Branching-Out

Another Sign

Posted by Sharon Krause on Oct 23, 2023 6:00:00 AM

Way back in the Easter season, I wrote a blog post about a sign I saw in a neighbor’s yard about just being kind. Well, that neighbor has done it again! This time the yard sign reads: “Be the Good.” How fitting at this time when much of what we read and hear about is war, hate, and protests. How can we be “the Good” while the media are loaded with news about Gaza, Israel, and the disasters and repercussions associated with fighting.

In today’s liturgy, we read the parable of a rich man who was very greedy (Luke 12:13-21). He was self-centered and selfish with his bountiful harvest. He planned to build bigger barns for his bigger-than-expected harvest. How about us? What kind of richness might we hoard or forget to share?

We are gifted with the good news about our Savior, Jesus Christ. Do we share that news even in little doses? Do we go out of our way to volunteer to assist someone in need? Maybe “being the good” will involve a financial donation to a worthy cause. It could mean going to an extra weekday Mass and praying for peace in our world. Perhaps we could provide companionship to someone who is recovering from an illness or a recent loss. We could not just “be the good” but also be the good example for someone who is watching our response to a problem?

 We can find inspiration from St. Paul in his letter to the Galatians (6:9-10):

    Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest,

   if we do not give up.

       So then, while we have the opportunity, let us do good to all, but especially

   to those who belong to the family of the faith.

 Matthew’s Gospel (5:16) teaches us,

    Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds

   and glorify your Heavenly Father.

 In the Old Testament, the prophecy of Micah (6:8) gives us advice:

    You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you:

   Only to do the right and to live goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.

 So let us try to “be the good” and a generous inspiration to others in this busy, often self-centered world!

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Topics: good christian lives, good deeds, good will, good works, Sharon Krause

"Hear the Word!" by Bill Ayres: Twenty-Ninth Sunday of the Year

Posted by Bill Ayres on Oct 21, 2023 6:00:00 AM

A reading from the prophecy of Isaiah

(Chapter 41:1,4-6)

This prophecy dates from the sixth century before the birth of Jesus, toward the end of the Babylonian Exile, when Cyrus, the ruler of Persia, conquered Babylon and allowed the people of Israel to return home. The author wants the people to know that it was through the power of God that Israel was saved.

“For the sake of Jacob, my servant, of Israel, my chosen one, I have called you by your name, giving you a title, though you knew me not. I am the Lord and there is no other, there is no God beside me. It is I who arm you, though you know me not, so that from the rising to the setting of the sun people may know that there is none besides me. I am the Lord, there is no other.”

Here we have the classic principle, “repetition aids comprehension.” “I am the Lord, there is no other…. There is none besides me…. There is no God besides me.” OK! you say. We get it. But that is the point. The people of Israel did not always get it. “You knew me not.” Why? How could that have been? Well, people worshiped several gods, and there was always a temptation to seek another that seemed to be more powerful.

You and I worship the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God in three persons, but sometimes we may be tempted or even seduced by the false gods of money, power, prestige, and empty pleasure. Temptations are always there, and emotional stress, isolation, financial worries, and boredom can challenge and sometimes overcome us, at least for a while. It is at such times that we need to reach out to someone we trust for strength and healing and take the time for prayer—often!

Responsorial Psalm

(Psalm 96: 1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10)

“Give the Lord glory and honor.” It is not that God needs it but that we need it. We need to stay in touch with God, in gratitude for life and for the saving gift of Jesus Christ.

A reading from St. Paul's Letter to the Thessalonians

(Chapter 1:1-5b)

“We give thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father…. For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.”

Do you believe in the power of the Holy Spirit? Have you experienced it in your life? Did you ever think that something that went right for you, or something that seemed hopeless but worked out, or a gift that suddenly appeared, was through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within you every day of your life? It happens! Sometimes, we are “surprised in the Spirit.”

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew

(Chapter 22:15-21)

This is the famous story of the Pharisees and Herodians trying to trick Jesus. They start off by flattering him: “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth…. Tell us then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar, or not?” Jesus asks them to show him the coin used to pay the tax. “He said to them ‘Whose image is this and whose inscription?’ They replied, ‘Caesar’s’ At that he said to them, ‘Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God’”

For centuries people have used this saying to help explain our responsibilities to our government and to God. Throughout history, this has often been challenging, as it is in our own tumultuous era. We need to be well informed, open minded, and loyal citizens, especially in these troubled times, but ultimately, we need to give our obedience to God.

