To watch Fr. Joe’s homily for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time: CLICK HERE!
It seems to me that 3 qualities that can be challenging for us – maybe not all the time, but at least sometimes – are:
- Attitude
- Understanding
- Effort
In this era of “it’s all about me,” whatever my attitude and whatever my understanding – whether right or wrong – you just live with it.
This weekend, might I suggest that Jesus is challenging us to reconsider that “it’s all about me” way of living. As a matter of fact, Jesus makes it pretty clear that being a Disciple of Jesus must include God, others, and a life style that puts this all in balance.
Take going to Mass on weekly basis, we have all seen the decline…
- Well, we were on vacation…
- Well, the kids have sports…
- Well, we got to bed late…
- Well, I/we just didn’t feel like going…
We may be consistently late; or consistently leave early. And the list goes on…
And in the meantime, our faith, our Discipleship, is not nurtured, is not supported… is slowing eroding…
We need to be and become more and more models of faith in action.
A few days ago, I heard someone say, “I would die for my kids” and a person responded by saying, “How will you LIVE for you kids?” (Great question!)
How are we living for our kids? How is our lived life an every day model and reminder of what is of God, goodness and faith, hope and love, Disciples of Jesus, and so much more. Whether people are watching or listening or not.
When I was on vacation a week or so ago, I played in the World Golf Amateur. One night at a reception, I heard one golfer who played the tournament share, “I was standing next the golf ball of a fellow competitor what could not find his golf ball. After the 3 minutes for looking for the ball expired and he hit his provisional golf ball for the lost ball, I then told him his golf ball was here.”
Simply put, this is not good sportsmanship.
Oh, I know you are asking, and Father how did you do in the tournament? The answer should be obvious. I was victorious.
Living life is about balance, better choices… about better perspective, about our attitudes and our understandings of things and people, about our faith and our relationship with God and one another…
Often we have other gods come into our lives that detour us from the one true God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Where in our lives is something a false God? Where in our lives is a checkup from the neck up needed? Where in our lives is our faith fading instead of growing and glowing?
Finally, let me end with a smile:
After a short trip to Earth, the martian astronaut returns home, to Mars, and presents his superior with a TV screen and a smart phone. “Sorry,” he says to his superiors, “that I could not capture and bring back any Earthlings, but I did better than that… I brought back two of their gods.”