Sunday Homily for June 10, 2018, 10th Ordinary Time, B cycle
Hooray, The Team is back from vacation!
Readings:
Genesis 3, 9-15, The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree.
Psalm 130, With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption
2 Corinthians 4, 13-5, 1, We have a building from God
Mark 3, 20-35, Who are my mother and my brothers?
Tori says, "Welcome back, Everybody." And we say to you, Tori, "Welcome home from your vacation. It is more fun when you are here."
Homily: When Jesus Christ ascended to heaven in glory, we were not left as orphans. The Father, through his Son, bestowed upon us his very Spirit to enable us to be Christ in the world. Each of us has a different spiritual gift, and a different story. But each of us has been graced, to grace others, for the glory of God.
While CC lights the candles, Georgie reads the Blessing of The Summer Candles.
When John and Ro, and Judy and I ate lunch or dinner with others on our cruise, we came to the table with an expectation to listen to a feast of interesting stories. And, we were not disappointed. In reflection, I think that the four of us were gracious and good listeners, treating each story teller with compassion.
Some evenings, and most lunches, one or more of us sat at a table with a couple that we hadn’t met before. One lunch I sat across from two ladies who shared with me their story on how, why, and they met. A softer voice came from the African American woman. Both had become flight attendents for the same airline and had traveled the skys together for a couple of decades through good times and bad, those years when inappropriate language had been directed toward her best friend. Both married years later; but every year they would find a time, such as this cruise, to be with one another. Grace at work for the glory of God.
Mike sharing his (pleasant) memories of the 12 day trip the four of us (he & Judy, Rosemary & I) made in and around Bordeaux, France.
One evening we introduced ourselves to a man and woman traveling together who revealed that they had been good friends since grade school, but were not married. He had never married; her husband had passed a few years before. Recently they had sought out one another and decided to take this cruise together. You couldn’t help but feel very happy for them.
There was a woman who we invited to join us for dinner three evenings in a row. Her husband began the trip sick and he would not leave their room until he felt well. We daily cheered her up and on the fourth day she sat with us with her smiling husband who thanked us for watching over her.
Welcome back, John, and congratulations on finally getting your arm operated upon after the bike accident. Is that a tazer or a weapon sticking out with the two straws? Rumor has it there is gin & tonic in there, like pain med.
One evening the four of us sat at a table with a young man and his mother. She was probably the happiest woman in the cruise. She had been asked by her son to spend a week with him on this cruise. She was so happy seeing and listening to him tell stories, some about her. Tears were often in her eyes as she smiled and quietly spoke to us. I was struck with the question, ‘Why hadn’t I taken the opportunity to take my mother, just the two of us, on a trip?’
It has been tough doing the elevations without you kids to help me out.