Ordinary Time Cycle A

18th Sunday Ordinary Time cycle B

August 1, 2021

 

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In this reading God's people find themselves in the desert and they have run out of food and they are hungry.

 

They begin to complain to Moses about their situation in this wilderness.

God‘s Chosen People are not trusting in God‘s great love and mercy.

 

They have forgotten how God got them out of the slavery of Egypt and continues to provide for them.

 

 

 

God never abandons them.

 

And God never abandons us.

 

 

Saint Paul reminds the Ephesians of what Christianity means.

 

 

It is a reminder for each of us as to check whether we are living as Christians or are we living like those around us who live for money, power, prestige, etc.?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why do we follow Jesus?

 

Is it because He takes all of our problems away?

 

Why do we follow Jesus?

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this Gospel the people experienced the miracle he had done with the fish and the few loaves of bread that fed 5000 people. 

 

They believed that if they  followed Him he could take their hunger for physical food.

 

 

Jesus told them and tells us that He is the bread of life.

 He continues  to feed us with all the events that take place in our life.

 

 

We certainly can experience Him in the things that happen in our life that we enjoy and are pleasant, but what about the difficult times, the unpleasant events in our lives?

 

Do we experience Jesus feeding us at that time?

 

 

Have we been able to experience God‘s great love for each of us when He show us ourselves and just how Christian we are or are not?  

 

Do we love the enemy?

 

 

Perhaps those times and events feed us by showing us that we are not willing to carry the cross.

 

Or perhaps they will show us that we see no purpose for the difficult times in our lives.

 

It is so easy to become like the people in the gospel who follow Jesus because they wanted him to give them the food that they wanted, that is physical food to take away their bodily hunger and to make life easy for them.

 

In the week ahead lets us pray to be able to see that Jesus feeds us in all the events in our lives,  those that are pleasant and  those that are difficult.

 

 

Do we see that He feeds us at each Eucharist?

 

 

Click here to view the video clip of Fr. Greg Friedman

 

 

 

 

 

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Seventeenth Sunday Cycle B

July 25. 2021

 

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This reading prepares us for the coming of the Gospel.

 

Elisha had inherited the mantle of the great prophet Elijah. He prophesies in Israel during the second half of the 19th century. BC. We hear in this reading one of the miracles Elisha performed...feeding 100 men.  In spite of the objection of his servants Elisha continue to understand how important it is to feed those men in spite of the objections of the servants.

 

 

 

 

Paul writes his letter from prison. 

The Jews in Jerusalem had him arrested for disturbing the peace by preaching Jesus Christ.

 

In spite of all the struggles he went through he still wrote reminding the Ephesians of what they had been called to.

 

 

 

 

As we listen to this Gospel we hear a description of how Jesus

fed the multitude that had come

to listen to him.

 

 He knew that they were hungry because they had left their homes for all day to hear his preaching.

 

They were willing to stay and listen in spite of all the inconvenience that they must of been going through.

 

Jesus knew that in the crowd where both of those who supported him and those who would be condemning him at  crucifixion on Good Friday.

 

Yet Jesus made no distinction and was willing to feed all of them.

 

 

 

 

This can be a reminder to each of us that we are called to feed others perhaps not so much with food but certainly with our compassion, understand, and mercy for all whether they are...

 

...our friends or our enemies.

 

 

 

 

 

Probably this week each of us will have the opportunity to feed others.  Perhaps not our words but like Christ our compassion, understanding, listening, patience, etc to the ones we encounter and that may even mean our enemies.

 

If you fail, as we all will at times, then we have been given the gift to see we still have a way to go to be what our Baptism called us to... to make God present to others.  So we continue to pray for our own conversion for we never give up on our weaknesses. 

 

Courage

We have a compassionate, patient, and merciful God..

 

 

Alleluia 

 

 

 

Click here for vide clip by Rev. Greg Friedman OFM

 

 

 

 

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Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle B

 

 

 

 

July 18, 2021

 

 

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The prophet Jeremiah lived from 627-586 B.C. 

 

He was called by God at the age of 23 to prophesy in Jerusalem during a very difficult  time.

 

 

The kings, priests, and people had put much more interested in politics than God.

 

They had begun to trust in other countries to save them from their enemies.  They had become subjects of Babylon and were paying annual taxes to this foreign power so they would have a feeling of security.

 

 

Eventually they lost the land and everything that God had led them to and they were exiled to Babylon.

 

God had given them the Prophet Jeremiah to give them courage.  He told them God would not abandon them but in His Mercy would send a Shepherd to take care of them.  Jeremiah was predicting the coming of Christ.

 

Sometimes when we might feel down and out it is so easy to thinks that God has abandoned us.  This first reading can give us courage to realize that God has given us Jesus Christ to assure us of eternal life.  In spite of all the problems and difficulties we face God will never abandon us just as He did not abandon his Chosen people in spite of them turning away from Him.

 

 

 

 

 

In the second reading Saint Paul addresses the Ephesian Christian community telling them that Christ is

for those who are near and those who are far away. 

He will never abandon them. 

 

These words are also for each of us wherever we find ourselves.

 

Christ comes for each one of us wherever we might find ourselves this new day.

 

 

 

 

 

In this Gospel we hear that Christ comes every day for each of us

 

especially at those moments in our lives when we feel we are sheep without a shepherd.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He will not abandon us...

 

 

...just as He did not abandon the crowd

 

that has followed Him and the Apostles

 

who had gone to rest and reflect.

 

 

 

 

 

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Fifteenth Sunday Cycle B

July 11, 2021

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For the next few Sundays, we will hear from several prophets.  

