Homily Nineteenth Sunday of the Year C - Sunday, August 11, 2019
First Reading. Wisdom 18:6-9. The Hebrew people awaited the salvation of the just.
Responsorial Psalm. Psalm 33:1,12,18-22. Happy the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Second Reading. Hebrews 11:1-2,8-19. We will look for the city designed and built by God.
Gospel Reading. Luke 12:32-48. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.
First Reading. Wisdom 18:6-9. The Hebrew people awaited the salvation of the just.
Responsorial Psalm. Psalm 33:1,12,18-22. Happy the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Second Reading. Hebrews 11:1-2,8-19. We will look for the city designed and built by God.
Gospel Reading. Luke 12:32-48. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.
Photo Credit: Photo by Braden Collum on Unsplash
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Please listen to my audio recordings of the readings, prayers and reflections for the Nineteenth Sunday of the Year C - Sunday, August 11, 2019 by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/19c-faith-hope-and-love-ep-171/s-sftAY (EPISODE: 171)
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Prologue:
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Please listen to my audio recordings of the readings, prayers and reflections for the Nineteenth Sunday of the Year C - Sunday, August 11, 2019 by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/19c-faith-hope-and-love-ep-171/s-sftAY (EPISODE: 171)
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Prologue:
The story of Abraham is extraordinary because, even without seeing the promise fulfilled, Abraham never stopped believing in it. Abraham trusted in the promise, expected its fulfilment, and lived it as a deep truth even though he would not see the promise completely fulfilled in his lifetime. Abraham is a wonderful model of faith. he didn't need to see it fulfilled or hold it in his own hands, in order to set his life according to the promise.
God's word was enough for him.
When Jesus says God is pleased to give us the Kingdom, is that good enough for us?
Or will we cling to different 'backup" , material comforts, / or bury our hearts along with them?
God is faithful to his promises to us. Our Lord fulfils these promises and assures us that we truly are beloved children of God and heirs to God's Kingdom. We believe in this and live in this promise... with Faith, Hope, and Love.
(adapted from PrepareTheWord.com. PrepareTheWord.com, ©2012, TrueQuest Communications)
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I remember once when I was having lunch at a Cafe and when I went up to pay, and as I was walking away, the bloke behind the counter absentmindedly said: "enjoy the rest of your life". 😀, I think he meant, "enjoy the rest of your day" - but goodness me, it made me smile - and also gave me a bit of a surprise. I thought to myself, I hope he doesn't know something I don't !!! 😂.
But in some way, we all should not only enjoy the rest of our lives but, even more importantly, cherish each day and the savour the lives of those around us and deeply acknowledge in our hearts with appreciation and reverence, the beautiful and fragile gift of life that we have all been given.... and be quite intentional about putting this gift of our lives at the service of the gospel - which is Christ's gospel of life and love.
Being prepared, as the readings remind us this weekend, is not merely being ready for the end of our lives. but it also being ready to respond wherever and whenever God is at work in our lives. God wants us to be able to leap up and join in, at any time when God is working away at something here and now.
How prepared am I, and how does my awareness of the need to 'always be ready' to respond to our Master affect my everyday actions, choices, behaviour, and priorities.**
It reminds us of the sobering meaning: of making us think about what we want to achieve in this life, because time is comparatively short, and there is only a relatively limited time to build upon the things that last…. even for people who live very long and healthy lives, time goes by so fast and one hundred years is really not that long a time. so for everyone time is to be savored.
The readings today focus on two major themes….. Faith….. and Readiness…..
Faith is about putting our trust and belief into something even if we cannot see the results now or in the near future. Faith allows us to keep going forward, according to our vision and values, even when the goal seems out of sight and even at times when the prize seems unlikely to be achieved.
The Second reading reminds us of Abraham, our father in faith, who trusted in God's Promise; - even though he did not live to see the full results of it. But God kept his promise, and Abraham trusted in this promise and was rewarded. So too with Moses. Moses is promised by God that God will always be with him and his people and that God will lead them to the promised land. God does indeed achieve this promise, after a very long and trying journey of forty years… and Moses only gets to glimpse the achievement of this promise at the end of his life, but he does indeed know that God fulfilled his promises.
