Thirteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time_B - Built to Last_062721

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Built to Last” 

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

The author of the Book of Wisdom writes, “God formed man to be imperishable…in the image of his own nature”. In Jesus we get to see the image of God dwelling among his people. Jesus is tireless in preaching the Kingdom of God. Mark relates numerous stories of Jesus working miracles as he encounters people who needed to be healed, reconciled, and fed. Today’s readings contain several such miracles. After curing the man who was possessed, Jesus crosses the lake and encounters Jairus who implores him to come to his house where his daughter lies near death. But, as Jesus begins his journey, he senses “power had gone out from him”, power that had been usurped by the hemorrhaging woman who found herself healed.

Jesus brings about much healing in Mark’s Gospel. It seems as if Jesus is rushing off from one miracle to another the way Mark recounts it! It is interesting to note that the word that Mark uses for the “healing” is the Greek word “sōzō”, a word that not only means “to heal” but also “to save”. In other words, Jesus not only heals people from their sickness but also he saves and restores them to the original state they were created, as “imperishable” beings… made in the image and likeness of God and destined to share eternity with him.

A challenge we face in our busy lives is that there are so many activities and so much technology available to entertain us that we have little time for spiritual reflection or very little time to probe the deeper meaning of our human experiences for that matter. And so, we go from one activity to another, from work to recreation to chores to activities for the kids to taking care of elderly parents or grandparents to doctors appointments. We are so fatigued at the end of the day, we go to sleep only to rise the next morning and begin all over again. We seldom give any conscious thought to key spiritual aspects of our lives such as our mortality or what lies ahead when we die. For most people, this is “living the dream”. We are rarely looking to see or experience God in any of our daily routines.

Yet, I believe, we all long to experience the presence of God that touches and heals us and brings us his salvation. But in order to find that calming peace and healing presence, we must first look to find God’s presence in the ordinary…in the mundane… in the routine and boring events that are the bulk of our day-to-day lives. We must, as St. Ignatius discovered, “find God in all things” if we are to experience the divine and to recognize its imprint within us. If we think about it, that is, if we take the time to think about it, we have already entered into eternity. Life for those who believe will be changed, not ended, as proclaimed in our funeral liturgy. For, as the Book of Wisdom reminds us today, we were made in the image of God’s own nature. So then, we can believe and trust that we have been made to go the distance. We were, as it were, “built to last”! So, once we have lived and spread the good news in this life, we can look forward to celebrating it forever in the life to come!

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - From Shame to Fame _062820

Deacon Tom Writes,

“From Shame to Fame”

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

The Shunammite Woman the Prophet Elisha visits today has a condition that she shares with other notable women in Sacred Scripture such as Sarai (Sarah) (Gn 16:1), Rebekah (Gn 25:21), Rachel (Gn 30:1), Manoah’s wife (Judges 13:2), Hannah (1 Sam 1:11), and Elizabeth (Lk 1:6-7). They were women who were childless in their elder years.  For the women of antiquity having a child was not a matter of choice. It was a matter of necessity, so much so that for a married woman not to have a child was considered to be a defect. Being a childless Hebrew woman secured for her a shameful, unbearable place in her society and numbered her among the despised and the helpless of her village.

It is no surprise then, at least to people of faith, that given the hopelessness and desperation these women find themselves in (the men, apparently, did not share the humiliation and shame of their wives ... dah!!!) it is no wonder that we see the hand of God intervene in the plight of these women. For, in the words of Psalm 34, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

We know what an important role these women played in Scripture.  Can you imagine how different our bible stories would be without Isaac, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and Benjamin, or Sampson, or Samuel, and even John the Baptist? Yet, all these amazing characters were the progeny of women who, at least for a time, thought that they were forgotten by God.

Elisha’s intervention on behalf of the Shunammite Woman when he prophesied that she would bear a son is part of the bigger picture in which our faith tells us that God has a plan for each one of us too, no matter how desperate a situation in which we find ourselves. It is a good plan, one for which another of the Major Prophets, Jeremiah writes, “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you—oracle of the LORD—plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope”( Jer 29:11). As distressed and hopeless as this situation was for these heroic women of the Bible, God was able to advance His plan for our benefit and to bring about a goodness that our limited minds could hardly conceive. The problem we face today is one of belief! Can we imagine that God still has the ability to bring about any good from the apparent desperate and impossible situations we find ourselves in today?

If we are challenged by this thought, we can find some consolation in the fact that God is no stranger to working out the impossible for the good. In part that is the very nature of God, who is all good. With all the burdens and sadness that weigh upon our hearts we can find some consolation knowing that the Lord hears our prayers as he heard the prayers of these faithful women of antiquity and as he heard the prayers of his own Son in his time of need. And God, who is forever faithful, will answer each of our prayers in ways that are sure to amaze and bewilder even those who have been blessed with great faith.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Built To Last

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Built To Last”

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

The author of the Book of Wisdom writes, “God formed man (and woman) to be imperishable…in the image of His own nature”. In Jesus we get to see the image of God living, working, eating, and praying with His people. Jesus is tireless in preaching the kingdom of God. Mark relates numerous stories of Jesus working miracles as he encounters people who needed to be healed, reconciled, and fed. Today’s readings contain several such miracles. After curing the man who was possessed, Jesus crosses the lake and encounters Jairus who implores him to come to his house where his daughter lies near death. But, as Jesus begins his journey, he senses “power had gone out from him”, power that had been usurped by the hemorrhaging woman who found herself healed.

Jesus brings about much healing in Mark’s Gospel. It seems as if Jesus is rushing off from one miracle to another the way Mark recounts it! It is interesting to note that the word that Mark uses for the “healing” is the Greek word “sōzō”, a word that not only means “to heal” but also “to save”. In other words, Jesus not only heals people from their sickness but also he saves and restores them to the original state they were created, as “imperishable” beings… made in the image and likeness of God and destined to share eternity with the Divine Godhead.

A challenge we face in our busy lives is that there are so many activities and so much technology available to entertain us that we have little time for spiritual reflection or very little time to probe the deeper meanings of our human experiences for that matter. And so we go from one activity to another, from work to recreation. We get a little sleep, cut the grass, do the shopping, and bring the kids to this activity or that sport. We are so fatigued at the end of the day, we go to sleep only to rise the next morning and begin all over again. We seldom give any conscious thought to key spiritual aspects of our lives such as our mortality or what lies ahead when we die. For most people, this is “living the dream”. But is it really? We hardly notice our neighbor or experience God in any of our activities of daily living. How are we to be God’s instruments spreading the Good News of God’s Kingdom where we are the ones with the power to heal, chase out demons, ease the suffering and grief of those around us in light of the hectic pace of our lives?

Yet, I believe, we all long to experience the presence of God that touches and heals us and brings us His salvation. But in order to find that calming peace and healing presence, we must first look to find God’s presence in the ordinary…in the mundane… in the routine and boring events that are the bulk of our day-to-day lives. We must, as St. Ignatius discovered, “find God in all things” if we are to experience the divine and to recognize God’s imprint upon us. If we take the time to think about it, we have already entered into eternity. Life for those who believe will be changed, not ended, as proclaimed in our Funeral Liturgy. For, as the Book of Wisdom reminds us today, we were made in the image of God’s own nature. So then, we can believe and trust that we have been made to go the distance. We were, as it were, “built to last”! So, once we have lived and spread the Good News in this life, we can look forward to celebrating it forever in the life to come!

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom