Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - Who's Numbero Uno_092224

Image from – lailas blog.com 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Who’s Numero Uno”

Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B

One of telltale signs that we struggle to embrace Jesus’ message “to become the least is the fact that we do all that we can to be the first… to be the best… the greatest, the center of attention. We want to be in the limelight; we want the bigger piece of the pie. Yet, today, Jesus’ instructions are clear:  the only way we get to the head of the line is by waiting on those in line! “If anyone wishes to be first”, he says, “he shall be the last of all and the servant of all”. That’s how things operate in the Kingdom of God. It was the behavior of His closest disciples that prompted Jesus to pass this teaching on to us. In today’s gospel we hear that an argument broke out among his disciples as to who was “Numero Uno”. This happened right after Jesus revealed what’s going to happen to Him when they get to Jerusalem. “He will be handed over to men and they will kill him…but in three days he will rise”

 

How callous of His followers to be so dismissive of Jesus’ horrific prophesy! Imagine how anguished we would be if, while we were bearing our souls to a close friend, they were disengaged and self-absorbed. There is just no imaginable way to describe how hurt and distraught we would feel‼!

 

Jesus made many references to the fact that the Kingdom He was announcing was ordered a bit differently than our experience here in this temporal realm. In God’s kingdom …. the first shall be last, the hungry will be satisfied, the broken, crushed, dispossessed and sorrowing will be comforted. And forever, the peacemakers will be held in high esteem….!

 

Those are some powerful promises, and yet, given the state of the world, some of our inner-city neighborhoods, and even our family, one can’t help wonder if we are doing all that we can to ease the plight of the poor, the neglected, those who are suffering through this life? Why aren’t we looking to “store up treasures in heaven” (Mt 6:20) by helping the worst of the worst? Are we confused about the significance of Jesus’ teachings? Matthew, Chapter 25 makes it pretty clear… “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to me?” …Or, are we, like the disciples in today’s gospel more distracted with our own concerns and interests than the suffering and hopelessness of many of those around us?

 

It is very difficult to die to self, to take up the crosses of our lives and unite them with that of Christ. That is why we need to learn from the Master, to follow in his footsteps, and practice every day to love and serve each other, as Christ has loved us, even unto death. That is one way to show others who is really “Numero Uno” in our lives.

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacons engage in a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

 

OTHER RESOURCE

 

Recommended Reading: A Vacation with the Lord by Fr. Thomas H. Green S.J. A personal directed retreat based upon the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. What a good way to prepare for the transition from Ordinary Time to the speedily approaching Season of Advent.

Recommended YouTube Video:  The Heart of Centering Prayer: Part 3 of 4 by Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault who brings insightful teaching on being silent in the presence of the Divine. 

 

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, B - Better Choices - Better Results_091524

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Better Choices - Better Results” 

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

 

Last Wednesday marks the twentieth-third anniversary of the World Trade Center tragedy. We have all heard stories of the pain and suffering that continues to live in the hearts of the family and friends of those who perished in that tragedy. There is no shortage of tragic stories. We witness so much pain and suffering in our world. Much of it is the consequence of our own poor decisions. There’s nothing new here; “nothing new under the sun”. Tragedy, experiencing a loss of a loved one, a job, a marriage can often give us a chance to stop and reflect upon our lives. It may be time to pause for a moment to look at our own decision-making process and how that has contributed to such anguish, anxiety and negativity in our families, in our local and global communities, in our churches, and, as we see constantly today, in our politics and ecclesiastical institutions.

 

There is a saying that goes like this, “If you always do what you always have done, you will always get what you’ve already got”. So, if we keep eating the cheesecake, we are going to keep adding on the pounds! Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? So, when it comes to understanding and solving the problems in our families, in our communities and in our world, we need a different mindset than fighting fire with fire, or punching back harder when someone strikes us. We need a higher level of thinking to find real solutions. To paraphrase Einstein, genius that he was, he said it this way, “Problems cannot be solved with the same mind set that created them”. Many of the problems of our world, our communities and in our families are of our own making. We have no one to blame but ourselves for the bitter results of our poor choices. Real solutions to any problem that ails us demand that we pursue alternate and elevated way of thinking than the thinking that got us into that bad situation as Einstein so eloquently noted.

 

For us whose faith is centered upon Christ, today’s gospel gives us insight into finding solutions to any problem we face, large or small. Jesus tells Peter, “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do”. The invitation here is clear:  elevate your thinking! This may be an oversimplification, true. But, at the same time, it is good advice. For left to our old patterns of thinking, one could reasonably expect more of the same... more war, more violence, more suffering and pain, more erosion of the moral and spiritual fabric of society in a continuing state of decline.