Our faith and trust in God allow us to keep going, especially when things are tough because we are right to trust in God's promises….. but we also know God's timelines are not our own…. it can be helpful and reassuring to know that God keeps his promises, and also that God achieves his promises in his own time and his own way - we might be expecting God to fulfil our hopes in days or weeks or perhaps years: but God works away constantly and works in the hearts and minds and events of life, so it might take years, decades or longer but God achieves what God sets out to do. Who am I to demand that Gods plans all be fulfilled in my time and with me as its witness. That is prideful; Gods kingdom doesn't revolve around me, but we are all delighted participants in Gods wonderful plan. We put our trust in God and our hope in him and humbly walk in his paths, doing our bit. Offering our small contribution to the much bigger picture God is painting.
The other theme this weekend is READINESS>…… Be watchful ! … stay alert !. Be ready !….. Be about the work that the master has given you! None of us knows the time or hour…. This can be understood in several ways….
There is no time like the present to do God's work. As I mentioned, even a long life is too short to achieve everything that could be done to build up the Kingdom.
Also, the end times will come at a time that no one expects….. but also….
even if our lives turn out to be very long, and even if the end of time is indeed a long way off, there is still good reason to be urgent in our work….. A faithful disciple of Jesus should be alert and ready and busy, because, the Lord may want us to respond immediately to something God is doing in our lives, and if we are not ready, we may miss the opportunity or we may be unprepared to respond or unable to act in a way that helps to cooperate with God's action in our lives.
But in some way, we all should not only enjoy the rest of our lives but, even more importantly, cherish each day and the savour the lives of those around us and deeply acknowledge in our hearts with appreciation and reverence, the beautiful and fragile gift of life that we have all been given.... and be quite intentional about putting this gift of our lives at the service of the gospel - which is Christ's gospel of life and love.
Being prepared, as the readings remind us this weekend, is not merely being ready for the end of our lives. but it also being ready to respond wherever and whenever God is at work in our lives. God wants us to be able to leap up and join in, at any time when God is working away at something here and now.
How prepared am I, and how does my awareness of the need to 'always be ready' to respond to our Master affect my everyday actions, choices, behaviour, and priorities.**
It reminds us of the sobering meaning: of making us think about what we want to achieve in this life, because time is comparatively short, and there is only a relatively limited time to build upon the things that last…. even for people who live very long and healthy lives, time goes by so fast and one hundred years is really not that long a time. so for everyone time is to be savored.
The readings today focus on two major themes….. Faith….. and Readiness…..
Faith is about putting our trust and belief into something even if we cannot see the results now or in the near future. Faith allows us to keep going forward, according to our vision and values, even when the goal seems out of sight and even at times when the prize seems unlikely to be achieved.
The Second reading reminds us of Abraham, our father in faith, who trusted in God's Promise; - even though he did not live to see the full results of it. But God kept his promise, and Abraham trusted in this promise and was rewarded. So too with Moses. Moses is promised by God that God will always be with him and his people and that God will lead them to the promised land. God does indeed achieve this promise, after a very long and trying journey of forty years… and Moses only gets to glimpse the achievement of this promise at the end of his life, but he does indeed know that God fulfilled his promises.
Our faith and trust in God allow us to keep going, especially when things are tough because we are right to trust in God's promises….. but we also know God's timelines are not our own…. it can be helpful and reassuring to know that God keeps his promises, and also that God achieves his promises in his own time and his own way - we might be expecting God to fulfil our hopes in days or weeks or perhaps years: but God works away constantly and works in the hearts and minds and events of life, so it might take years, decades or longer but God achieves what God sets out to do. Who am I to demand that Gods plans all be fulfilled in my time and with me as its witness. That is prideful; Gods kingdom doesn't revolve around me, but we are all delighted participants in Gods wonderful plan. We put our trust in God and our hope in him and humbly walk in his paths, doing our bit. Offering our small contribution to the much bigger picture God is painting.
