SOCL, Sunday15B

Sunday July 14, 2024

Jesus called the twelve and began to send them out two by two

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The handing on of the faith—evangelisation to use a technical term—is the task of everyone in the church today: family members, catechists, pastoral workers, the ordained. It is our great challenge and the one thing necessary. And yet, who dares today to take up such a role? Our Gospel portrays key dimensions: the sense of being sent or called, the choice of life-style based on that of Jesus, the confidence to face not being made welcome and yet to continue for the sake of the joy of the Gospel.

Listen

Amos 7:12-15; Psalm 85 (84); Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:6b-13

Reflect

(Mark 6:6b-13)

-Jesus gave the disciples a share in his mission by sending them out ahead of him. It was a gesture of trust and confdence on his part, even though they did not fully understand his mission. Have you ever been surprised by the trust shown to you by others to speak or act on their behalf ?

-Jesus sent the disciples out two by two. Perhaps your experience gives you examples of the value of having another with you when engaged in an important task.

-The instructions given by Jesus may seem strange. They were intended to counteract practices by bogus preachers who used preaching as a mask for moneymaking. The disciples of Jesus were to focus on the mission given to them, not on their own comforts. Is it your experience that vested interests can impede a task, whereas having the right motives makes your mission more effective?

-The task of the disciples was to call people to repent, (metanoia = conversion, change the way we look at God and at other people). The core of the mission of Jesus was to change the attitude of people towards God from fear to trust. He also wanted people to see that life was a gift from God who loved them and wanted them to live it in all its fullness and abundance, despite its difficulties. Who have been the disciples, the people in your life who have called you to be more trusting in God? To whom have you given this call?

Pray

God of justice, God of salvation, from every land you call a people to yourself. Yours in the work we do, yours the message we carry. Keep your Church single-minded and faithful to you. Let failure not discourage us nor success beguile our hearts, as you send us to proclaim the gospel. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.

References

How Lovely Is Your Dwelling Place, O Lord, Mighty God!

SOCL, Sunday14B

Sunday July 08, 2024

On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded.

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Familiarity breeds…well, sometimes blindness. We do need familiarity—we couldn’t be working things out for the first time all of the time. What is regular and known can help us get on with the day or the job or the relationship. But there are times—we all have them —when sheer familiarity impedes our understanding and prevents our encounter with the new, the different and the radical. Our case is, perhaps, the diametric opposite of that of the people of Nazareth. Our too comfortable faith familiarity with Jesus can hinder us from seeing the radical, the new, the disturbing. Sometimes a bit of defamiliarisation would be good for us!!

Listen

Ezekiel 2:2-5; Psalm 123 (122); 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Mark 6:1-6a

Reflect

(Mark 6:1-6a)

-The story reminds us of how personal prejudices and agendas can block us from listening to the content of what another person has to say, no matter how relevant or wise it is. Perhaps you have experienced this? What difference has it made to you when you were able to focus on the content of what was being said and leave to one side your own prejudices about the speaker?

-It has been said that there is nothing as useless as the right advice at the wrong time. We may want to reach out to another, but may be unable to make a useful contribution because at that moment the other person is not ready to be helped. Like Jesus we can “do no deed of power”. As Jesus had to be patient and wait for another opportunity so do we. What have you learned about the importance of patience in working with other people?

-The topic of religion can easily bring up prejudices, leading some to dismiss religion as superstition, old hat, or based on an outdated world view. Even among believers, prejudice can make it hard for individuals to listen to an alternative way of looking at things, to consider a different way of celebrating liturgy, or to live at peace with difference. Yet a closed mind can lead to a stagnant faith. When have you found that a willingness to consider a different perspective led to a deepening and strengthening of your faith?

Pray

God of the prophets, in every age you send the word of truth, familiar yet new, a sign of contradiction. Let us not be counted among those who lack faith, but give us the vision to see Christ in our midst and to welcome your saving word. We make this prayer though Christ our Lord. Amen.

References

Our Eyes Are Fixed On The Lord

SOCL, Sunday13B

Sunday June 30, 2024

Jesus took her by the hand and said to her, “Little girl, get up!”

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We may miss the shock factor in both stories today. Given the strict rules surrounding ritual purity, it was unprecedented that a woman with some kind of gynaecological complaint should actually touch a man. Conversely, Jesus touched a corpse, also strictly forbidden and entailing ritual impurity. Both acted courageously and against the established tradition for the sake of something greater.

Listen

Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24; Psalm (29) 30; 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15; Mark 5:21-43

Reflect

(Mark 5:21-23)

-Like this woman, have you had the experience of a cure, an improvement, a success, after a long period of nothing happening? What was that like for you? What made the difference? On that occasion was there anything different in you, in others, in the circumstances – something that paved the way for the change or improvement?

-“Who touched me?” Jesus asked. It seems a strange request with crowds milling around. Many people brushed against him but the woman made contact in a different way. The same can happen in our relationships. We brush against many people but make real contact only with a few. Who are the people you have touched, and who has touched you? What difference has this made to you and to them?

-It can happen that there are many occasions when we brush against Jesus, and other occasions when we have a sense that we are in contact with him. What deepens your contact with Jesus?

-Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your faith has made you well’. What difference does it make to you that you have faith? In what ways does your faith make you well?

-When Jairus asked Jesus to come and cure his daughter, some thought there was no point. Sometimes a situation can look like a lost cause. Has it ever happened to you that subsequent events showed there was hope where you thought there was none?

Pray

God of the living, in whose image we have been formed with imperishable life as our destiny, dispel from your people the fear of death and awaken within us the faith that saves. Bid us rise from the death of sin to take our place in the new creation. This prayer we make through your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024bb, June 30). Thirteenth Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/063024.cfm

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings/