Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - Lead, Follow or Get out of the Way_082326

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Lead… Follow… or Get Out of the Way!”

 

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

 

We lose track of the fact that God has a plan for us and that plan will not be compromised. In today’s first reading, Isaiah recounts what happened to Shebna, the Master of the Palace. He was “thrust… from his office” for disgracing his master’s house. Eliakim, a faithful steward, was given his authority and the privilege that went along with it. God alone is the source of “wisdom and knowledge” says St. Paul, and everything is ordered according to His ways: “everything is from him and through him and for him.” Shebna apparently didn’t figure this out. By acting as if he was in control, he brought shame and disgrace upon him and his family.

 

It is noteworthy to reflect on how Christ approached this reality that everything is from, through and for God. If everything is, in fact, ordered in this way, then we can get a better understanding of why Jesus embraced the role of “servant.” He understood that his purpose was to serve God alone, for whom all things were made. What a profound love Jesus had for the Father, to offer his life completely to doing the Father’s Will and teaching us to do to do the same.

 

In our world where nearly everyone wants to be in charge, call the shots, be the big enchilada, what does scripture tell us? “Get out of the way!” We are in a constant struggle with our own flawed desires to be in control, to have things our way, to have others behave the way we want them to. Scripture gives us the “statutes” or better yet the “way” we must embrace in order to put our egos in check and learn the humble road of service to the people that Jesus would have us serve by loving, forgiving, being virtuous and genuine. We need to act as if Jesus were walking here among us today (which, by the way, he is!). It is faithful, loving service on that order that changed the world for the better and made others remark, “See how they love one another.”

 

We live in a time when an epidemic of faithful service is needed to stem the horrific evil that is touching so many lives in our world. Now is the time for all who call themselves “Christian” to “lead…. follow…. or get out of the way.”

 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with several Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold of our church… those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

 

 

OTHER RESOURCE

 

Recommended Reading: Paul, A Biography by N.T. Wright. In this definitive biography, renowned Bible scholar, Anglican bishop, and bestselling author N. T. Wright offers a radical look at the apostle Paul, illuminating the humanity and remarkable achievements of this intellectual who invented Christian theology—transforming a faith and changing the world.

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Lecture - N.T. Wright - How Paul Invented Christian Theology. N. T. Wright approaches the Apostle Paul as the world's first, and greatest, Christian theologian. Much of his lifetime study has had Paul, his life and writings, as the focus. He has offered detailed insights into Paul's life and times for over 30 years, beginning with his dissertation on Pauline Theology and Romans and continuing through his recently released, two-volume Paul and the Faithfulness of God. In between those writings, Wright has produced over 60 books, many of which have dealt with Paul, and another one is soon to be released, Paul and His Recent Interpreters.

 

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - What Would Jesus Do?_081626

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

“What Would Jesus Do?”

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

 

“Observe what is right, do what is just.” Sounds sooooo simple, doesn’t it? But somehow, in the midst of the complexities of life, there are times when knowing the “right” thing to do or knowing the “just” thing to do does not translate to what we “actually” do. Some people use the acronym “WWJD” to help them overcome their hesitation to doing what is right and just. You may have seen their formula for success written on a bumper sticker or two as you drove along to work or dropped the kids off at school. Do you recognize these letters: WWJD? They stand for this message “What Would Jesus Do?” Perhaps we could use a new acronym to guide our thought process when we are confused about what the “right” or “just” action to take is: JDWJD - Just Do What Jesus Did!

 

Jesus is always teaching his disciples how to live and act in ways that are pleasing to God. Today we encounter Jesus teaching us about breaking down barriers that separate and divide us from one another, barriers that stand in the way of our practicing the central tenet of our faith and becoming one with each other as we are called to do at our Eucharistic Banquet.

 

In today’s gospel Jesus and the disciples encountered a woman whose daughter was tormented by a demon. The disciples can’t be bothered with her, and they advise Jesus to “Send her away.” Pretty harsh response from the Apostles, isn’t it? But, what else could they possibly do with her? She isn’t “one of their kind,” not one of the “chosen people.” Isn’t that how we deal with the difficult people in our lives; those individuals who we wish would just “go away;” those people who are different from us, always challenging us and our ideas, beliefs, practices. That seems to be how we react to people who are always making demands of time, our finances, or “who keep calling out to us” for something or who simply don’t have the same likes, attitudes, lifestyles  or politics as we do.

