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The Easy print Reflection and Discussion Guide is HERE.
1st Sunday of ADVENT Year B.
The discussion guide and Reflection Questions are HERE
Sunday Readings, reflection and discussion guide is HERE
The discussion guide, readings and reflection is HERE.
Firstly, apologies from Admin for this being so delayed. Sickness intervened.
The Readings, and easy print Reflection Guide with Questions is HERE
An easy print pdf reflection and discussion guide is HERE
Easy print reflection guide is here.
Printable Reflection Guide is HERE.
• God’s chosen people, who were marched away from home into exile in Babylon, are now given permission to return home and rebuild their temple. King Cyrus even gives them back their sacred vessels stolen from the Temple 60 years earlier. The Hebrew people could hardly believe what was happening. God could even work through a Gentile King to rescue and restore his people. Isaiah shares a vision of all peoples being able to worship together in the Temple. This vision was never truly fulfilled. Non Jews were only allowed into an ‘outer courtyard’ of the Temple. What vision of welcome do you have for your Church? What limits your vision from becoming a reality?
• Paul continues to grieve over his own Jewish people. He hopes that disobedience will eventually meet mercy! People labelled and feeling distant from God (Gentiles) will experience union with God. Paul reminds the Church of God’s passionate desire for all the ‘unclean’ / gentiles to be made welcome in the Church. Who do you judge unclean?
•Some geography helps to understand the context of the Gospel reading today. Jesus has just finished arguing with the Pharisees (Mt 15:1-20) about what is ‘clean and unclean’. He now travels into unclean ‘gentile’ territory. He moves out of the ‘Holy Land’ and into Canaanite territory. Is he trying to get rid of the Pharisees who keep following and arguing with him? Or is he trying to teach his disciples a lesson going beyond mere words of teaching? The disciples would have been hesitant to go themselves into ‘unclean’ territory. What do you think Jesus could be teaching the disciples? The Church?
• Without napkins at the dinner table, it was a practice that bread was broken and ones hands were cleaned with bread. Bread and food was left after dinner on the floor. House dogs were frequently able to mop up the crumbs and foodscraps after the guests had finished. This is an image used in the reading today. Is Jesus derogatory toward the woman or just revealing his first concern was ‘lost sheep of Israel’?
• The disciples wanted the Canaanite woman sent away. She was unsettling. Was Jesus waiting for the disciples reaction to her as a way of teaching them about clean / unclean?
• The Gentile woman kneels before Jesus and prays ‘Lord help me’. Jesus praises and rewards her persistence and faith. To the Jewish community of the Gospel of Matthew this event would have come as a shock. Jesus entered into and found faith among the unclean gentiles. Imagine feeling or being labelled as ‘unclean’ by ‘the church’. What obstacles need to be overcome for people to meet Jesus? Are you helping or hindering?
• What is one action that you will do to ‘livetheword’ this week?
Easy Print Reflection Guide is HERE
Discussion Questions
• The mountain of Horeb was another term for the famous Mt Sinai where Moses met face to face with God. Unlike Moses, Elijah is being chased. He challenged the Queen for putting statues of Baal in the temple, killed 400 Baal prophets and is running frightened in the desert. He seeks God. He experiences God in the ‘tiny whispering sound’ of God’s voice in prayer. Have you had an experience of doing something for God and it meets resistance? Where do you go to seek God? What would you say you have heard recently from God?
• In St Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapters 9-11 reflect a great sadness that the Jewish people – Paul’s own people – have not recognised and believed in Jesus. Have you experienced sorrow and anguish for
someone who has not believed in Jesus or has left their christian faith? Consider placing them before God in prayer. Paul used this anguish to become an incredible missionary and very talented in preaching in a relevant way. How could you be more missionary?
•After feeding the 5000 people start to suggest that Jesus is the long awaited messiah. This has dangerous consequences. Herod, who has just killed John, could be identifying Jesus as the next target and threat to his power. He ‘compels’ (in the Greek) the disciples to leave. Dissolves the crowd and goes up the mountain to pray. Not only does he wish to mourn the loss of John his close friend and cousin. He is also teaching the disciples about mission (Mt 14) and seeks to be in prayer with God.
• A boat tossed about in the sea has always been an early symbol of the Church. In the middle east the rough sea was considered a symbol of darkness and chaos. Throughout history many storms have caused the Church to cry out to Jesus for help. Walking on water is a display of Jesus’ power over all chaos and
darkness along with his use of the Divine Name ‘It is I’. A simplification of the divine name given to Moses on Mt Sinai. While the English uses ‘tossed about’ the Greek word is literally ‘tortured’. What forces torture you and the church today? Imaginatively enter the boat scene and hear Jesus personally say the words ‘ Take courage, do not be afraid’ to you. What would this mean for you?
• Peter represents church leadership but also the individual disciple. Urged to take the risk of obedience to Jesus’ word the ‘walk on the water to Jesus’ can be sunk by dwelling on the experience of strong winds and big waves. Problems. Fear. Sinking. What could you pray for God to ‘save’ the Church from today? Save you from today?
• Jesus is invited into the boat. The storm calms. Their crisis and Jesus’ help leads them to bow down humbly. Have you had an experience like this?
• What is one action that you will do to ‘livetheword’ this week?
Printable Guide and Questions are HERE
Reflection Questions
- Jeremiah expresses total confidence that the Lord will protect him even though he is in a volatile situation where even one-time friends are out to trip him up. Have you ever felt trapped and surrounded by difficulties out of your control? How did you relate with God through that time?
- How hard is it for you to ‘trust your cause’ to God like Jeremiah? What do you need to be able to move from knowledge about faith to faith in a warm honest deep relationship in which you experience of love, power, mercy and justice of God at ‘gut’ level in your life? Try praying the prayer of Jeremiah and keep a record of how God works in your situation.
- In Romans 5 Paul explains why the revelation of Jesus means God can be utterly trusted. Because he put his love on the line by sending Jesus to rescue us when we were trapped in sin and separated from God. Sin entered the world and because of sin we struggle with trials, difficulties, addictions and disordered desires and relationships with people and creation in a myriad of ways.
But just as one person caused the problem, Jesus – true God and true Man- overcame sin not simply for himself but for many. That is the essence of the Good News. While we were trapped in sin, Jesus came to set us free. It is a gift to be accepted and opened. What aspect of your life do you struggle most with? Ask Jesus to give you the grace for what you need to be set free in that area today. - Jesus tells us, “Do not be afraid of them.” It takes enormous freedom to live without fear of others. Only by trusting in the absoluteness of Gods power and care is it truly possible. Jesus asks us to recognize our worth – we are so precious to God that every hair on our head has been counted and even a sparrow is known to God. What does the imagery tell you about how attentive God is to you? Do you truly know how much God values you? Look at yourself in a mirror and sense God saying, every hair on your head is counted. Pray to embrace the worth God sees in you.
- Who is the only “One” who can destroy both soul and body? To fear God can be misconstrued. What do you think Jesus means when he says to ‘fear’ God rather than anyone else? Gehenna is a Greek word for hell. It was the name given to a burning dump outside Jerusalem which came to represent final punishment. The Gospel tells us that anyone who acknowledges Jesus before others will be acknowledged by Jesus before the Father. How do you feel knowing that Jesus is speaking up for you and your needs and will do so at the final judgment?
- Scripture repeats, ‘Do not be afraid’, many times. God understands our human tendency to fear and wants us to surrender our whole life in trust to God.
- What at is one action that you will do to be ‘livingtheword’ this week?