Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A - Sunday, June 28, 2020 EPISODE 234
Readings for 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time - A
FIRST READING: 2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a
Psalm 89:2-3, 16-17, 18-19. "Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord."
SECOND READING: Romans 6:3-4, 8-11
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION, (1 Peter 2:9).Alleluia, alleluia! You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy people. Praise God who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
GOSPEL: Matthew 10:37-42
Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed stock illustration ID: 1621834639. Illustration in Byzantine style depicting the scene of the Jesus Christ's resurrection and its effects for those who hope in Him. By Julia Raketic
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Please listen to my audio recordings of the readings, prayers and reflections for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A - Sunday, June 28, 2020 by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-orindary-13a-episode-237/s-BMWxmvTE2xK (EPISODE: 234)
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Prologue: Even Our Lord hesitated at the enormousness of the cross.. at the garden of Gethsemane he prayed that this cup of suffering would be taken from him... but then added (wonderfully) but not my will be done, but yours! Nobody rushes towards suffering or prefers the Cross. The mystery of the cross is a difficult but central reality in the life of Christ and of us all..... And in life, there are many little crosses as we journey along our path......... Helen Keller... the American author, political activist, and lecturer, who was both deaf and blind. She said the most extraordinary thing once...It is challenging and difficult to comprehend this message but it is the message of the Cross.......The following are her words and this is what she said motivated her life....."I thank God for my disabilities. For through them, I have found myself, my work, and my God!" - WOW. What an amazing outlook...... one that transformed everything she did and said. Because of... and despite many major obstacles in life, she did not let stop her.
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13th Sunday Ordinary Time Year A 2020
Throughout my life, there have been many times when I have witnessed that wonderful Aussie characteristic of "giving a bloke a chance", of digging deep in times of trouble. Through droughts and fires and numerous other disasters, people have done amazingly generous things for their fellow Australians, that have spurred the rest of us on to make some sacrifices ourselves, when at first we thought it doesn't have anything to do with me. That type of generosity is infectious, and, if done with a good spirit, brings its own rewards.
"We take care of our own", is now a proud part of our tradition. But who is "our own" and when does 'taking care' start to become a burden? How do we respond when those who don't come from our "tribe", or traditions our lifestyle need that chance?
Certainly one of the most confronting issues in our world is the crisis surrounding refugees. People, who for a range of reasons, find they can no longer live in the country of their birth and must seek refuge elsewhere. Every day hundreds of thousands of people find it necessary to gather their family and belongings and search for security away from the place that they believed they would be safe.
You can only imagine what despair these people must have grappled with when they finally decided that the danger of departing was seen to be a better option than staying where they had established their house, employment and their family tradition. May we never know the trauma of having to take such desperate measures?
I wonder do these people ever know what will greet them when they arrive at some new place. Will they be greeted at all or will they find a country that will reject them like we would an invader. The only way these desperate people will survive is if they are welcomed into this new and often vastly different society.
In the sacred tradition of Israel, hospitality was regarded as one of the chief responsibilities of a caring people. The stranger, the outsider. The wayfarer. Anyone outside their home territory – all were regarded as people who were in need of special care.
The reason for this was enshrined in the Law "if a stranger lives with you in your land, do not harm him. You must count him as one of your own countrymen and love him as yourself – for you were once strangers in the land of Egypt." (Leviticus 19:33-34).
We should not be surprised to know that while this Law was held as sacred, as people settled in their lands and became established they started to worry about their own security before that of others. Eventually, they no longer looked to their community, their tribe for help, but started looking after their own property. They started to care for only those they knew.
By the time Jesus was born, the people of Israel had settled into the land of Palestine, and since they were no longer a wandering people but had they land and security they wanted, their values and changed and so did their connection and responsibilities for each other.
In the Gospel of Matthew we hear clearly that Jesus was born into a place where he was not accepted. He had no security and had to be taken to Egypt for safety and shelter. From the very beginning of his life, he had to rely on the hospitality of others. In fact, the whole of Jesus adult life seemed to be one of taking to the road with his band of itinerant supporters. Where could he lay his head in a land of strangers? As they leave their own region of Galilee, they become refugees who have to depend on the hospitality of others to receive them and welcome their message.
It would seem that people did welcome his disciples, particularly those who need to hear the good news they were bringing. Those who welcomed them as holy messengers from God did receive their own reward in the form of healing and forgiveness. They came to discover that the message of a loving forgiving God was not a finite commodity like their land and belongings. That their hospitality was not a matter of bed and breakfast and goodbye, but rather it was the act of opening their hearts to the visit of God who came in the person of Jesus. In doing so they caught something of the goodness and values that Jesus showed them. They changed because of his visit.
And that is where hospitality begins; with an open door and open heart. Yes, it does extend beyond being comfortable. It goes beyond offering others some immediate assistance in the hope that they might go away and leave us alone. Supporting the stranger means first listening to what they have to say and providing practical support for them in their quest for belonging.
We profess that 'generosity to the needy' is now one of our proud Catholic characteristics, but it is often tempered with the concern of "What do I get out of this and how long does my giving last?" It is a question that our country must ask itself and it has no easy answer. Yet, if we as individuals are not sure about our answer, how can we expect to have any influence on the rest of the community? We offer no example to others if we are not prepared to practice what we profess to believe if we only take the comfortable bits of the Gospel message.
I suppose it comes down to see if we believe what Jesus proclaims when he says, people won't lose by their generosity to the cause of the Gospel. As he tells his messengers: "anyone who welcomes you welcomes me; and those who welcome me welcome the one who sent me".
In the end, it is God who is our guest.
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References:
Homily: Fr Peter Dillon
prologue: Fr Paul W. Kelly
Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed stock illustration ID: 1621834639. Illustration in Byzantine style depicting the scene of the Jesus Christ's resurrection and its effects for those who hope in Him. By Julia Raketic
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A (Sunday, June 28, 2020) (EPISODE: 234 )
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (or/ The Lord be with You)
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{{Welcome everyone}}
my brothers and sisters, to prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries, let us call to mind our sins.
You were sent to heal the contrite of heart. Lord, have mercy.// You came to call sinners: Christ, have mercy. //You are seated at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us: Lord, have mercy.//
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
3. Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.
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PREFACE: Sundays Ordinary III
Euch Prayer Three
Communion side. pwk: LH
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{{thank you so much for taking this time with me to listen to God's word and for praising God for his goodness and care.}}
Go forth, the Mass is ended.
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Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
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Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly
Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)
Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)
"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.
Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray," by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia).
Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The ….Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.
- "Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - in memory of William John Kelly - Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.
- "Today I Arise" - For Tricia J Kelly. Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.
May God bless and keep you.
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