Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
I do many, many weddings each year, and once in a way a couple will come by that will totally blow me over. Take the wedding that I had this weekend. The couple had chosen readings that are rarely used at weddings. The gospel reading, for example, was from the end of the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew, where Jesus says, “Whoever hears these words of mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on solid rock…” (Mt 7:24). I asked the couple why they chose this reading. And they said, “Because we want to build our marriage on faith. We want our marriage to be an expression of our discipleship.” I could not feel any happier and contended. It was an assurance that our parish’s focus on discipleship and radical discipleship is bearing fruit.
Today, the readings lead us in the direction of discipleship. First, though, let me point out a few interesting tit-bits from today’s readings. First, where as the first reading begins by saying that the Lord appeared to Abraham, in reality Abraham just saw three men. Whether this is already a reference to the Trinity or a pre-figuration of the incarnation we do not know. Second, the reading does not tell us whether Abraham knew that the three men actually represented God. May be Abraham thought that they were angels or perhaps ordinary men. Third, Abraham’s hospitality is remarkable. Initially he offers them water for tired feet, rest under the tree, and a little food. In reality, he served them bread-rolls made with fine flour, a tender choice steer, curds, and milk. Four, both the first reading and the gospel are about two people each – Abraham and Sarah, and Martha and Mary. One of the partners in each of these stories remains active (Sarah and Martha) and the other spends time with the guest (Abraham and Mary). Five, this is the only passage in the New Testament that women take a position of discipleship. Often, men are portrayed as disciples. A woman sitting at the feet of the master or following him around is very rare in the entire Bible. Six, in both these readings, the hosts become recipients of unexpected blessings. Abraham’s barren wife, Sarah, is promised a child and Jesus commended Mary that she had chosen the better part and that it would be taken away from here. However, what that “better part” was, is not specified. I would like to approach today’s readings from the context of discipleship. There are many lessons to be learnt from all the points that I have drawn attention to. Here are my three practical implications: a) An uncompromisble aspect of discipleship is sitting a listening to the Lord. Over the last two years, in our parish, we have defined discipleship as “think like Jesus, talk like Jesus, act like Jesus.” In general terms that is a good way to understand Christian life. If, on the other hand, we break down each of these dimensions, other important aspects of discipleship emerge. Today’s readings suggest that a good test of discipleship is our prayer life. I am not ignoring the fact that we are all good people who go about life working hard, having some good, clean fun, doing good for others, caring for our families, and coming to church on Sundays. But what is our prayer life like these days? In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of life, are we taking the time to sit quietly at the feet of the Lord and listen to the Lord? This summer, do we find that our relationship with God has grown? For those who find themselves on the right track and those who may have strayed, God’s Word is gently nudging us to sit at the feet of the Lord, like Abraham…, like Mary. Remember, prayer is a good indicator of discipleship. b) Here is another question for you: What does your discipleship look like? While in India with my family, I also had a lot of time to myself since I could not sleep at nights for jet-lag. One of the concerns I addressed during these sleepless hours was my own discipleship. The question I put to myself was, “What does my discipleship look like?” I know I try to think, talk and act like Christ for most part, but what are the practical implications of my discipleship? So I began to write things down. I will get an opportunity to talk about all of these later but, one of the things that I decided to work on was how I use my time in the morning. Generally, when I rise in the morning, I try to spend a little time in prayer. But, being the news buff that I am, of late I have been getting on the internet to check out the happenings of the day. Sometimes I do that even before I sit for my prayer. So I decided that the very first thing that would happen when I get up in the morning at 5:30 is prayer. And apart from prayer, that I would not begin the day without “offering profound worship to my Creator, Redeemer and God.”
May I suggest to you that like Abraham in the first reading and Mary in the first reading, please take the time to sit at the feet of the Lord. And ask yourself this question, “What does my discipleship look like? See if you can describe your relationships, your work, your finances, your relaxation in the context of discipleship.
c) Invitation to the Year of Faithful Discipleship. My third practical implication concerns our parish as a whole. Our parish has a history of dedicating each liturgical year to a particular theme. For the past three years we have been focusing on DISCIPLESHIP and its various dimensions as a recurring theme. This year, for example, is being observed as “A Year of Radical Discipleship.” Our focus on this theme last year began with a Parish Retreat. 210 people attended this retreat, mostly parishioner, but there were non-parishioners as well. The renewal in the parish, (recall the couple I spoke about in the beginning), is a testimony to our focus on discipleship.
We wish to take our sacred call to discipleship to an even deeper level. To accomplish this, every parishioner, is invited to a PARISH RETREAT on Saturday, Sept 11, 2010 from 9 AM – 1 PM. The topic of this retreat will be “FAITHFUL DISCIPLESHIP.” Once again, Ite Missa Est - the adult Faith Formation Team, will take primary responsibility for organizing this retreat and I will lead the day through prayers, testimonies, songs, talks, group discussions and a luncheon. During the retreat we reflect on our personal life, our parish involvement and our lives in general as an expression of our fidelity to God as disciples of Jesus. We consider your participation in this retreat of paramount importance. Please do not miss this retreat. It is our hope that efforts like these will continue to make Immaculate Conception Parish a vibrant, welcoming, and a deeply Christ-centered community. Together we can make our parish an expression of our call to be radical and faithful disciples.
It would be wrong for us to say that each of us here in this church perhaps finds ourselves in the same situation that Abraham, Sarah, Martha and Mary found themselves in. God comes to us and Jesus comes to us in the same way that he came to them. What do we have to offer? Can we offer them time? Can we offer them our resources? Can we offer them our discipleship?
- Fr. Satish Joseph