Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 97

Reading 1 2 Kgs 4:8-11, 14-16a

One day Elisha came to Shunem,
where there was a woman of influence, who urged him to dine with her.
Afterward, whenever he passed by, he used to stop there to dine.
So she said to her husband, “I know that Elisha is a holy man of God.
Since he visits us often, let us arrange a little room on the roof
and furnish it for him with a bed, table, chair, and lamp,
so that when he comes to us he can stay there.”
Sometime later Elisha arrived and stayed in the room overnight.
Later Elisha asked, “Can something be done for her?”
His servant Gehazi answered, “Yes!
She has no son, and her husband is getting on in years.”
Elisha said, “Call her.”
When the woman had been called and stood at the door,
Elisha promised, “This time next year
you will be fondling a baby son.”

Responsorial Psalm Ps 89:2-3, 16-17, 18-19

R. (2a) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
The promises of the LORD I will sing forever,
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, “My kindness is established forever;”
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
Blessed the people who know the joyful shout;
in the light of your countenance, O LORD, they walk.
At your name they rejoice all the day,
and through your justice they are exalted.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
You are the splendor of their strength,
and by your favor our horn is exalted.
For to the LORD belongs our shield,
and the Holy One of Israel, our king.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

Reading 2 Rom 6:3-4, 8-11

Brothers and sisters:
Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?
We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
we too might live in newness of life.
If, then, we have died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him.
We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more;
death no longer has power over him.
As to his death, he died to sin once and for all;
as to his life, he lives for God.
Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as dead to sin
and living for God in Christ Jesus.

Alleluia 1 Pt 2:9

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation;
announce the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

 

 

Gospel Mt 10:37-42

Jesus said to his apostles:
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
"Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet
will receive a prophet’s reward,
and whoever receives a righteous man
because he is a righteous man
will receive a righteous man’s reward.
And whoever gives only a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones to drink
because the little one is a disciple—
amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

Proper conduct does have its rewards. This is one of the benefits of living with Jesus Christ and making Him central in our lives. When we do good things then, as a direct result, good things will happen to us spiritually, mentally, and physically. Our spirituality and relationship with Jesus Christ will be enriched. Our wisdom will be increased. Our body will be treated like the temple that it should be. These statements are not being made as an incentive but more as a fact that displays the virtues of the Christian Life and what happens when these things are instituted. There is a transformative experience that happen which changes one’s perspective of everything. This experience has the potential to be so powerful that even obstacles and challenges in our lives can be changed into a positive experience.

 

Even though these things are mentioned as a direct result as our proper conduct the reason for doing them cannot be because of the expectation of being rewarded with this good things. We should not conduct ourselves for the reason of reward but because there is an understanding that it is the right thing to do. If we truly believe that Sacred Scripture is the Word of God and that Jesus Christ is the Son of God then what is said should be listened to attentively and an attempt of adherence should be made out of love and reverence. Those believing this also should be ecstatic with the opportunity to develop a relationship with the one who created them. Whatever stems from this conduct becomes a state of being that is strived for with the hope of achieving it because, as our God has pointed out, it is good to do this and whatever is good produces more good which makes us experience good. The word reward then takes on a different meaning than what society has defined it as previously.

 

The interaction between the Prophet Elisha and a woman of influence in Shunem demonstrates this proper conduct. She welcomed Elisha into her home and actually prepared a permanent room for him whenever he came through the area. She and her husband became benefactors for Elisha and assisted him so that he could concentrate on his prophetic office. There was no expectation of reward. There was no expectation of receiving something in return. It was something that they wanted to do out of proper conduct and what they had learned through the practice of their faith and their relationship with God. It was Elisha who wanted to do something for the woman and her husband in return for their kindness. If he had done nothing there would have been no disappointment because their intentions were pure and they were no seeking anything in return. Elisha, acting in much the same way, sought to give them something out of love and not out of reward, It was a mutual exchange of kindness grounded in a beautiful relationship with God. The words of Jesus Christ are emphasized through these actions:

 

“Love your neighbor as yourself.”

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Putting the words of Sacred Scripture and the Words of God into action causes the relationship between God and us to be expanded outward to other people where it becomes a shared experience. There is a wonderful feeling that becomes present within us when we do these things. That is the presence of the Holy Spirit unrestricted by our own selfish thoughts or motives. That is why doing good and doing the right thing feels so good: it is the presence of God’s Love. We don’t have to want that feeling or seek to have it. It just comes when we are on the right track and are doing the right thing. Doing the right thing allows us to clear away the clutter between us and God that has forced a great divide. God didn’t want it that way. It was us who did it. When we focus on the words of God these things are then removed and it is only us and God. That is our reward but a reward that shouldn’t be expected in return for our actions.
The Apostle Paul speaks of looking at ourselves being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus. Living for God means listening to God. It also means basing the way we live our lives and our decision-making process on what  God wants us to do and putting it ahead of what we want.. Helping us on the way is Jesus Christ. Living in Christ Jesus means He is in us and we are in Him. As Jesus reminds us,

“Remain in me and I will in you.”

This is outlining a process and serves also as counsel. Staying with Jesus by listening to what He says about relationship as well as our conduct will produce a particular result. We will be with Him and He will be with us. What a beautiful guarantee we receive from Jesus Christ. When we concentrate on our own self-improvement and our own conduct based on what Jesus wants, because He is our God, good things will abound. These good things are just a product of us doing good. In the end, as Christians, do we want to do good and be good?  The obvious answer to that question would be yes. Jesus Christ wants us to do good and be good for our own benefit and for our own salvation. He tells us how to be good and how to be achieve our maximum potential. We have a blueprint ready-made to bring us to our highest potential in our lives. Coming from our God is reason enough to want to follow it.