The other theme this weekend is READINESS>…… Be watchful ! … stay alert !. Be ready !….. Be about the work that the master has given you! None of us knows the time or hour…. This can be understood in several ways….
There is no time like the present to do God's work. As I mentioned, even a long life is too short to achieve everything that could be done to build up the Kingdom.
Also, the end times will come at a time that no one expects….. but also….
even if our lives turn out to be very long, and even if the end of time is indeed a long way off, there is still good reason to be urgent in our work….. A faithful disciple of Jesus should be alert and ready and busy, because, the Lord may want us to respond immediately to something God is doing in our lives, and if we are not ready, we may miss the opportunity or we may be unprepared to respond or unable to act in a way that helps to cooperate with God's action in our lives.
God's grace and activity is constantly coming into our lives and if we are not alert… if we are not ready…. We could miss countless opportunities to participate in building up God's Kingdom. God invites us to participate eagerly and swiftly and respond to God's many initiatives in our lives, the lives of others, and in the life of the community..
There are so many ways God is at work in our daily life… we simply cannot afford to miss the many opportunities that come our way because our attention is distracted or because we are focusing on the wrong priorities…
There is a strange passage in the gospel… if the master finds the servants at home doing his work, the master will put an apron on and get the servants to sit down and the master will wait on them. I rather like the idea of being a servant of God given how gracious and loving God is. This image of the master sitting down the workers and serving them is really delightful. … Jesus had said in another gospel and in a different passage... "I come among you as one who serves." It is clear that if the master finds his servants at work doing good, then their minds and hearts have become more like the masters, and so they deserve to be treated more like a co-worker and a member of the family than merely a servant. They now have the mind and values of the master…. And they are no longer acting like a mere slave who only does work because they are forced to, or only does what is right when being supervised, We are disciples who are active, alert and immersed in the work of the Kingdom; we are shareholders in the Kingdom and not merely hired, day-workers who are not necessarily committed to the bigger vision and the full project… And What a wonderful project it is!
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REFERENCES:
Fr Paul W. Kelly
**ACTION 2000 – PRAYING SCRIPTURE IN A CONTEMPORARY WAY. YEAR C. BY MARK LINK S.J.
PrepareTheWord.com. PrepareTheWord.com, ©2012, TrueQuest Communications
Photo Credit: Photo by Braden Collum on Unsplash
+++
Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com
To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks
You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love, A time of Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul W. Kelly
Texts used in this programme are for the purposes of worship and prayer for listeners wherever you are.
Prayers and chants are taken from the English Translation of the Roman Missal, edition three, © 2010, The International commission on English in the liturgy.
Scriptures are from the New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, by the national council of Churches of Christ, USA. , //adaptations to conform with Catholic liturgical norms, © 2009, by the same.
[{selected psalms } - ***Psalm verses are (also) taken from "The Psalms: A New Translation" ©1963, The Grail (England), published by Collins.. **]
Prayers of the Faithful are adapted from Robert Borg's 1993 book " Together we pray". Published in Sydney Australia By E.J. Dwyer. (out of print).
{ "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -published 2011, Composed and Sung by Jeffrey M. Ostrowski
Featuring the….Gloria, The Creed, The Kyrie, The Mass parts, Psalms: http://www.ccwatershed.org/chabanel/ ]]] ] COPYRIGHT @ 2018 CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. www.ccwatershed.org/vatican/Ralph_Sherwin_Videos/
"Faith, Hope and Love" theme Hymn: Words, based on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, set to original music © 1996 by Paul W. Kelly.
For more details please visit http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au/
Contact us at paulwkelly68@gmail.com
Production by Kelly Enterprises Resources.
May God bless and keep you.
Nineteenth Sunday of the Year C
(Sunday, August 11, 2019)
(EPISODE: 171 )
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
+++++++++++++
{{May Our Lord's gift of dignity and community enliven you. }}
As we prepare to celebrate the paschal mystery, let us admit our failings and ask the Lord for pardon and strength.
Lord Jesus, you raise us to new life: Lord, have mercy//Lord Jesus, you forgive us our sins: Christ, have mercy//Lord Jesus, you feed us with your body and blood: Lord, have mercy//
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Memorial Acclamation
We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
own preface
Various Needs and Occasions II
Communion side. pwk: LH
++++
{I gratefully acknoweldge and give thanks to God for your prayers at this time of prayer and reflection upon our God. }
Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.
There are so many ways God is at work in our daily life… we simply cannot afford to miss the many opportunities that come our way because our attention is distracted or because we are focusing on the wrong priorities…
There is a strange passage in the gospel… if the master finds the servants at home doing his work, the master will put an apron on and get the servants to sit down and the master will wait on them. I rather like the idea of being a servant of God given how gracious and loving God is. This image of the master sitting down the workers and serving them is really delightful. … Jesus had said in another gospel and in a different passage... "I come among you as one who serves." It is clear that if the master finds his servants at work doing good, then their minds and hearts have become more like the masters, and so they deserve to be treated more like a co-worker and a member of the family than merely a servant. They now have the mind and values of the master…. And they are no longer acting like a mere slave who only does work because they are forced to, or only does what is right when being supervised, We are disciples who are active, alert and immersed in the work of the Kingdom; we are shareholders in the Kingdom and not merely hired, day-workers who are not necessarily committed to the bigger vision and the full project… And What a wonderful project it is!
+++++++++++++++++
REFERENCES:
Fr Paul W. Kelly
**ACTION 2000 – PRAYING SCRIPTURE IN A CONTEMPORARY WAY. YEAR C. BY MARK LINK S.J.
PrepareTheWord.com. PrepareTheWord.com, ©2012, TrueQuest Communications
Photo Credit: Photo by Braden Collum on Unsplash
+++
Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com
To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks
You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love, A time of Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul W. Kelly
Texts used in this programme are for the purposes of worship and prayer for listeners wherever you are.
Prayers and chants are taken from the English Translation of the Roman Missal, edition three, © 2010, The International commission on English in the liturgy.
Scriptures are from the New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, by the national council of Churches of Christ, USA. , //adaptations to conform with Catholic liturgical norms, © 2009, by the same.
[{selected psalms } - ***Psalm verses are (also) taken from "The Psalms: A New Translation" ©1963, The Grail (England), published by Collins.. **]
Prayers of the Faithful are adapted from Robert Borg's 1993 book " Together we pray". Published in Sydney Australia By E.J. Dwyer. (out of print).
{ "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -published 2011, Composed and Sung by Jeffrey M. Ostrowski
Featuring the….Gloria, The Creed, The Kyrie, The Mass parts, Psalms: http://www.ccwatershed.org/chabanel/ ]]] ] COPYRIGHT @ 2018 CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. www.ccwatershed.org/vatican/Ralph_Sherwin_Videos/
"Faith, Hope and Love" theme Hymn: Words, based on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, set to original music © 1996 by Paul W. Kelly.
For more details please visit http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au/
Contact us at paulwkelly68@gmail.com
Production by Kelly Enterprises Resources.
May God bless and keep you.
Nineteenth Sunday of the Year C
(Sunday, August 11, 2019)
(EPISODE: 171 )
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
+++++++++++++
{{May Our Lord's gift of dignity and community enliven you. }}
As we prepare to celebrate the paschal mystery, let us admit our failings and ask the Lord for pardon and strength.
Lord Jesus, you raise us to new life: Lord, have mercy//Lord Jesus, you forgive us our sins: Christ, have mercy//Lord Jesus, you feed us with your body and blood: Lord, have mercy//
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Memorial Acclamation
We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
own preface
Various Needs and Occasions II
Communion side. pwk: LH
++++
{I gratefully acknoweldge and give thanks to God for your prayers at this time of prayer and reflection upon our God. }
Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.