 ✝️

Excerpts from the English translation of the Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL). All rights reserved. The passage regarding the wedding garment is from The New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved.


 
Bill Ayres was a founder, with the late singer Harry Chapin, of WhyHunger. He has been a radio and TV broadcaster for 40 years and has two weekly Sunday-night shows on WPLJ, 95.5 FM in New York. He is a member of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church in Centerport, New York.

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Topics: Bill Ayres, 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, good deeds

"Hear the Word!" by Bill Ayres: Twenty-Eighth Sunday of the Year

Posted by Bill Ayres on Oct 14, 2023 6:00:00 AM

A reading from the prophecy of Isaiah

(Chapter 26:6-10)

The mountain that Isaiah is describing is the mountain, Mount Zion in Jerusalem. “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich foods and choice wines…. The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every face…. Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us! This is the Lord for whom we looked; let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us.” There is an important progression here, from “Our God, to whom we looked to save us” to “he has saved us.” For thousands of years, the people of Israel have believed in a relationship with God that will bring salvation. That belief has a past, a present, and a future

We, too, have a relationship with God, in Jesus, who, by his life and sacrifice, won for us our salvation. That relationship is based on his past time on earth, his presence now in our lives, in our Church, and in the sacraments—especially the Eucharist—and in our future lives with him forever.

Responsorial Psalm

(Psalm 23::1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6)

“I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.” On one level, the “house of the Lord” is our Church. On another level, it is our own relationship with God, and that, in turn, is often reflected in our relationships with other people. Millions of men, women, and children live without necessities and without hope. Most of them are in far-flung lands, but some are in our country, our neighborhoods. What we do, within our means, to help those in need helps to define our relationship with God, who loves us all equally and wants us to love each other.

A reading from St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians

(Chapter 4:12-14, 19-20)

Paul had a very exciting life, filled with hunger, poverty, abandonment, imprisonment, constant travel, celebrations, achievements beyond expectation, a growing wisdom, and deep faith. When he was in need, the people of Philippi reached out to him, and he responded, “Brothers and sisters: I know how to live in humble circumstances; I also know how to live with abundance…. I can do all things in him who strengthens me. Still, it was kind of you to share in my distress…. My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”

There is one statement here that tells us who Paul was and how he lived: “I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” Have you ever thought about that statement in terms of your own life? Have you ever done something that was extremely challenging and later wondered how you were able to do it? Try it. You might be surprised, and it might give you the strength to face something else that is seemingly beyond your abilities. You may be delighted at what you and Jesus can accomplish together.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew

(Chapter 22:1-14)

This is a very complex parable and one of the most difficult to understand. Here is the first part: “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.” He sent his servants “to summon the invited guests to the feast.” They refused to come. Jesus is alluding to a whole series of prophets whose messages were rejected. The king tried again, sending other servants. “Some ignored the invitation and went away…. The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them and killed them…. Then he said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come…. The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they had found, good and bad alike, and the hall was filled with guests.” Jesus is talking about the new Christian community, to which all are invited, both Jews and gentiles.

The parable ends with a strange addition. One man who came was “not dressed in a wedding garment,” and the king ordered his servants to “cast him into the darkness outside.” What? The man is excluded because he did not have the right garment? No, the wedding garment is a symbol of something, but what? The New American Bible explains that “the repentance, the change of heart and mind, that is the condition for entrance into the kingdom must be continued in a life of good deeds.”

 ✝️

 

Painting: St. Paul by Phillipe de Champaigne (1602-1674). Musée des beaux-arts de Troyes, France.

Excerpts from the English translation of the Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL). All rights reserved. The passage regarding the wedding garment is from The New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved.


 
Bill Ayres was a founder, with the late singer Harry Chapin, of WhyHunger. He has been a radio and TV broadcaster for 40 years and has two weekly Sunday-night shows on WPLJ, 95.5 FM in New York. He is a member of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church in Centerport, New York.

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Topics: Bill Ayres, 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, good deeds

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