Image source: Aaron Parker
This coming weekend finds us celebrating Eucharist on the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
You'll find the scriptures for the day and commentary on them right here and if you're coming to Mass with children, here are some hints for helping youngsters to prepare to hear the Word. (And adults might find those same hints helpful, too!)
This Sunday's scriptures focus us on prayer. Another story from Genesis about Abraham finds him prayer-bargaining with the Lord to determine for how small a group of innocent folk the Lord will spare Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham gets the Lord to pledge he'll spare the cities for the sake of 10 but although the pericope ends there, we know that 10 innocent citizens were not found and the cities were destroyed. In the gospel passage from Luke, the Lord, at his disciples' request, teaches them how to pray: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come... This is followed by a lesson with Jesus instructing his followers in the value in persisting in prayer. And between these two major texts, Paul writes to the Colossians and to us of our sharing in Christ's dying and rising in baptism and how baptism frees us from the debt of sin.
If you pray, or used to pray, or try to pray, or want to pray... take a look at the first and third readings for Sunday and see how they speak to you - and prepare to hear them proclaimed on the weekend.
Any thoughts... on the image above in relationship to this Sunday's gospel?
Subscribe to A Concord Pastor Comments
Amazing serendipity - I went to the library this week to return some books and in the hardly existent section on religion(!), found a book by Joyce Rupp entitled Open the Door.The blurb says it is "Designed as a six week process with a reflection for each day of the week, "It explores the rich imagery of the door as a potent symbol for spirtual growth and leads readers to " search more deeply for their authentic selves in fuller union with God."
ReplyDeleteSo that's my reading sorted for a while then... I have dipped into it and it looks pretty good.
I particularly liked the opening quote from the book :
"Open the door of your treasure today, for tomorrow the key will not be in your hands." - by Sa'Di
I will be doing a post on this and will link to your post here too.
I think we have to look at this open door and imagine or place ourselves in the scene. Imagine that we are entering with whatever our burden or care. Then we imagine what is on the other side or how our needs might be met.Prayer has much to do with imaginations.I think.
ReplyDelete