Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_C - Companions For The Journey_081119

                 Faithfulness                   Praise                         Service

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Companions For The Journey ”

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

The readings today give us a practical guide to good living. First, there’s the matter of faith. You need it! Like the ancient people that God called out of bondage in Egypt, we need faith to get us through the hardships and the adversities of this life. Let’s face it. We’re fine as long as things are going our way. We enjoy the good times, the happy moments when we celebrate birthdays, graduations, weddings and anniversaries. We delight when we are successful in moving up the corporate ladder and get the big promotion. But those days of disappointment when things don’t work our right, when relationships fall apart or end, when we lose loved ones……..that’s when faith, if we have fostered and nourished it, enables us to endure and eventually to heal. Faith is a life long friend and companion, that enables us to live life to the fullest, in good times ….. and in bad.

The Responsorial Psalm invites us to recognize the blessings we have received and to give thanks and praise to God. He has called us into an intimate relationship with Him to share in His love and goodness. In doing so He fills the deepest longings and desires of our hearts that helps us grow in faith in Him and trust in His works. 

The gospel reminds us of what we should bring into this relationship, namely…. attentiveness and faithfulness. God requires that we be diligent servants… Always mindful of what the master wants done; always faithful to do what is required. 

Some say that life is a mystery and there is a lot of truth in that statement. The same can be said about faith. There is a mysterious element to it that awakens our need to praise and give thanks to God, and moves us to be faithful and attentive servants. Like essential nutrients, these ingredients aid us in living good spiritual lives. They enable us to give mature and effective witness to the world that we are Disciples of Christ.

Jesus knows how difficult it will be to live according to the high standards He has set. So, once again He reassures us and tells not to be afraid. Words to comfort us and encourage us to persevere in our efforts to live good lives of faithfulness, praise and service.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

First Things First

Deacon Tom Writes

“First Things First”

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

In today’s gospel Jesus touches upon a profound truth about our human condition when he says, “For where your treasure is, there also will be your heart”.  Jesus understands our human dynamic. He knows that we put our energy into the things we are most interested in and that we invest our time and resources pursuing the things that are most important to us. The things we like doing fill up our calendars and empty our wallets!! And that’s the way it should be.

It is interesting to note, however, that last week’s gospel was also a teaching about material things. If you recall Jesus told the parable about the rich man with the abundant harvest who tore down his barns and built bigger ones so he could store away his wealth, “…for many years”… so he could “…rest, eat, drink and be merry” for years to come.   It seems that our need to accumulate wealth beyond the needs for today as a measure of our success and to assuage our worries about the future is systemic to our human condition.

Jesus has many warnings about the problems or challenges concerning wealth. Here are a few you may recall: “Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven” MT 19:23. And also, “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God" MT 19:24. Or this one from Luke 6:24,“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation”.

I don’t believe Jesus is interested in having more “poor people” in the world. Heaven knows there are too many now! Jesus’ admonition is so that we don’t set our hearts on what we have, that we don’t identify ourselves and others by what we have or don’t have, or that we don’t judge people by their possessions or status. Jesus wants us to depend upon him for all our needs and for us to turn to him and trust in him to satisfy all those desires that he places within our hearts.

One sure way to know what God wants for us is for us to put him in our calendars. You know, like they say in the business world, “Let’s do lunch!”. Well, maybe not lunch, but we may be able to set some time aside for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament where we can sit silently in the presence of our Lord and listen to what he has to say to us. That could very well be the most important activity of our week. From the spiritual perspective it is certainly a matter of getting around to first things first.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom