12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 25, 2023

Ezekiel 2:   Tell them, 'This is the Message of God, the Master.'   They are a defiant bunch. Whether or not they listen, at least they'll know that a prophet's been here.

2 Corinthians 12:  At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that,  and then he told me, My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

Mark 6:    Jesus told them, "A prophet has little honor in his hometown, among his relatives, on the streets he played in as a child."

 

Isaiah 45:  I am the Lord and there is no other, there is no God besides me.

1 Thessalonians 1: For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.

Matthew 22:  Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.

 

 

John and Aviana

Readings: Wisdom 18, 6-9; Psalm 33; Hebrews 11, 1-19; Luke 12, 32-48.

Wisdom: this book is one of the 12 special books only finally approved by the Catholic Church at the Council of Trent in 1546.  Martin Luther, for instance, did not think the 12 books were genuine.  Whatever the case, the 12 books are in a special section of our bible after the Old Testament.

The book we are reading from today contains traditional Jewish and Greek ideas about life, basically saying that God rewards those faithful to him & punishes you know whom.

What are You Afraid of?

When I was about sixteen, I came home from the old Jesuit High School one afternoon probably in the spring.  Nobody was home, not even my sister as far as I can remember. My dad was at work. My mom was at one of her afternoon bridge clubs and had gone with one of her friends because her baby blue Pontiac was in the garage. 

After hanging around a bit and getting bored, I decided I was going to go visit a friend and use my mom’s car. Mom, however, did not like me using her car, so I could not find her keys. Now in those days all of us kids knew how to run a car without keys. It was called hot wiring a car. You used tin foil on the back of the key slot under the dash. 

So I hot wired my mom’s big Pontiac, pulled out of the driveway onto Stanford, and turned toward Preston Road. Arriving at the corner the car stalls. For five minutes I am working on the key slot to start the car, all to no avail, when a car coming north on Preston turns into Stanford. A lady is driving.  I know that lady and sitting next to her, my mom.

The master had returned and the servant was unprepared. In fact, the servant was caught red handed.

I never got that car started and, in fact, had to pay my hard earned paper route money to get it towed and fixed. I had shorted out some wires. I don’t remember my mom ever saying anything, but I was humiliated. 

I remembered this incident when I read about the master & the servant. I have some observations about these readings.

First, I don’t see our God as a thief who is trying to catch us off guard. He is not a strict master who is looking to catch us red handed and beat us. 

Secondly, I don’t see us as servants. In fact, in John’s gospel Jesus says he does not call us servants, but friends. In today’s psalm it says, "Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.  We are his chosen.  So is everyone.

To see this parable in a positive light, I would go back to last week when we talked about life being a gift.  When it says that the Lord will come at an hour we do not expect, I propose that the gift comes at moments and in packages we do not expect.  Appreciation is the goal and the process. It involves being sensitive and reflective.

One of the best lines in the whole gospel today is the very first line where Jesus says, "Do not be afraid any longer." This means I do not have to be afraid of God, afraid of death, afraid of getting caught red handed, or afraid of missing the gifts of the moment. 

I’ll always remember how stupid I felt when my mom came around that corner and saw me in her car, broken down. She did not tear into me, and neither do we have a god who is a thief or master who will beat us. 

So what are you afraid of?

   

Isaiah 22: I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim's shoulder; when he opens, no one  shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open.

Romans 11: Oh, the depth of the riches  and wisdom and knowledge of God!  How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!

Matthew 16:  And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, …

 

Mary reading from Isaiah

 

Thanks…     

Music,    Shonda & Ben 

Readers,  Mary & Brent

Homily,   John Stack

Eucharistic Prayer A & B,  John Stack & John Cade

The Magic Zoom makers,   Hue & Kevin

Final Blessing, Rosemary

 

                                      

Brent reading from Paul's Letter to the Romans

 

 

 

Readings:  Download 08-27-23 Readings -21st Ordinary

Homily:  

 

 

Buddy reading the prayer for the lighting of the candles

 

 

 

Remember these special people:

For Jan Keszler's Family; For Sandra Pratt's family;  For Cindy Cramer's family;  For the family of Ron Senter;   For Meredith  whose cancer has come back;  For Tom Good;  For Tom  Quinn who had back surgery on November 21st; For Lambrini, John Cade's wife, who is dealing with cancer ;  For Madeleine, Richard Eshelbrenner's granddaughter;  For Hue; For Jackie;  For John's sister, Kathey recovering from a fall;   For Tom Good;   For Mary Hall's friend Cadence still suffering from a serious medical condition;   For Sir Charlie;  For Ron ;  For Teresa Quinn's niece, Maddie who has a brain tumor;

                                                                                                 

 

Jackie's mom, sister, & friend, Lynn;  For Rick Turner searching for a kidney donor, Type O neg.;   For Jean & Cliff Wright;  For Dee, and for her daughters, Lisa & Lauren;  For a young man who is suffering from depression;  John Cade's daughter, Joey, with cancer; from Barbara, a little baby boy named Ford recuperating from an operation & the families of Annie and Michael ;    for the medical staffs, teachers, and coaches in our public & private schools.

