's a safe bet that our deepest desires come from Him.  The hard part is finding what those desires are.
• What is your deepest desire?
• Would you ever think to pray for that?
• What else are you doing to make that desire happen? 

• Good fruit
• Fruit on trees is easy to identify.  Sometimes, the fruits of our labors are harder to pin down.  Sometimes, the best thing that can be said of something that we worked on involved fruits that we never thought would come of that work.
• If you were to die tomorrow, what would be some of the fruits of your life, from your vantage point?
• Do you ever think to ask Jesus what He thinks your fruits are?
• What can you do to make your life more fruitful?
• Do you always need to know what fruits have come from your work? 

• Unwelcome apostle
• The thing that I love about these Gospel readings for the scrutinies is the recurring themes that we see in them.  One of them is apostleship - spreading the Good News of who Jesus is.
• Talking about your faith with another believer is one thing, talking about your faith to someone who is not a believer is another.  Why has that been in your life?
• One reason to be reluctant to bring up matters of faith is that we figure that the other person will never change, that they have closed their minds, that they are blinded.  Would Jesus ever want the Gospel to be shared with such a person anyway?
• Just because words are true does not necessarily mean that they are shared in love.  How can we be sure to share the Good News in love, and not judgement, with patience and not bitterness?
• Who are some "blind" people in your life that you would love to share your faith with? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• How can I discern God's calling in others?
• What does God desire for me?
• What can I do to be more fruitful?
• Who might I be an apostle to?

Open My Eyes

The Master miraculously opened my eyes.

I could no longer beg for my bread.

I had to learn a trade and earn it for the first time.

 

I went to the village weaver and asked to be taught.

It was hard at first, learning to trust my eyes -

To guide these hands that have been on their own.

 

Eventually, I learned to delight in colors coming together -

Threads interwoven, crossing one another.

Hardly a design visible when first starting.

 

But the true weaver knows where they are going.

They know what the finished product will be.

Even though no one else can tell ahead of time.

 

And I know that my tapestry is still a weaving.

Threads from my deep past, 

Tastes, sights, sounds from today.

 

The touch of a friend, the lift of a verdant smile 

The sound of a beloved footstep on the hard earth

The smell of the first minutes of a gentle spring rain.

 

Even the disappointments and sorrows have their place.

To try to unravel them from my life is foolish.

For they have a sacred place to fulfill as well. 

 

Every one of them a gift, every one of them a grace.

All to be savored, celebrated, and shared.

Until all of us become one tapestry in Jesus. 

 

Shalom!