Surfers Paradise Mass: Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A - Sunday, August 16, 2020
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A - Sunday, August 16, 2020
EPISODE 247
Readings for 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time - A
FIRST READING: Isaiah 56:1, 6-7
Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6+8. “O God, let all the nations praise you”
SECOND READING: Romans 11:13-15, 29-32
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION, (cf. Matthew 4:23).Alleluia, alleluia! Jesus preached the good news of the Kingdom. And healed all who were sick.
GOSPEL: Matthew 15:21-28
Shutterstock licensed image. ID: 139552943 Bible stories. By Anna Yefimenko
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Please listen to my audio recordings of the readings, prayers and reflections for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A - Sunday, August 16, 2020 by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-ordinary-20a-episode-247-draft-1/s-pDzwTgjtmmz
(EPISODE: 247)
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Prologue: (Fr Paul): The readings this weekend remind us of one of the key teachings and attitudes of Our Lord. This is also a central value and attitude in the life of the Holy Trinity: (Father, Son and Holy Spirit!)…. and that is openness, inclusion and welcome. Love that reaches out and is always open to the other and a love that is always open to “yet one more person being part of the family.”
The faith of that lady who persisted in asking Our Lord for what she needed is sadly in stark contrast with the response many of Our Lord’ own people were giving to Our Lord himself, who was ‘one of them’ – one of their own people.. one of the chosen ones. Many of his own people were rejecting him. And here was a lady from a different place and a different religion who knows she is taking a risk in even approaching him, and yet she keeps persisting even when she gets an initial and noticeable rebuff from the disciples and even by Our Lord’ initial response. The lady persists because she KNOWS that Jesus is the one who can help. She knows that he is the messiah who will welcome the chosen ones to his table. And she hopes and prays that her faith in him and her proximity to the table will be enough to share in the blessings of the table. The Canaanite woman is willing to share in any scrap or morsel of the richness God has to offer, which, ironically, is not being appreciated by those who sit at the table…..And she is RIGHT. Our Lord does not merely say, you can enjoy the scraps that fall from the chosen one’s table… He is saying to her; because of your faith, because of your persistence…. you can JOIN the table… for - What faith!! What persistence!!
I imagine that when the lady responded how she did, Our Lord would have smiled... cast his head back and laughed... not a scornful laugh but a laugh of delight and recognition. THIS lady GETS it... this lady understands when my people do not. This humble woman just wants to share in any small piece of the blessings that others cannot even see.,.... and then his warmth and inclusion are complete.....
There are references to Our Lord starting out addressing the chosen ones of Israel, but clearly, by the end of his ministry, this has widened to all who will respond... The chosen ones are anyone and everyone who responds in faith and love and trust in what The Lord is offering... This is a blessing of immense proportions.
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20th Sunday – Ordinary Time – Year A – 2020
Not being a parent, one of the things I have come to accept about my life is that I will never truly know the depth of a parent's love for their child. Too many times have I had to bless the body of a stillborn child and sense that the grief experienced by the parents is the same as if the child had lived a long life. It would seem that these intense feelings begin from the very moment that the parents are aware that they have between them become the co-authors of another person's life and they will value that life even more than their own. It is said that there is no stronger or greater love
The childless Jesus may have been a bit surprised himself to meet this courageous Gentile woman whose unshakeable determination for her child's healing makes her refuse to be put off or give up. She was prepared to humiliate and embarrass herself to the point of begging. Her maternal love impelling her to persevere, to struggle with no guarantee of a happy outcome.
Jesus' reaction to this woman is rather confronting. Is he actually refusing to help someone in need because of where they come from? Is he annoyed that he was looking for a break from the demands of his mission and he was being pestered by a begging woman? Surely Jesus could not be tired or frustrated, annoyed at this intrusion into his downtime. Could he possibly be acting like a normal person? I think it would be fair enough to say that many of us would react adversely to such an imposition. Generally, we might refuse to help someone who intrudes on our comfort, justifying ourselves by saying that we haven't got the time, or that we can't help everybody who asks, or that we are only encouraging people to beg if we give them something every time they ask.
This woman who came to Jesus was a pagan. To make matters worse, she was a member of a tribe that had been ancestral enemies of the Jews. Yet she had more faith in Jesus than in her own people. They wouldn't believe unless they saw signs and wonders, and even then they refused to believe. Here is a woman desperate for help and she may well have sacrificed her relationship with her family and community to ask this stranger, this foreigner for assistance.
Jesus' reaction does surprise us; at first, he ignores her. Then he refuses her and tries to put her off. Is he testing her resolve? Is this reaction meant for her or to teach his disciples a valuable lesson? However, as we hear she is a very determined woman she is a mother and will not take 'NO' for an answer. Upon seeing her unshakable perseverance, finally, he grants her request. As we told many times in the Gospels, our perseverance will eventually achieve a resolution to our needs, provided those needs are for lour good, not just our convenience.
Why is it so difficult to respond quickly and happily when we encounter a poor person or one in need of something that we can provide for them? Why do we look for a way out, that will make to problem go away or be passed on to someone else?
What it comes down to is this: we are afraid of the cry of the poor. An encounter with someone begging for assistance can be a disturbing experience. It can stir up unpleasant things inside us. It tends to arouse conflicting feelings of pity, discomfort, anger and guilt. We hate what we discover about ourselves, and unless we are careful we may direct that hate at the poor unfortunate person who has dared to approach us.
This encounter can be humbling when it makes us aware of our own poverty, but we are poor in a different sense. We can confront ourselves as being poor in compassion, poor in our capacity to love. If we are open to it, we can also find these encounters of great help to us. We can discover our own weakness and woundedness, which we are all good at concealing. If we are brave enough this encounter can awaken and reveal the heart. The fact that we acknowledge the conflict in ourselves means that we know the right thing to do we just lack the conviction, to struggle with our own conscience.
Even as Jesus remarks that this woman has great faith, he needs his followers to understand that faith is not a magic wand. It calls forth from us humility, courage, perseverance and above all love. A mother never gives up and nor does a person of faith. Faith and love are inseparably connected. Love is the expression of our faith.
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References:
Homily: Fr Peter Dillon
Prologue: Fr Paul W. Kelly
References: (MISSION 2000 – PRAYING SCRIPTURE IN A CONTEMPORARY WAY. YEAR A. BY MARK LINK S.J).
Shutterstock licensed image. ID: 139552943 Bible stories. By Anna Yefimenko
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A (Sunday, August 16, 2020) (EPISODE: 247 )
The Lord be with you.
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{{Hi everyone}}
Our Gods love and mercy knows no bounds, and so let us recall our sins so as to worthily celebrate this Holy Sacrifice.
You raise the dead to life in the Spirit. Lord, have mercy//You bring pardon and peace to the sinner. Christ, have mercy// You bring light to those in darkness. Lord, have mercy//
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
2. When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.
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PREFACE: SUNDAYS I
Euch prayer two
Communion side. pwk: LH
(OPENING THEME VARIATION: 1)
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{{May God's grace strengthen your love and hope and faith, and may God's love surprise you even in the trials and challenges of the week.}}
Go forth, the Mass is ended.
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Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com
To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks
You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul’s homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly
Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)
Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)
"The Psalms” ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.
Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray," by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia).
Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The ….Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.
- "Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - in memory of William John Kelly - Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.
“Quiet Time.” Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement Stefan Kelk 2020.
- “Today I Arise” - For Tricia J Kelly. Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick’s Prayer. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.
May God bless and keep you.
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