Deacon Tom Anthony

 

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 91

Reading 1

Exodus 19:2-6a

In those days, the Israelites came to the desert of Sinai and pitched camp.
While Israel was encamped here in front of the mountain,
Moses went up the mountain to God.
Then the LORD called to him and said,
“Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob;
tell the Israelites:
You have seen for yourselves how I treated the Egyptians
and how I bore you up on eagle wings
and brought you here to myself. 
Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant,
you shall be my special possession,
dearer to me than all other people,
though all the earth is mine.
You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.”

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 100:1-2, 3, 5

R. (3c) We are his people: the sheep of his flock.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
    serve the LORD with gladness;
    come before him with joyful song.
R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock.
Know that the LORD is God;
    he made us, his we are;
    his people, the flock he tends.
R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock.
The LORD is good:
    his kindness endures forever,
    and his faithfulness to all generations.
R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock.

Reading 2

Romans 5:6-11

Brothers and sisters:
Christ, while we were still helpless, 
yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly.
Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person,
though perhaps for a good person
one might even find courage to die.
But God proves his love for us
in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood,
will we be saved through him from the wrath.
Indeed, if, while we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son,
how much more, once reconciled,
will we be saved by his life.
Not only that,
but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Alleluia

Mark 1:15

R.    Alleluia, alleluia.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent and believe in the Gospel. 
R.   Alleluia, alleluia.
 

Gospel

Matthew 9:36—10:8

At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them 
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.”

Then he summoned his twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits
to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.
The names of the twelve apostles are these:
first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew;
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;
James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;
Simon from Cana, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.

Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus,
“Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”

 

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 

“THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND!”

 

Jesus lamented that the harvest was abundant, but the laborers were few. What was true then, can be seen today. There are so many demands on our time and things in society have a propensity to distract us from what is truly important in life, that it becomes easy to ignore our relationship with Jesus Christ; earthly priorities taking precedent over the spiritual. It is very surprising how this can happen, even when we have the best intentions at heart. We are constantly bombarded with different messages and all sorts of information with the intent to do exactly that. There are forces aligned against us and our faith can be tested daily. Our reaction to these tests can either strengthen us or make us weaker, depending on If part of that answer is Jesus Christ or not.

 

 

There is a longing for God in all of us, a seed planted that has its routes back to the beginning of creation. Created in the image of God, means that there is a “spark of divinity” in all of us. Created out of love, to be loved, and to love means that love is a part of us. The source of love is God, so our heart naturally longs for Him. Just as it is written in Psalm 63:

 

“ O God, you are my God, for you I long;
for you my soul is thirsting.
My body pines for you
like a dry, weary land without water.”

 

This can happen when we are open to feeling God’s presence in our lives. When we are touched by Him, and then react to His presence. We can also react to His lack of presence, when we find out we are alone, our self-will having pulled ourselves away from Him. In a moment of clarity, we come to the realization that we are lost and need Him. Here we finally cry out to Him for help: we are truly one of the lost sheep. As Jesus has said, He is the true shepherd, and He will respond to our call.

 

But how do we respond to His call? He has never stopped calling us to love Him. We were the ones that stopped listening. That is why, when in a moment of clarity, we call to Him and His response then comes. We can also be reminded that He has always been with us, it is just that we forgot; placing more importance on ourselves then on a relationship with Him. The disciples announced that the Kingdom of God was at hand.  

 

Jesus told His disciples,

 

“Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons.

Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”

 

They became the workers in the field and they started to prepare the way for Jesus Christ. Jesus became the disciples’ shepherd  and then the disciples became the shepherds for all of the towns they visited and crowds they met. This is how Christian Living works: God loves us, God calls to us, we respond, and we let God in. Our lives will then transform into something much better, His guiding hand a presence that we can welcome. We then go out and spread the Good News through evangelization and by just being present with Jesus for everyone to see.

 

Consider the way God spoke to the Israelites and how He said,

 

“I bore you up on eagle wings.”

 

All the effort was on God’s part, not the Israelites. The only thing that we need to do is react to God’s presence and let Him do the work. The changes that we experience will come naturally when we stop fighting. Surrendering ourselves to God puts us in a position to listen. We can put the gift of wisdom to good use.

 

The next verse of Psalm 63 demonstrates what this surrendering looks like and the spiritual implications it can have for us:

 

 

“So I gaze on you in the sanctuary

to see your strength and your glory.

 

For your love is better than life,

my lips will speak your praise.

So I will bless you all my life,

in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul shall be filled as with a banquet,

my mouth shall praise you with joy.”

 

 

Through meditative prayer or regular prayer, there is a reaction that occurs, which brings the writer closer to God; entering into relationship with Him. As long as we want it, we will get it! We bless God and follow Him, then only blessings will come forth.

 

An abundant harvest is always a good thing. To achieve success and not have a grain of wheat is wasted, is the will of Jesus Christ. He died for us so that we may live the Christ Experience and increase our experiences in this world into something greater that we cannot even imagine.

 

In the meantime, remember that His kingdom is at hand and we all have work to do.

Deacon Tom