14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our readings for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time are:

1. Zechariah 9: 9-10
2. Psalms 145: 1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14
3. Romans 8: 9, 11-13
4. Matthew 11: 25-30

• Let's hear it for humility!
• In Jesus' day, horses were rather rare.  Common folk would rarely see them.  The only ones who owned a horse was  a ranking nobleman or solder.  So they became a symbol of power, wealth, even glory.  By contrast, the humble donkey was much more common, and they provided much more humble services.  Jesus riding in on a donkey was almost a parody of the triumphal entry of a Roman general.
• In some utopian future every ruler will be humble, looking for how to serve their people in peace.  How do we get there?
• Who is it that starts such a process?
• Isn't such a disarmament dangerous, even irresponsible?
• What can we do to bring this kingdom of peace to earth? 

•  Discoursing of God's glory
• Being an introvert as I am, the leading of the Spirit is quite a process.  Spontaneity is not something that I'm especially good at.  But I'm gradually learning that God is present in the moment, and He's the author of the sensitivity that allows us to follow Him in the moment, bringing all that I am to each conversation, no matter where it happens or with whom.
• Can you think of a conversation with someone else that changed your life?  Maybe it was affirmation of something that had been nagging at your subconscious for quite some time, or maybe it was something that you knew, but you just didn't know that you knew.
• How did that revelation "get through" to you?
• How did that word in season change you, and your outlook?
• Have you ever been that word for someone else? 

• Obligation to living in the Spirit
• Each of us has an angry, fearful, furtive creature that wants to play it safe, fortify us off from anything else that might challenge our preconceived notions, disrupt our outlook in life, call into question the narrative that we have woven in our life.  I choose to call that poor creature "the flesh", and I try to learn to coax him out into the light where he can find healing.
• Have you ever been caught by surprise by something that you've done or said that you would have never though possible until it happened?
• How did you find the courage?
• How did that act of bravery work out?
• Does such courage ever get easier? 

• The burden of discipleship
• When Jesus tells us "follow me", it's easy to be of two minds about that.  We want to know where this journey is taking us.  We want to know whether we have what it takes to finish.  As I get older, I'm beginning to ask different questions.  Lately, my questions are "do I trust God to lead me into true joy" and "am I sensitive enough to hear His true voice"?
• What is joy?
• What does joy depend on, what does it take for joy to come into a person's life? 
• What brings you joy in your life?
• Do you think that God put that joy there?
• Do you think that God might call you to something that does not bring you joy?
• Do you think that it's OK for us to seek more of that joy in our lives? 

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• How can I bring more humility into the world around me?
• How is God revealing God's self to me today?
• Where might God be teaching me courage?
• Where might God be calling me to greater joy? 

 Chasing Joy

 

Glum Christians are a liability, and should be "coached".

When others see them, it makes them wonder:

"Does he look so beaten and fatigued because he's a disciple?

If that's the case, please spare me discipleship.  I'll find my own way."

 

I'm willing to bet that many of your morose disciples -

Are not really disciples at all.

Rather, they stumbled into some ministry for bad reasons -

Or they stayed in some ministry for fear of the unknown.

 

Either way, they are fish out of water.

Gasping for the air of God's joy in their gifts.

Because they were too stubborn to realize -

Realize that they were in the wrong place.

 

God's true calling gives you wings.

The work transforms you day by day.

Drawing you closer to Him and His children.

Making you a better and better reflection of His joy.

 

Take the time to celebrate what delights and amazes.

Pause to breath a breathless thank you for what transforms you.

Savor the richness of the moments on wings.

Find what excites your dreams and let God use them to guide you.

 

Greatness is nestled in delight and wonder.

Happiness alights in our hearts on the wings of holiness.

Glory whispers in the gentle breeze of what draws our hearts.

Trust in God who planted His desires and dreams for you in your heart.

 

Shalom!