Jeremiah 38: 4-6, 8-10; Hebrews 12: 1-4; Luke 12: 49-53

1. -- Lanie LeBlanc OP -
2. -- Dennis Keller OP -
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5. --(Your reflection can be here!)

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The readings for this Sunday make people uneasy:   children, teens, young adults, parents, partners, and elders in any combination.    Actually, they challenge any two people who interact regularly, whether personally, in community, in parishes, or even in the workday world.   The readings are about passion, motivation, and relationships in real life.

How these work together, I think, determine “success” especially in the eyes of the Divine.    In the first reading, we hear/read about Jeremiah, a reluctant prophet at first, but one whose passion got him in enough “good trouble” for the right reasons that he had to be rescued by others of good will.   A tense situation for sure that required careful decision-making, but I imagine these “good guys” found favor with God.

          The second reading reminds us about keeping our focus on the true goal in life, that is, living the journey in ways that match Where we expect to be after the end of our lives. “Ridding ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us” is an inside job, but it does include people and things around us. It is imperative that we navigate the journey thoughtfully and prayerfully along with others …and in ways that are not hell-bent!

Then there is the Gospel message that makes many squirm because it is the opposite of the peaceful ways we all just want to happen in life!    Although Jesus was part of the Holy Family, he certainly understood family life and all the various combinations that shift … ultimately and miraculously, even if it takes finally getting to Heaven.   Ah, but there lies the problem and the solution.

Jesus came to earth so that “we may all have life and have it to the fullest.”   Jesus had to turn everything upside down to defeat sin and death.   Our passion to follow Jesus completely has to include the motivation to learn more ways than just upending the tables in the temple or rightfully calling someone a hypocrite as Jesus did.   The goal is about living and sharing Jesus’s inclusive and loving Message, with all humankind, those closest to us and those whom we might think of as “them”.  It is about caring and helping and listening and learning… and, yes, even changing, so that commonality emerges, without growing too weary and losing heart.   Let us remember that only the Divine is all-knowing and all-perfect!

Blessings,

Dr. Lanie LeBlanc OP

Southern Dominican Laity

lanie@leblanc.one

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Dennis Keller Dennis@PreacherExchange.com

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Volume 2 is for you. Your thoughts, reflections, and insights on the next Sundays readings can influence the preaching you hear. Send them to Chuck@PreacherExchange.com. Deadline is Tuesday Noon. Include your Name, and Email Address.
 

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