Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves” (Mt 11:28-29). The Lord invites us to find peace and joy in Him this Sabbath as we set aside time to worship and rest.
PREPARE
“Remember the sabbath day—keep it holy. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God.”
Sabbath comes from the Hebrew word “Shabbat”, which literally means “to stop.” Keeping holy the Sabbath is not just a commandment, but an invitation. An invitation from the Lord to stop our work, stop our worrying, stop our striving. An opportunity to fid rest and to be renewed. A chance to refocus on the things that truly matter - the Lord, family, community. In our culture, Sunday has become a day to “catch up” on everything that didn’t get done during the week, and any time left over is often seen as an opportunity just to “get ahead” for next week. But we Christians have a chance now to remember what it means to keep the Sabbath. During this pandemic the Lord is calling us back to Himself, offering us a chance to reclaim the gift of the Sabbath, reminding us again what it means to “keep it holy.”
A basic principle for observing the Sabbath is only to do things that can be considered “rest” or “worship”. Here are a few ideas to consider to begin more to enter into the Sabbath. Maybe pick just one thing to focus on this Sunday, then next Sunday keep that practice in addition to a second one. And then the next Sunday add a third, to slowly over time begin to enter into this great gift of the Sabbath more and more.
Keep the Lord at the center - read the Mass readings ahead of time, participate in Mass, make more time for prayer, spend some extra time in silence focusing on the Lord
Try not to work - resist the urge to check your email, or catch up on a few things, and leave it for Monday
Plan ahead - take care of what needs to be done before Sunday, so plan the rest of your week to make sure you get the laundry done, have gone grocery shopping, etc.so you don’t have to do any of it on Sunday
Spend the day “screen free” - try to stay off social media, internet news, and your phone as much as possible. If you can’t make it the whole day try to go for at least a few hours
Be intentional with others - if you live with others (ie. family, roommates), is there something you can do together like play a game or go on a hike? If you live alone, can you reach out to a good friend and catch up?
Leisure, not entertainment - try to do things that are life giving; binge-watching a favorite show or playing video games for hours rarely leaves anyone with a new zeal for life. Read a good book, go on a long walk, develop a hobby.
PARTICIPATE
“Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18:20). Each Sunday we are called to “keep holy the Sabbath” and although that may look different for right now we will still come together as a St. Ann community through the gift of technology.
MASS READINGS
GIVING
Take a few minutes to give to St. Ann Parish. Please give generously and sacrificially as an act of faith during these difficult times. You can give online:
After giving, offer ways to be generous of your whole self during this trying time for our world.
“Each must do as already determined without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work.”
PROCESS
“All were amazed and asked one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him’” (Mk 1:27).
Our Gospel presents the first miracle of Jesus' public ministry in the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark. We see Jesus teaching with authority and casting out an unclean spirit from the man in the synagogue simply by a word of command. He does not speak like the scribes, who hand down the tradition they had received, but with authority, exousia. This Greek word exousia means literally "from his being/nature" and signifies the absolute power, authority, and sovereignty which Jesus has over all things. He is not only "a prophet like Moses'' (Dt 18:15) but the Word Incarnate, through whom all things were made, who speaks with the same authoritative word that created the world: "Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light" (Gen 1:3). He begins His ministry on the sabbath day by casting out this unclean spirit to show us that He has come to renew, or re-create, all things, and to usher in the definitive sabbath rest of the kingdom of God.
Notice the contrast between silence and noise in this scene. Jesus, full of power, does not need to raise His voice or exert himself. He has merely to command, "Quiet! Come out of him!" and the unclean spirit obeys (Mk 1:26). The demoniac, by contrast, is full of noise and chaos; we see how the unclean spirit "convulsed him", and came out of him "with a loud cry". C.S. Lewis once wrote of how much the devil loves noise for its own sake, and desires to make our hearts into a kingdom of noise where there is no room for the silence of God: "Music and silence–how I detest them both!….[Hell] has been occupied by Noise–Noise, the grand dynamism, the audible expression of all that is exultant, ruthless, and virile–Noise which alone defends us from silly qualms, despairing scruples and impossible desires. We will make the whole universe a noise in the end….The melodies and silences of Heaven will be shouted down in the end. " (C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters)
There is another scene in Mark's Gospel where we see Jesus use the same combination of words of power. In Mark 4:35-41, Jesus "rebuked" the wind and the sea, commanding it: "Quiet! Be still!" At the command of the Word Incarnate, "even wind and sea obey", and there was a "great calm" (Mk 4:41, 39). In a world consumed with noise and distraction, with too many reasons to be fearful or anxious, Jesus commands us as well: "Quiet! Be still!" He sets our hearts at rest by a word, creating in us the silence and the peace which accompany His reign in the kingdom of God.
PRACTICE
It is clear from our first reading how God desires to speak to his people. He never tires of communicating with us. “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Psalm 95:7-8) - this week let us quiet our hearts, allow our bodies to be at rest, and let our minds be still so we may clearly see what God wants to communicate to us.
Take some time to be quiet this week. If silence is very new and unnerving to you, take at least 3 minutes to just listen each day this week. Put your phone on airplane mode, shut off any music or noise, and just sit and listen. It might be helpful to have an image of Jesus in front of you as you sit in silence, or perhaps you would rather close your eyes.
If you have already befriended silence, make a point to have a longer space of silence this week. Challenge yourself a bit by spending 30 minutes (or more!) in silence perhaps in the chapel or by going for a meditative walk outside.
Jesus’s words are powerful, but they can be easily missed if we are caught up in the noise of this world and our own minds. Allow his simple yet powerful word which He speaks to you to guide your day and your week.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Think about how you can continue to reflect on God’s word to you this week, and how you can invite others into the conversation. You can use the questions below for personal reflection, or to grow with others. Be creative! You could consider gathering with friends and family, or starting a group text, or a group FaceTime, to discuss the questions below.
What stands out to you from the readings this week? What might God be speaking to you at this time?
How did you choose to “appreciate the inexhaustible riches” found in the Bible last week? Did you grow in your appreciation of the Word of God this past week?
St. Paul wants us to be able to “[adhere] to the Lord without distraction” (1 Cor. 7:35). What most typically distracts you from the Lord? What is one thing you can do to lessen this distraction?
What has been your experience with silence up to this point in your life?
What is one time you heard God speak to you clearly and powerfully? What did He say to you?
How has noise or distraction crowded out God’s voice in your life? Have you ever ignored the voice of the Lord, as the Israelites did at Meribah and Massah in the desert (Ps 95:8-9)?
St. Paul encourages us to be “anxious about the things of the Lord” (1 Cor. 7:32). What are you anxious about now?
On the Sabbath day, Jesus brought quiet to the man possessed by the noise and clamor of the demon. How have you sought after the silence that Jesus desires to bring on the Sabbath? Have you been able to honor the Sabbath lately or do you need to renew your commitment to keep the Sabbath holy?
KIDS
ACTIVITY
Make a list of people who have authority in your life- teachers, parents, police officers, etc. Is Jesus on the list of people who have authority in your life? Why or Why not?
CONNECTION
In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches and people are amazed at his words and actions. So much so that “his fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region.” And 2000 years later, His message and name are still being spread and we are a part of that! We are called to continue to spread his message throughout the world.
PRACTICE
This week, follow the adult practice above. Sitting in silence/quiet is a learned skill and if we start practicing it at a young age, it will help us to develop it!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Why do you think the people were amazed and astonished at the way Jesus taught?
Where did Jesus’ authority come from?
Can you name any people in whom you have seen the power of God at work like it was with Jesus?
What are some of the ways we can still hear Jesus' voice today teaching us how to live?