 

Fortunately, Jesus has a better grasp on what’s the right thing to do. He listens to the Canaanite woman and is able to recognize the depth of her faith, although it is not that of the Jewish people. He is able to see what strong faith she has. He is moved by this faith and the woman who possessed it and he grants her favor. Her faith and the very presence of Jesus in this woman’s life, even for this brief moment, was life altering for her and for her daughter who was healed.

 

Jesus told us that we would be able to do greater things than he if we only had a little faith. It shouldn’t surprise us then of the remarkable power our presence has in the life of others. This is because God abides in each of us. We have his power to reconcile ourselves with one another; we have the power to cast away loneliness and fear; we have the power to bring the presence of Christ everywhere we go, even to those who “keep calling out to us” and who refuse to “go away.” We have the power to do many of the things Jesus has done. All we need to get started is to ask ourselves in any given situation, “What Would Jesus Do?” and then DO IT!

 

Enjoy the Day!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with several Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold of our church… those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.

 

OTHER RESOURCE

 

Recommended Reading: No Man Is An Island by Thomas Merton. "Without a life of the spirit, our whole existence becomes unsubstantial and illusory. The life of the spirit, by integrating us in the real order established by God, puts us in the fullest possible contact with reality — not as we imagine it, but as it really is."

 

Recommended YouTube Video: The Lifelong Journey of Discovering God and Ourselves: Thomas Merton and the True Self. Fr. Dan Horan O. F. M leads us into Merton’s foundational work on discovering our true identity as we seek to answer the two questions: Who am I and Who is God. Good listening here with another of the contemporary Franciscan Friars, Fr. Dan Horan.

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - The Language of God _080926

 

 

Deacon Tom Writes,

The Language of God

 

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

 

Elijah is awestruck to realize that God presented himself in the “tiny whispering sound.” After hearing this sound Elijah “hid his face in his cloak.” Perhaps this is why so many of us struggle with our spirituality today. It is so difficult for us to find quiet space and idle time in our busy lives. We have so many demands being made of us at us during our waking hours. We feel “bombarded at times. Technology has delivered so many digital highways to entertain us 24/7. There is no “free” time; there is no shortage of things to do. More than ever before, our very well being requires that we make a conscious decision to seek out a quiet place and set ourselves apart from the rapid pace of life. I don’t see any other way of being able to hear that “tiny whispering sound” through which God reaches out to us so he can be a part of our lives. Our spiritual lives require that we  make a conscious decision to let him into our lives.

 

In his autobiography, Seven Story Mountain, Thomas Merton tells how he was able to find true freedom not in the world but rather within the confines of the four walls of a monastic cell. It was there in the silence of the Trappist Monastery that he experienced the “tiny whispering sound” that enabled him to find himself and to find God.

 

Now we all aren’t as fortunate as Thomas Merton to be able to head off to the solitude of a Cistercian Monastery. But, as fate would have it, Covid-19 created the necessity for us to break out of our daily routine and subject ourselves to a self-imposed isolation to various degrees. Although this action was imposed on us because of medical necessity, it did give many the chance to imitate Merton in finding that quiet place and setting aside some of that period of isolation to hear the “tiny whispering sound” of God piercing through the din of the world to make his presence known to us. For it is only in this silence, this strange language of God, that we are able to hear his voice. “In silence” it is said, “we hear the voice of God”.

 

God bless and keep you always!

Deacon Tom

 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with several Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold of our church… those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it. 

 

OTHER RESOURCE

 

Recommended Reading: American Catholics: A History of the Roman Catholic Community in the United States by James Hennesey, S.J. Written by one of the foremost historians of American Catholicism, this book presents a comprehensive history of the Roman Catholic Church in America from colonial times to the present. Hennesey examines, in particular, minority Catholics and developments in the western part of the United States, a region often overlooked in religious histories.

 

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Catholics in America by Ryan Reeves Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Historical Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Here he gives a brief summary of the Catholic experience in the early days of America.