June 26, 2016

From Deacon Denny
From Deacon Kevin
 

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13^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

Wake Up Call

Deacon Dennis Slavin

There is a wake-up call in our scriptures today.  God is calling us out on our complacency. He is offering new definitions, new ways of thinking, and a new urgency.
 
In our Old Testament reading, God yanked the prophet Elijah out of hiding to reestablish God’s covenant with Israel. We meet Elijah today as he appoints his successor, whom, no doubt, God will push to his limits, too!
 
Urgency!
 
In our Gospel reading, Jesus is on the march to Jerusalem to establish a new covenant with His Father. He will not be turned back or tolerate any delay. He values His relationship with His Father more than safe sleep, family funerals, even more than courtesy to relatives and friends.
 
Urgency!
 
And He expects the same of us. From some, Jesus expects martyrdom; from the rest of us, he has less drastic expectations – but no less urgent.
 
Now, let’s not take things too literally. Rather than actually leave our homes to follow Him, we need to be willing to leave the “home” of our comfort zone.  The comfort zone is the cocoon around us that consciously or unconsciously moves us to action:
 

• Like the social-political environment, that can corrupt our genuine love of country and lead to disdain for others;
• Like the avalanche of advertising that perpetuates avaricious consumerism and self-indulgence, and eats up our financial resources;
• Like technology, that can drag us out of our face-to-face relationships, and eat up our time.

If we can break out of the cocoon, we can then better exercise the new definition of freedom Saint Paul gives us.

In our New Testament reading, Saint Paul tells us “…you were called for freedom, to serve one another through love...”  Our cocoon defines freedom as a state of being loose and unattached, giving in to any immediate desire and impulse. Saint Paul would have us think of freedom, not as an activity, but as a liberating power -  a power that enables us to live in love. Saint Paul’s Freedom takes away the shackles of the cocoon “laws” that breed selfishness, xenophobia, and isolation.  And Saint Paul’s Freedom moves us beyond just “the letter of the law”.

“…if you are guided by the Spirit,” Saint Paul tells us, “you are not under the law…” for “…the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
 
Saint Paul’s Freedom is only realized when we give ourselves away in love.  It is realized:

when we do more than “assist at Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation”;
when we “stop biting and devouring one another…”;
when we make peace in our families, at our workplaces, in our country and in our world;
when we are “…guided by the Spirit…”.

Elijah and the individuals in today’s Gospel were directed to put discipleship above even the most cherished values of their cultures. We’re getting the same message.

These readings challenge us to follow Jesus up to Jerusalem, to turn our backs on our own sins, to live a life of love and holiness. Answering that challenge can’t wait for later, after whatever else we think has to happen first. The Lord’s call has to be answered now.
 

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13^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Deacon Kevin O'Boyle

We all have projects, work, assignments – things that we know should or must be done but we just don’t want to do them – or can never seem to find the time to begin. The hardest step in any journey is sometimes the first one. Some of us like to procrastinate? I know I do on things I really don’t feel like doing. Do you ever feel like its best to put off till tomorrow what you can begin today.  In a world of deadlines, commitments, and overstuffed calendars, it often seems easier to put off a decision, rather than make it – to delay beginning, rather than start – to find excuses, rather than dig in. And sometimes this is OK. We do live hectic lives. We can’t always do everything. But there is one time when it is not so OK.
 
As Christians, we are called to live our lives for Christ. Each of us has a mission to do – some more challenging than the next, but each designed for the particular set of talents God knows we have. And no one else can do that thing exactly the same way as we can. God calls us to reach out of ourselves, and do the thing he has called us to.
 
Our readings today talk a lot about this.
 
Our first reading from Kings is the story of Elijah and Elisha. Now what has happened here is that Elijah had been in hiding – he had just killed all the prophets of the false god Baal, and Jezebel had set out to kill Elijah for this act. But God sought Elijah out as a light silent sound, and sent him on a mission to anoint a successor – Elisha. He set out, found Elisha, who immediately put him off – saying he wanted to go kiss his parents goodbye. But Elisha reconsidered, made an offering to God and returned to Elijah, who would anoint him.
 
In this story, we had multiple cases of God’s chosen messengers retreating a bit, but then, realizing the call they were given, they went forward to serve God.
 
In the second reading, Paul warns the Galatians that they should live by the Spirit. They were given freedom by Christ – and they should not squander it in ways of the flesh. They were given a great gift – and it was to be used to serve one another.
 
Finally, in the Gospel, we hear the words of the Master. He warns his followers that their path will not be easy, but that once they begin, they cannot look back. Follow me, he said. And we know the path Jesus was called to. Our Lord, I think, used a bit of hyperbole here. I don’t think he wanted to deny his followers the chance to say good-bye to their families. But he did want to warn them against pulling back – against stopping and starting. If they were to follow Him, the journey would be difficult, but he called them to follow it. He warned them, that He had nowhere to rest. And so it would be for them.
 
So what does this mean to us today? I think, just like 2000 years ago, Jesus constantly calls us to follow Him. We live in a complex world, where evil is made to appear good. Where the secular religion would call to question some of our most central tenants. Where our very freedom of religion is threatened. We are called NOT simply to a watered down freedom of worship that begins and ends at the doors of the Church, but a free exercise of religion that brings our faith, our values, our morals front and center to the public square.
 
It is an uneasy time for us. It is far easier to simply “live and let live”. To ignore the evil that is encompassing our marriages, the schools our children go to, and many different facets of our lives. It seems almost organized – because it is – by the evil one that is the source of all lies. If you still do not believe this, witness the great “bathroom debates” flourishing today around our schools – a concept that would have been laughed at years ago. Each of us is called to be vigilant. Once committed we cannot turn our backs. For the battle we are facing is for our very souls – and those of our loved ones. We don’t talk a lot about that today – the concept of souls. But our souls – that home of God’s love and spirit that dwells within each of us is real – and is in danger today. Christ is calling us to battle. This week, we should think about our response. God Bless.