To watch Fr. Joe’s homily from the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: CLICK HERE!
In our First Reading today from the Book of Kings, God sends an angel to deliver food and water and to not so gently order Elijah to eat and drink because he has a divine appointment to keep.
Obviously, Elijah was not having a good day… And we can all identify with that. We all have had bad hair days, bad days, weeks, months, maybe even years… And it is easy to lose heart.
And like Elijah, God has sent angels into our lives. That person, that friend, that stranger… Someone who stood by us and with us. Someone who helped us live on, laugh, helped us in some concrete way. These people were and are messengers from God, angels who came into and will come into our lives.
Today’s Scriptures are not only meant to make us aware of how God comes into our lives in so many ways… Today’s Scriptures are also meant to remind us that there are times (and maybe more than we realize) when we are called to be angels to one another and to others.
Who are the people of our lives, our families, our community, our world that are sent to and are meant to be angels for others. For it is for this reason that we gather around this table to eat and drink. Like Elijah, we too have a divine appointment that we need to keep.
People in need of not only our prayers, but our words and actions of support and encouragement.
Being angels to others also calls us to become more and more aware, maybe even more sensitive to the plight and struggles of others beyond our circle of family and friends.
Fortunately, God nourishes us in and through the Eucharist we share in today and every week. Nourishes us to continue his Mission of loving and serving all our brothers and sisters.
Last weekend I shared the mantra: make a friend, be a friends, bring a friend to Jesus.
This week’s mantra might be: be an angel to others, often.
Be a messenger of Good News, of life, love, hope and joy that comes from God, our way, truth and life.