 

 

This Sunday, Amos.

 

 

 

And then, next Sunday, Jeremiah

 

And if we look at their history, one thing they seem to have in common is that all prophets are persecuted and rejected.  

 

Today's prophet, Amos, was called by God to speak to His people from 783-743 B.C.  He was a shepherd and  a dresser of sycamore trees, which meant he was a low cast person, called by God.  

Who would listen to him?  Yet, Amos knew that he was called by God to make God's Word present; that the people had once again abandoned God.  

 

 

 

What we hear is that the head priest, Amaziah, at the sanctuary in Bethel, is outraged at the claims made by Amos; that Israel had abandoned God and would go into exile and the king Jeroboam II would be killed.  

Amos is accused  of not being a prophet, and as such, has no right to preach, and so  is rejected.

Even today, we, as individuals and as a society, reject the prophets that come into our own lives.  Whenever some event or person challenges us, or makes us uncomfortable, we fail to see God's part in this.  Could it be God has given us a prophet even today?  Perhaps God is trying to show us that we do not have patience, or mercy, or compassion, or love for the enemy.  

 

We also need to remember that we too, at our Baptism, were anointed and called by God to be a prophet, priest, and king.  We are to make God present for others.  

 

 

 

Like Amos and the other prophets, we too will be rejected, persecuted, disliked.  And yet, we need to continue to make God present to others, not only by our words, but most importantly, by our actions- our mercy, compassion, forgiveness, etc.

 

 

 

 

When Saint Paul finds himself in prison in Rome as he appeals to Caesar, he knows he has been called by Christ.  He writes to the Christian Community in Ephesus.  He encourages them to remain faithful, and to realize the great gift that has been given them, the Way to eternal life.

These words from his letter that we hear today, are also be important for each of us, especially in those times of rejection, persecution, giving up, etc. We are still called to make God present to others, just like all the prophets of old.  

Jesus sends us out every day, just as He did his apostles.

 

It can be hard to comprehend just how much God loves humanity, and in every generation, wants us to have an important part in making Him present to others.

We are to carry God's message throughout the world.

For sure, God wants every human being to reach eternal life.  And God uses us.  Remember that at our Baptism we were anointed and called to be priest, prophet, and king.

 

...prophets (we are all to make God present for others),

...priests (we are all to make sacrifices for others)

... kings (we are all a part of the kingdom of God).  

 

Jesus tells us, as He did the Apostles, not to take anything extra with us.  That can mean, our ideas of how things should go when we are to make God present for others.  We all know that rejection and persecution will be there for us.  To the world of today, what we know as truth and the Word of God, is rejected.  

We will be considered old fashion, outdated, uneducated, etc.  Yet we are still to make God present through our living the words and teachings of Christ.

 

Pray to be up to the challenge

For each of us, it is the way to eternal life

You have been called and given the Spirit by God

 

 

Alleluia

 

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Fourteenth Sunday ordinary Time Cycle B

July 4, 2021  Cycle B

 

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This Sunday, not only looks at the prophets of old,

but once again, reminds us that at our baptism we were anointed to be prophet, priest, and king.

We are to make God present for others.

 

 

In the first reading, we hear from the prophet Ezekiel. He was among the first, along with the nobles in Jerusalem, to be taken into the exile of Babylon. Amazing, how God has given His Chosen People chance after chance to be faithful to Him, but they failed time after time.

Out of the eighteen kings that Israel had, a period of 400 years, only four remained faithful to God.  Still God continued to call his people back to Him again and again.  He never gives up on humanity and that includes us.

God will always call us back.  But we still have freewill to say yes or no to that call.  God will never force us to the call He has given each of us at our Baptism.

He  allowed Ezekiel to be taken into the exile of Babylon, so that he could  be the voice of God who would help those who had abandoned God and lost everything.

While in Exile,  Ezekiel helped  the people to understand the reason for the Exile; they had not been faithful to God. This exile, this loss of everything, was to help them to return to God.  And later, Ezekiel would give them hope to know that things would work out right.

Truly, God showed His love, mercy, and patience with them and as He does with each of us.

Remember that we too are called to be prophets; not to tell the future, but to make God present in the world today.

 

At times, we answer this call to make God present to others by being patient, by being merciful, by being compassionate, by being forgiving, by being loving, even to the enemy and yes, even to those who do not deserve it.  

But for our world today, to make God present can seem to be weakness. How can God be seen in my weakness?  We don't try to be weak, but when we are, there is God working in our weaknesses.

For the prophets of old, they too experienced God's power in weakness.

Certainly, St. Paul experienced weakness in all he went through; the times he was rejected, imprisoned, ship wrecked, etc.

Saint Paul is not down because of his weakness, but learns more of how God works and Paul gets to the point where he can even boast of his weaknesses.

He says that in his weakness, God is made strong.  What a gift to be able to see this in our own lives as Christians.

When we think that we have failed our call to be prophet, when we feel rejected, these words of St. Paul can be a help as we pray for our willingness not to give up; not to listen to the world that seems to tell everyone that only power and strength are the way to go, that nothing  good comes through being weak.

 

 

In the Gospel, Jesus is rejected many times, and even as we hear in  today's gospel where He is rejected by those where He grew up and knew him from His childhood.  

That will certainly be true for us at times in our lives.  

In those times of weakness, we need to continue to pray for the courage to be the prophet we were called to be, and to remember that...

 

 

 

 

 

"My grace is sufficient for you,

For power is made perfect in weakness."

2 Corinthians 12.9

 

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