 

 

John reading from the Gospel of Matthew
                                          

Birthdays:  Teresa Quinn 8/29

Anniversaries:  

                 

Community Finances:   

Expenses: $  255.00

Outreach: $  

Thanks again, Folks, for doing what you can.

       

 

 

Acts of the Apostles 4, He is the stone rejected by you

Psalm 118,   The stone rejected by the builders has become the corner stone

1 John 3, Beloved, We are God's children.

John 10, I am the good shepherd and I know mine.

 

Shonda & Ben sharing the Spirit

 

Romeos, Welcome!    Jason's Deli, 1:00, Friday. April 23.  Required: vaccines, mask for entrance & departure. 

 

All of you who attended Mass this past Sunday are welcomed this Sunday, circa 30 people.  Let me know if you cannot make it.

 

 

John sharing his spirit.

 

Another Reminder for Sunday, April 25, 2021.

Here are the links for Sunday:

 Readings:

Samuel 16, 1, 6-7, 10-13. Samuel chooses and anoints David.

 Psalm 23,  The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.

 Ephesians 5,  8-14,   You were once in darkness, but now you are light.

 John 9, 1-41,    The beggar given sight.

 

She is back, Everybody, with a new little baby boy, Caleb.   Congratulations, Bethany.

 

Observations on 1 Samuel:

What: The is the first book of a 4 book series tracing the history of the Israelites,  1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings.  Samuel, Saul, and the great David are the main characters.

When composed:   800 & 700 years before Christ the work was being put together.  Mostly finalized, guess when, Babylonian time, ca. 555 years before Christ.

Today's selection: How Yahweh guided Samuel in selecting David.

 

 

Stuart.

 

Psalm 23, The Lord is my Shepherd.   One of my favorites, very comforting.  Is it true? 

 

Stuart with Julian.

 

The Lord is My Shepherd

I would like to talk this morning about that Psalm 23, which is one of my favorites, The Lord is My Shepherd. 

I would like to tie it in with a guy named Stuart, whose funeral I just did in Toronto Friday at 11:00.  I did Stu’s wedding 25 years ago to one of the Reddick sisters, Renee Reddick, of the family whom I had gotten close to when I studied in Toronto from ’68-’72.  Renee & Stewart had separated a couple of years ago, but they were still peaceful with each other. 

 

Stuart with Julian and Ethan.

 

Stuart had one extraordinary quality that I envied and used as a model for my own life.  He had a Stuart spirit that created life, energy, friendship, and community around him.  With a megawatt smile and laughter, he invited people to have fun and friendship with gobs of adventures, meals, and get togethers.

You will never guess how many of his friends and admirers gathered together Friday morning at 11:00 in St. John’s Catholic Church to celebrate a Catholic Mass.  We estimated at least 200 people.  The church was full.  Even the two viewings the night before were packed with people and energy.

 

Stuart and Renee.

 

A second point.  Stu had a number of hobbies, one of which was playing ice hockey.  After all, he was Canadian.  All Canadians are born wearing skates.  Stu was a big, robust, good looking blond.  If I was playing hockey and saw him barreling down the ice grinning with the excitement of taking me out, I would have jumped over the railing. 

Among all his buddies his hockey team mates seemed to be extra special.  After the funeral Mass a reception was held at a big club on the shore of Lake Ontario right in the middle of Toronto.  His team mates told Renee they were covering the bill.  It was food and open bar for everybody and the party lasted from about 1:00 to 6:00. 

 

Stuart & his buddy after one hour of bad hockey, looking forward to the next 2 hours.

 

Stu has a refrain which I used at the Mass to invite everyone to the reception, “1 hour of bad hockey, 2 hours of good drinking.  Let’s begin!”  I think Stuart was playing hockey up to the last year or so of his life.

The third point about Stewart, he helped to nurture and raise two fine sons, one in college, the other in high school.  They are both beautiful kids.

 

Our Candle Man of The Week, Brandon.

 

Stuart died of cancer just last week.  The cancer was first discovered this past November, around the time of American Thanksgiving.  Stuart was a Good Shepherd to lots of people.  Was the The Lord a Shepherd to him?  Dying of cancer after 4 months?  There is nothing I shall want?

For me it is the question of unconditional love.  Even though I will die, the love and acceptance is there.

How does the Lord Shepherd you?

For whom are you a Shepherd?

 

 

Hi, Genevieve, are you trying out for the choir with that mike, which I know you love?