Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Sixth 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
A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” (Mark 1:40-41)
In our Gospel we see Jesus encounter this poor leper and, moved with pity, restore him to health and to a place in society. The law commanded that lepers should be ostracized, staying far away from everyone lest they infect the others: “The one who bears the sore of leprosy … shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp.” (Leviticus 13:44-46). To be a leper was to be an outcast, unfit to be near, less than human, homeless. Viewed from this angle, we might notice that there is more of an outbreak of “leprosy” in our times than we would have thought. We might not have ever encountered someone with such a severe skin disease, yet we can be so quick to treat others as if they were lepers that we “cancel” them, evicting them from our lives. The irony is that when we ostracize others in this way, we are the ones who become spiritual lepers, separating ourselves from communion and sowing division.
When we hear in the Gospel of the encounter of Jesus and the leper, we see that He approaches the situation differently. Jesus is not afraid of contact with this man. He looks deeper. Approaching Jesus, the leper asks with bold humility, “If you wish, you can make me clean” (Mark 1:40), and in response, Jesus grants His request. It’s interesting to note that, in a way, Jesus takes on the lot of the leper; because of the leper spreading the news of Jesus healing him, He is now forced to remain “outside in deserted places” (Mark 1:45), much like what a leper might do. In some translations of the prophet Isaiah we read, “It was he who carried the weight of it, our miseries, and it was he who bore them. A leper, so we thought of him, a man God had smitten and brought low; and all the while it was for our sins he was wounded, it was guilt of ours crushed him down; on him the punishment fell that brought us peace, by his bruises we were healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5). Jesus takes on the leprosy of sin which divides us, and then unites us in Himself. Going forth from the home of heaven, Jesus becomes ‘homeless’: “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head” (Matthew 8:20, Luke 9:58). He who is the perfect embodiment of love and truth maintains this tension in Himself for our sake and extends to us the invitation to our true home with Him in heaven. When we enter on the path which Jesus has laid out for us, we inevitably pass through the same tension. To travel the road towards the homeland of heaven means passing through the homelessness of being a Christian.
Often we hear people tell us not to “burn bridges” in our relationships and connections with others, and instead to find ways to cross over into each other's lives. St. Ephrem notes in a homily that Jesus “is the son of the carpenter, who skillfully made His cross a bridge … and brought mankind over into the dwelling of life” (Homily on Our Lord, 4). Jesus continually and freely stretched Himself out for others despite knowing that He would be walked on; He held the tension between divinity and humanity so that we could enter into His life over the chasm of death. If we have begun to traverse that which He has laid down for us, we are called to become, as part of His body, a path for others towards His life. The true strength of our faith does not consist in creating obstacles. St. John Chrysostom in a homily said, “If you are strong, then let the weak test your strength” (Homilies on Romans, 27). If we are a strong plank of the path, we should not be surprised at the tension when we are crossed over. Are we an obstacle or an invitation to Christ? Are we a bridge or a pit? Are we following Christ and allowing ourselves to be an open door to eternity, even if this might mean homelessness in the present?
PRACTICE
Our world has had an intense focus on cleanliness and hygiene for about a year now. We’ve also had an experience of not physically being able to be close to many people. As we hear in Leviticus, a leper was instructed to shout out “Unclean!” before approaching anyone and would make his tent outside the community’s camp. This could make for a very isolating experience!
Who are the “lepers” of our culture? Who do you consciously avoid or consider to be unclean in your life? When you see someone asking for money or food or just a “hello” on the side of the road, do you acknowledge her presence? Do you find yourself avoiding a certain co-worker or relative? Are you avoiding bringing up something with a friend or family member, and therefore avoiding deep conversation with that person?
This week, pick one relationship in your life that needs Jesus’s healing touch. What is one thing you can do to reach out to this person this week? Perhaps you cannot physically reach out, but you can write a letter or call them. If necessary, perhaps you could seek or offer forgiveness. Lent is about to begin: now is the time to be reconciled not only to God, but also to those around us!
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?
Were you able to find out a bit more about the Connect Groups St. Ann has to offer? Or did you thank God for having a great community in your life?
When have you felt separated from friends and family? How did it feel? How did you deal with that situation? Who helped to bring you back into relationship with others?
Do you turn to the Lord when you are in distress, as our psalmist strives to do? Or do you find yourself turning to other things instead?
St. Paul exports us: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Cor 11:1). In what ways have you been able to imitate Christ? In what ways can you be more like Christ this week?
If you knew you could approach Jesus to be made completely clean, what would you present to him for healing?
Why do you think Jesus tells the leper “See that you tell no one anything” (Mark 1:44)?
The psalmist and the leper are both very open and honest about their need for healing. What makes it challenging for you to be honest about the healing you need? Do you hide this from the Lord? What would happen if we ask God to heal us? Lent is fast approaching: do you have a plan to receive healing in the Sacrament of Reconciliation?