Saturday, June 22, 2024
Sunday, June 16, 2024
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 92
Reading I
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I, too, will take from the crest of the cedar,
from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot,
and plant it on a high and lofty mountain;
on the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it.
It shall put forth branches and bear fruit,
and become a majestic cedar.
Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it,
every winged thing in the shade of its boughs.
And all the trees of the field shall know
that I, the LORD,
bring low the high tree,
lift high the lowly tree,
wither up the green tree,
and make the withered tree bloom.
As I, the LORD, have spoken, so will I do.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (cf. 2a) Lord, it is good to
give thanks to you.
It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
to sing praise to your name, Most High,
To proclaim your kindness at dawn
and your faithfulness throughout the night.
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
The just one shall flourish like the palm tree,
like a cedar of Lebanon shall he grow.
They that are planted in the house of the LORD
shall flourish in the courts of our God.
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
They shall bear fruit even in old age;
vigorous and sturdy shall they be,
Declaring how just is the LORD,
my rock, in whom there is no wrong.
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
Reading II
Brothers and sisters:
We are always courageous,
although we know that while we are at home in the body
we are away from the Lord,
for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Yet we are courageous,
and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord.
Therefore, we aspire to please him,
whether we are at home or away.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
so that each may receive recompense,
according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower.
All who come to him will live forever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to the crowds:
“This is how it is with the kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and through it all the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come.”
He said,
“To what shall we compare the kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
It is far easier to have faith and trust in God when times are good and there are no challenges that face us. It is when things are bad and there is a feeling of doom around every corner that our faith will be tested. A right relationship with God in good times and bad times is encouraged so that we may be ever thankful in prosperity and ever vigilant in our trials. Through God joy can be encountered in all situations and an understanding that we will be okay regardless if the seas are calm or if they are rough. The definition of faith is “a belief in the unknown,” yet God does not have to be unknown. He is constantly trying to reveal himself to us in all aspects of our lives. We can either acknowledge what He is trying to do or reject it. This takes some effort on our part and some work. When life is good it is very wise to prepare for the expected and unexpected hardships in the future. If we truly belief that a reliance on God is a good thing then strengthening our relationship with Him constantly is a guarantee that we can turn to Him all of the time. He is very much like a sea wall that is there for the specific purpose when storms roll in and the water rises to unprecedented heights. At the same time, the sea wall remains in peaceful times to be enjoyed with casual strolls and picnics while taking in the scenery of the mighty ocean.
God reveals through Ezekiel that Jesus will come in all of His glory and splendor by minimizing His presence; taking the form of a slave so as to free us from bondage of self. We tend to make things more complicated than they really are. God is recognized not through His greatness but His simplicity. Jesus is the defining factor of this. He entered into this world as one of us so that we could be lifted up from the fallen nature that we received through Adam and continue to wallow in. Through His insignificance we are raised to the highest of heights to experience what it is truly like to be Sons of God. That is how powerful God is. To minimize is actually an example of His endless power. To reduce is actually to increase. A “tender shoot” is the most insignificant part of the tree but it still represents rebirth, growth, and a new beginning. Jesus is this shoot and from it pours forth the rebirth of the world. We are part of this rebirth and can experience it to its fullest if we allow ourselves to do so. This shoot can be planted within us and can grow with the right amount of tender loving care. Imagine a life where we can grow every day and renew ourselves every day all the while getting stronger. It is through us that Jesus can be seen and realized. We are conduits designed to receive Him and spread His love throughout the world.
Jesus Christ invites us to care for Him. He will plant Himself within our hearts then offer us an opportunity to take care of Him; insuring His presence will remain. The description of Him as a “shoot” and our faith as a mustard seed should not be lost on us. His presence and our acknowledgement thereof are very important. It is a two-fold relationship of giving and receiving. We are asked to take care of that presence, to nurture it, to tend to it, and insure that it grows. We are invited to be dedicated to it and to witness its results. This is a responsibility that is being offered and part of the development of the relationship that is expected if the seed of Jesus Christ is to be strengthened within us. Even though the initial steps might appear to be inconsequential or insignificant, they are in actuality massive in their results. What appear to be small adjustments in the beginning will be revealed to be gargantuan in nature.
There will be good times and bad times in our lives. This should be expected. Nobody in God’s Creation is without crisis. As Christians to suffer is to be with Jesus Christ. For every moment of elation there will be dread. It is unavoidable. It is up to us to determine if our conduct is going to remain the same throughout these periods of opposites. Faith is not something that should be relied upon only in times of crisis but should be focused on all of the time. A good harvest and a bad harvest demand the same attention. If a bad harvest comes it must be received in much the same way a good harvest is: with pre-planning, nurturing, and an expectation of hard work. Those who prepare for the bad times will experience as much joy as in the good times. There will be no separation of the two but a new acceptance. It starts with small steps and leads to great strides with the focus constantly on faith and a trust in God.
Deacon Tom
Friday, June 14, 2024
Sunday, June 9, 2024
Tenth
Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 89
Reading 1 Gn 3:9-15
After the man, Adam, had
eaten of the tree,
the LORD God called to the man and asked him, "Where are you?"
