Sermons from the pew

The Canaanite women teaches us the power of prayer when it is absent pride, that yes, the house of Jesus is for all peoples, not just the house of Israel.

We learned that during times of stress and self-doubt, that the shaky ground should trigger our love response to call upon our Lord Jesus. We learned that God’s expectation for us is far greater, far more wonderful than we can imagine. That our Lord Jesus sees in each of us - not only his invitation to join his family, but our Lord Jesus sees in us the love of his Father, a love so large that he fed 5,000, so loving that he freely and completely died on a cross for each on of us. Today’s gospel helps us understand that the urgency of Peter’s grasp is real, and the God not only grabs hold, but directs the heart. Today, we get a clear line of sight that by following God’s plan for us, that seeking out his will, that our Lord Jesus is there every step of the way. Yes, get out of the boat – move beyond your comfort zone – and do it with complete trust in the Lord - do it in middle of a storm - do it during rough seas!  Yes, we are to get out of the boat and trust the Lord Jesus Christ. Today this message resonates – today we are called!

We learned that our legacy is our answer to God’s call and that when we aligned with God, that we will experience his generosity. We are reminded that our Lord’s Jesus response to learning of John’s death was love, and that this response foreshadows the gift of the Eucharist. This movement of Jesus was not expected and signaled a step change in our relationship. We get a clear line of sight that by following God’s plan for us, that seeking out his will, we become generous with his love.  We recognize the privilege of participating in God's plan, that by playing on His team will help us to not squander the love he pours out.  We recognize that our enthusiasm sets up our legacy and encourages others to participate in God’s plan for our lives.  That any moment of choosing right or wrong is a pivotal decision, a legacy decision and that following our Lord Jesus's legacy for us, that this role, the role of a Christian, sets the table for a yield that is 100 fold.

Once again God’s love and his salvation plan an open book. We learned that our request to God, that our prayers, when aligned with God’s will bring fantastic results.  Solomon’s request was perfected by our Lord.  Like Solomon, we too should pray for wisdom. Wisdom, when properly exercised, shows us the truth of God’s word, a truth that we instantly recognize as being good, so GOOD, so BENEFICIAL, that we are called to URGENCY.  As we act, as we follow God’s word, we begin to realize that we are to build up treasures for heaven, that earthly possessions are just that – earthly.

The analogy of Heaven being a treasure, teaches us that we need to eliminate all excess baggage in our lives. We are to occupy our mind space, we are to fix our eyes, mind and heart on our Lord Jesus.  That is priority in our hearts and minds will add valuable perspective – a perspective that has been written about by poets, and historians alike.  (if you listen closely, I quote Shakespeare.)  The pearl analogy encourages us to loosen the soil surrounding our hearts and to participate in God’s saving love.  And yes, we are reminded of the great harvest, a harvest we can participate in today!  Get rid of all obstacles that inhibit your ability to love God – make flat the mountains, straighten the pathway to your heart.

We learned that our Lord God is good and forgiving.  We learned that whatever the reason – fear of hell, or regret for offending our Lord Jesus, our friend – that contrition from the heart is critical in drawing attention to the harvest master our indelible baptismal mark as well as the four marks of our community.  We are reminded, that we cannot squirrel away our faith, that a strong plant can reach heights above the weeds of life and provide a recognizable fruit for all to see.   We were reminded again to loosen the soil surrounding our hearts and to participate in God’s saving love.  And yes, we are reminded that if God’s word sprouts in our life, that we are to nurture it. To be effective steward of that gift, we cannot cooperate with evil.

I encourage you to get urgency about your faith in your life.  I challenge you to try to grow something as a spiritual exercise - I guarantee if will draw your attention to the Sower parables and make it present in your life.

We are reminded to seek out reconciliation today!

Lastly, let us pray that we do not cooperate with evil, that we are not put to the test.

We learned that our Lord God is good and forgiving.  We learned that whatever the reason – fear of hell, or regret for offending our Lord Jesus, our friend – that contrition from the heart is critical in drawing attention to the harvest master our indelible baptismal mark as well as the four marks of our community.  We are reminded, that we cannot squirrel away our faith, that a strong plant can reach heights above the weeds of life and provide a recognizable fruit for all to see.   We were reminded again to loosen the soil surrounding our hearts and to participate in God’s saving love.  And yes, we are reminded that if God’s word sprouts in our life, that we are to nurture it. To be effective steward of that gift, we cannot cooperate with evil.

I encourage you to get urgency about your faith in your life.  I challenge you to try to grow something as a spiritual exercise - I guarantee if will draw your attention to the Sower parables and make it present in your life.

We are reminded to seek out reconciliation today!

Lastly, let us pray that we do not cooperate with evil, that we are not put to the test.

A well trodden path can be a lot of things and for sure our hearts, our spiritual defenses can be equally well trodden. The path to our hearts can be so tightly packed and jammed up with today’s headlines, tomorrow’s worries and yesterday’s regret that we forget to try to understand.  If we can anticipate God's Kingdom with eagerness, the eagerness will encourage us to understand.   Let's not remain in our comfort zones - as my mother once said - a turtle only moves forward when he sticks his neck out - let's push ourselves to understand and not wait in idle anticipation.  Unfortunately, the packed soil around our hearts disables our ability to recognize a even small “ping” from God’s seed of life. Let’s us pray for the soil surrounding our hearts to loosen up, to be more receptive to the word of God –

As a flawed humans, we understand the expression – find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life – indeed “love” is a secret sauce and it clears the room of fear, anxiety and disappointment – you see love makes the burden light. i.e., doing the dishes after dinner because your love your company is a lot easier than doing the dishes because you were told.

We hear about how our spiritual journey is true exercise, that with repetition it becomes easier, that our spiritual “muscles” or ability to “flex and stretch” grows with the more we pray.  Indeed prayerful conversation with Jesus allows us to fall more in love with HIM, to the point of not sensing the days pass, to the point of preparing our souls for life eternal with him. Yes, the burden is light and the yoke easy

Lastly, we lean that the humility is a our superpower, we learned that we are to live with the Holy Spirit and that forgiveness, being forgiven that going to confession makes flat the pathway of Jesus – that love attracts, and that by loving Jesus, we are no longer burdened in delivering his message of love to our family, friends and community.

We learned that the first commandment is #1 for a lot of reasons, but mostly because we belong to God and this relationship needs to be protected - as sin separates man and God. We were reminded by St Paul of the importance of our baptism and how our baptism allows us to participate in Jesus life, death and resurrection. We learned in the example of the Shunemite women, that her loving generosity caused a response from Elisha that was completely unexpected and a true sign of God's generosity.  Today, as with every message jumping off the pages of scripture, is meant to cause urgency in our relationship with God - to not be fearful of proclaiming God’s word. Yes, we are reminded that that God’s salvation plan includes you, and that you are called into God’s family, to be closer to God, to have an every lasting life, an eternal life.

We hear fatherly advice of encouragement, reminders of self worth, the importance to keep the faith and staying true to the mission. We learned the importance of developing urgency in our mission, that a friend is someone that helps you get to heaven, that iron sharpens iron. That to be a true friend to your friends, you are to help them get to heaven. We were reminded, that in times of absolute meltdowns, that our message is loving, that our message is to not be afraid of proclaiming God’s word, that there are worse things out there. We are not to be fearful in our mission. Yes, we learned that God’s salvation plan includes you, and that you are called into God’s family, to be closer to God, to have an every lasting life, an eternal life.