13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. 2 Kings 4: 8-11, 14-16a
2. Psalms 89: 2-3, 16-17, 18-19
3. Romans 6: 3-4, 8-11
4. Matthew 10: 37-42

• Can something be done for her?
• Opening ourselves up to another person's needs is a risky proposition.  We worry that their deepest need may be more than we're ready, or even able to deliver.  Harder yet, their deepest needs may be unknown even to them.
• Who are some folks in need that you reached out to?
• How did you come to know of their need?
• What did you do to help them?
• How did you know that you could afford to extend that help?
• Did your help turn out to be effective?
• How do you know? 

•  Standing on the promises
• A slogan that I remember from my youth was "are you standing on the promises or just sitting in the premises?" calling the faithful to actively embracing God's promises and walking in His will rather than merely being "in the company" of  the faithful.
• What are some promises of God that you have found to be true for you through the years?
• How have those promises changed your life?
• Are there any promises that you wished God had given you?  Maybe for a long life, prosperity, good health, honor, ...? 

• Dead to sin
• Would that we were all dead to sin, no longer held in its shackles.  Or maybe we already are in that state and just don't know it yet.
• Are there sins in your life that you just cannot seem to shake?
• Maybe behavior patterns that you execute over and over again whenever you get triggered?
• How do you explain such things?
• Do you find that you resist those well-worn sins differently today than you used to?
• Are you making any progress? 

• Receiving a prophet
• Prophets are not confined to the Old Testament.  God calls them, us, to proclaim the truth into a world that often seems more comfortable with lies and deceptions.  True prophets often make others uncomfortable.  God often calls upon His faithful to support His prophets.
• Who are some prophets that have crossed your path?
• Were you able to support them in any way?
• How did that support bless you along the way?
• Was that blessing anything that you might have anticipated?
• Were you able to make a difference?
• Were you able to bring anyone else along with you on that journey? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• How is God calling me in the voices of the needy in my life?
• What difference are God's promises making in my life today?
• What am I doing about my familiar sins today?
• Am I willing to receive a prophet when God sends one into my life? 

 Shedding my Comfort Zone

 

The familiar, the secure, the comfortable have served me well all these years.

Serving as protection from the unknown, the unsure, the unsafe.

 

Maybe I knew all along that I would have to step free of them eventually.

Maybe I've been holding back for fear that once I started down that road,

Leaving behind the familiar, that I'd never be able to find my way back.

Maybe, maybe not even wanting to find my way back.

 

I look around at my surroundings and smile as they recall fond memories.

Now, even now, I see them with new eyes as I start to scan new horizons.

 

And I wonder if I've already missed opportunities out of fear.

Missed chances to make a difference because Jesus called toward the unfamiliar.

And I realize that now, now is the only moment that I have.

And moment by moment, each decision is my chance to follow more closely.

 

Jesus, thank you for the prophets that you have brought into my life.

Thank you for their bravery, faithfulness, courage in the face of opposition and even indifference.

 

Help me to find my own way to support those living saints that you send me.

Help me to find the courage to join in their work in my own way.

Help me to find Your prophetic voice within my heart.

That I too might be your voice to those who would never hear you otherwise. 

Shalom!