 

The antidote to this dismal future lies in the essence of Jesus’ teaching that is founded upon the dynamic principle of Love. Love of God and love of neighbor. Simple, yet this is the challenge of a lifetime. Love as Jesus loved: selflessly, unconditionally, without ulterior motive or even a desire to be loved in return. Love that forgives all injuries, infidelities, idolatries. It is called agape, where Jesus empties himself because of his complete and total love of God and dependence upon God for all things and for all outcomes. This is the way God, Abba, thinks, acts, and IS. And God invites us to do the same!

 

Change the way we think, act and how we approach our problems from our way to God’s ways and while that might not produce immediate results on a global scale, more than likely we will be much more successful solving problems in our homes and in our communities. A good enough start wouldn’t you agree?

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacons engage in a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

 

OTHER RESOURCE

 

Recommended Reading: Discipleship For the Future - Spirituality of the Kingdom by Fr. Frank DeSiano , C.S.P. guides the reader through meditations on the power and importance of the kingdom of God and our role as we are drawn to it as disciples in hope of the future, made possible by the coming of Christ and the gift of the Spirit"

Recommended YouTube Video:  The Heart of Centering Prayer: Part 2 of 4 by Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault who brings insightful teaching on being silent in the presence of the Divine. 

 

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - The Secret to Success_090824

Image credit: dave-burke.squarespace.com/storage/ephphatha.jpg

Deacon Tom Writes

“The Secret to Success”

 

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Jesus has a remarkable encounter with a deaf man as he traveled the countryside of the Decapolis. Petitioned by the man’s friends, Jesus cures him. “Be Opened!” Jesus says two simple words to the deaf man and he is able to hear. His life changed in an instant. There is newness to the world in which he has been living but not fully participating in. In an instant he is complete, made whole, reunited to his community from which he was isolate and ready, perhaps, to begin life anew.

There are many events recorded in Sacred Scripture that demonstrate Jesus had power over the natural world. He changed water into wine, walked on water, calmed the sea. But Jesus’ greatest power lies in his power to heal as we read in today’s gospel. He uses that power to set this man free from the loneliness and isolation imposed upon him by his physical impairment.

The words we hear in the gospel today are powerful, “Be opened”. They challenge us to look into our lives and find those attitudes and behaviors that stand in contrast to the openness to which God calls us. Are we “Open” to forgive someone who has hurt us? Are we “Open” to letting go of resentments? Are we willing to change our behavior and stop believing or thinking that we or our beliefs are better than others?

Be Opened! Not just our ears, but our minds and attitudes also. We are living in a fast-paced, media fueled, 280-character twitter tweets, relationship challenged world and we can’t help but wonder if, when we speak, there’s anybody listening?” Is anyone open to what we are saying when we speak about God’s love for each person; that we are made in God’s image and likeness; that we are infused with great dignity, and our destiny is to share forever in the divine presence?

When we are “Opened” to the Word of God, our lives change, just as the man in the gospel’s life was changed. We don’t know the details on what changed. We only know that everyone was told to keep silent about what happened. Yet, because of their astonishment, they just couldn’t keep this amazing occurrence to themselves. They had to spread the word. And those words did not fall upon deaf ears! Praise God!

God never disappoints. There is nothing in our lives that God can’t use to bring about the good if we turn to Him and trust in Him. That’s the deeper meaning of faith. That’s the “Openness” that God longs for so that He can fill us with every good thing in our time of need. Openness is our invitation to God to come into our lives and holds the secret to success in attaining a peaceful and joy filled spiritual life.

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacons engage in a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

 

 

OTHER RESOURCE

 

Recommended Reading: Faith and Religion in a Secular Society by Cardinal Jozef De Kesel makes the case that, in the face of the phenomena of secularization, religious indifference, and institutional weakening, it is not by preaching about or idealizing a bygone past that Christianity can expect to regain in Europe, because it risks isolating and separating even more than it is from a culture that no longer waits. The salvation of the Church and the safeguarding of her universal mission depend rather on its ability to facilitate a culture of encounter with all those who want to humanize the modern, pluralist, and secular society, while also asserting its freedom of expression. It is this pastoral option that Joseph De Kesel is already experimenting with in deeply secularized Belgium, which, like France, was once a land of Christianity.

Recommended YouTube Video:  The Heart of Centering Prayer: Part 1 of 4 by Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault who brings insightful teaching on being silent in the presence of the Divine.