He answered, "I heard you in the garden;
but I was afraid, because I was naked,
so I hid myself."
Then he asked, "Who told you that you were naked?
You have eaten, then,
from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!"
The man replied, "The woman whom you put here with me—
she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it."
The LORD God then asked the woman,
"Why did you do such a thing?"
The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it."
Then the LORD God said to the serpent:
"Because you have done this, you shall be banned
from all the animals
and from all the wild creatures;
on your belly shall you crawl,
and dirt shall you eat
all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will strike at your head,
while you strike at his heel."
Responsorial Psalm Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
R. (7bc) With the
Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
More than sentinels wait for the dawn,
let Israel wait for the LORD.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption
and he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
Reading 2 2 Cor 4:13—5:1
Brothers and sisters:
Since we have the same spirit of faith,
according to what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke,
we too believe and therefore we speak,
knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus
will raise us also with Jesus
and place us with you in his presence.
Everything indeed is for you,
so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people
may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.
Therefore, we are not discouraged;
rather, although our outer self is wasting away,
our inner self is being renewed day by day.
For this momentary light affliction
is producing for us an eternal weight of glory
beyond all comparison,
as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen;
for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.
For we know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent,
should be destroyed,
we have a building from God,
a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.
Alleluia Jn 12:31b-32
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Now the ruler of the world will be driven out, says the Lord;
and when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mk 3:20-35
Jesus came home with his
disciples.
Again the crowd gathered,
making it impossible for them even to eat.
When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him,
for they said, "He is out of his mind."
The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said,
"He is possessed by Beelzebul,"
and "By the prince of demons he drives out demons."
Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
"How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself,
that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself
and is divided, he cannot stand;
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder the house.
Amen, I say to you,
all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be
forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin."
For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."
His mother and his brothers arrived.
Standing outside they sent word to him and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
"Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you."
But he said to them in reply,
"Who are my mother and my brothers?"
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
"Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother."
My Brothers and Sisters,
We as Christians are all united under Our Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus came to this earth in the flesh, He established His Universal Church where it was through baptism that we became members and claimed our birthright as Children of God. The divisions within the Church are caused by us and not by Jesus. We were given something perfect, and, in our brokenness, we caused it to be broken. This was not by Jesus’ design but by our own selfishness. Each separation can be traced back to an event which was perpetuated by human interests, and nothing divinely inspired. This goes back to the first breaking off and continues to the modern day. Jesus says in the Gospel Reading today that a house divided cannot stand. He continues by saying that those who are His mothers and brothers are the ones that follow Him. If this is the case, then divisions within that spiritual unity can only be observed as unnatural. We are a family with God as our Father. We are supposed to be focused on our relationship with Jesus Christ and how it can affect our lives daily and bring us closer to Him. Unfortunately, in our humanness, our own selfish desires tend to get in the way of this relationship as it does in many others.
The First Reading today reminds us how, even when we are given everything, we will still be in danger of wanting and taking more. We were in a perfect relationship with God. That is how He created us. We wanted for nothing and enjoyed everything. Yet, in our selfishness and pride, we craved more. We took more and pursued our own interests thinking that we knew better than God regarding what would make us happy. That was our condition then and this is our condition today. God is constantly pleading with us to surrender our will to Him to experience a better way and a better life. Even though we all know what a life without Him brings, we still struggle daily with handing it over to Him. This brings about yet another unnatural division in our relationship and within our community.
The Good News is that a realization of this condition can bring about healing. A willingness to change and to live the Christ Experience gives us the capability to overcome these obstacles that we created for ourselves. With God there is indeed chastisement but there is also consolation and mercy. What we may perceive as punishment is wisdom, instruction, and love. Through our benefit of experience, God is leading us to something better if we only listen to Him and acknowledge His presence. There is no need to hide from Him and dismissing Him only brings us misery. We already know this so the logical thing to do is to stop doing what is destroying us in the first place. What He wants is for us to embrace Him and live our lives with Him.
Jesus makes us an unbelievable promise in the Gospel Reading today:
“all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will
be
forgiven them.”
We come to Him broken and sinful. Nobody is exempt from this condition. Yet, just like these divisions that we have and continue to create, it is unnatural and Jesus explains that He wants to make our condition natural again. He wants us to be like we were previously: childlike, innocent, and joyful. This is the key to a fulfilling and beautiful life. We cannot be afraid to break down what we already built and start over again. We should be invigorated and excited about discovering a new way of looking at and doing things. As Paul mentioned in his letter today:
“our inner self is being renewed day by day.”
He tells us that whatever we face today is nothing in comparison to what Jesus Christ has in store for us. There is so much faith and hope in that promise. What is even better is the fact that we as Christians already know that it is true. The only reason why we are fearful to embrace that truth is that we all have this struggle with accepting that someone else has influence over our lives other than ourselves. Truly we must take a step back, let go, and let God do the work within us that He wants to do. The results will speak for themselves.
Deacon Tom