On the Back Porch
Reading, pondering and studying God’s Word is sometimes best done “on the back porch.” Each week we will try to offer something for you and your “back porch time.”
11th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
What We Celebrate
This coming Sunday the Church returns to ordinary time, although there is nothing ordinary about the gospel. It is taken from the great “Missionary Discourse” from Matthew 10, but comes immediately after several chapters of Jesus’ mission in Galilee. Now the Twelve are ready to do what the Teacher has done and so Jesus commissions them:
“Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons
They are to proclaim the very same message as John the Baptist (Mt 3) and Jesus himself (Mt 4) – but they are to limit their activities to Galilee? What does this say about the universal mission of the Church? Are the Twelve really supposed to “raise the dead”? Are the Twelve ready? And that is just the beginning of a very rich and compelling gospel. There is a lot more to glean from this Sunday’s Gospel
The Character of God: Grace
One of the most repeated verses in Scripture is taken from Exodus 34:6: “The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.” This verse is quoted or referenced 20 more times in the Old Testament. Take a moment to watch this short video (#3 of 6) in the series.
Previous videos in the series are: