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Posts Tagged ‘hospitality’
Download 16th Sunday Reflection Document
- ʻThe New Testament is hidden in the Old Testament and the Old Testament is only fully revealed in the New Testamentʼ. Here forms a special link between the First Reading and the Gospel Reading each Sunday. The common theme in the readings is Hospitality.
- Abraham has just won a significant battle, is a wealthy leader and herdsman. Yet he runs from his tent in the heat of the day, gets the equivalent of 20 pounds of flour, kills a steer, which would be an extraordinary feast for a small village, and then he ʻwaited on themʼ. Abraham shows middle eastern hospitality in providing safe passage for travelers. Strangers become guests. How do you show hospitality in your life, family, friends, work colleagues, strangers…..?
- Sarah and Abraham are surprised in receiving news that they will have a child. What surprises have you enjoyed and received recently in showing hospitality?
- Paul rejoices in sufferings and sees them as part of the work of Christ. Any suffering that is part of growth and extending the work of the Church is Christʼs work continuing and making up or completing what was unfinished in Christ. Enduring difficulties became a privilege and an honor for Paul. What sufferings do you find hard to carry? Can you see a different way of looking at them as gradually transforming the world and the Church starting with your own ʻfleshʼ?
- Paul goes where no-one else would go – to the gentiles – to warn, teach and present them to Christ. Is there someone you know who has drifted away from God and the Church. How might you ʻwarnʼ them, ʻteachʼ them, ʻpresentʼ them to God?
- Martha and Mary have Jesus – and his hungry disciples – arrive at their home. Cultural expectations of women would have weighed heavily on both Martha and Mary to serve and provide hospitality and food. Mary however chose to do what was not socially acceptable, and sit at the masters feet, the traditional expression of being a ‘disciple’ – and one normally reserved for ‘males’. Consider what obstacles Mary has overcome to ‘sit and listen’. What obstacles would you have to overcome to sit and listen to Jesus in prayer?
- Burdened with much serving, Martha tries to pull Mary into her activity to help. Welcome and Serving can sometimes end up with the feeling of being burdened and complaining. Mary courageously resists her sister. What is going on? Is a ʻburdened and complainingʼ spirit present in your life, work, relationships, ministry? Have you taken the time to figure out where the ʻworryʼ is coming from?
- This passage coming straight after the parable of the Good Samaritan provides a christian balance to discipleship. Hearing and Doing are not opposites but intertwined. What is Jesus saying about the choice that Mary made to sit and listen to him? What do you think needs to come first, listening or doing? Why?
- What is one action that you will do to be ʻlivingthewordʼ this week?
Download 20th Sunday Reflection Document
Reflection Questions
- 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 be ‘livingheword’ this week?
Download 16th Sunday Yr C
Reflection Questions
- The New Testament is hidden in the Old Testament and the Old Testament is only fully revealed in the New Testamentʼ. Here forms a special link between the First Reading and the Gospel Reading each Sunday. The common theme in the readings is Hospitality.
- Abraham has just won a significant battle, is a wealthy leader and herdsman. Yet he runs from his tent in the heat of the day, gets the equivalent of 20 pounds of flour, kills a steer, which would be an extraordinary feast for a small village, and then he ʻwaited on themʼ. Abraham shows middle eastern hospitality in providing safe passage for travelers. Strangers become guests. How do you show hospitality in your life, family, friends, work colleagues, strangers…..?
- Sarah and Abraham are surprised in receiving news that they will have a child. What surprises have you enjoyed and received recently in showing hospitality?
- Paul rejoices in sufferings and sees them as part of the work of Christ. Any suffering that is part of growth and extending the work of the Church is Christʼs work continuing and making up or completing what was unfinished in Christ. Enduring difficulties became a privilege and an honor for Paul. What sufferings do you find hard to carry? Can you see a different way of looking at them as gradually transforming the world and the Church starting with your own ʻfleshʼ?
- Paul goes where no-one else would go – to the gentiles – to warn, teach and present them to Christ. Is there someone you know who has drifted away from God and the Church. How might you ʻwarnʼ them, ʻteachʼ them, ʻpresentʼ them to God?
- Martha and Mary have Jesus – and his hungry disciples – arrive at their home. Cultural expectations of women would have weighed heavily on both Martha and Mary to serve and provide hospitality and food. Mary however chose to do what was not socially acceptable, and sit at the masters feet, the traditional expression of being a ‘disciple’ – and one normally reserved for ‘males’. Consider what obstacles Mary has overcome to ‘sit and listen’. What obstacles would you have to overcome to sit and listen to Jesus in prayer?
- Burdened with much serving, Martha tries to pull Mary into her activity to help. Welcome and Serving can sometimes end up with the feeling of being burdened and complaining. Mary courageously resists her sister. What is going on? Is a ʻburdened and complainingʼ spirit present in your life, work, relationships, ministry? Have you taken the time to figure out where the ʻworryʼ is coming from?
- This passage coming straight after the parable of the Good Samaritan provides a christian balance to discipleship. Hearing and Doing are not opposites but inter- twined. What is Jesus saying about the choice that Mary made to sit and listen to him? What do you think needs to come first, listening or doing? Why?
- What is one action that you will do to be ʻliveingwordʼ this week?
Download 25th Sunday Yr B
Reflection Questions
- The Book of Wisdom continues the suffering servant theme of Isaiah last week and points to the suffering that Jesus will experience. Many Jewish people were searching for meaning and guidance outside Judaism while living in Alexandria (a large Greek city). Have you experienced a time when you went searching for other belief systems because the society you lived in made fun of your religious beliefs? Where did you turn? What happened?
- The Book of Wisdom reveals worldly people oppose Godly people. They pretend righteous motivations…. ‘let us see whether his words be true’…. ‘let him prove his gentleness and patience’. Has this experience of persecution and trial been part of your christian witness? Have you been able to live in trust that ‘God will take care of you’? Can you see and believe evil actions ultimately get found out and goodness is vindicated?
- Living in peace with each other in christian community is our calling. A desire for glory and power and possessions needs to be brought out into the open. What peace-full virtue from James could you practice more of: be pure, peaceable, gentle, compliant? What object or honor are you wanting to possess? Name a ‘selfish ambition’…
- Jesus, in the Gospel of Mark has 3 predictions of the passion. Each time Jesus talks about his suffering the disciples completely misunderstand what he is talking about. Today is the second prediction. Jesus talks about Death. Disciples talk about Glory. Jesus’ teaching about accepting suffering is contrasted with his disciples argument about seniority. 2 lifestyles are revealed. What style of living describes you: living upward (glory and honor and violence) or living downward (service and humility and nonviolence)?
- Jesus chooses to expose the disciples lust for power in a quieter moment ‘inside the house’. He challenges them. They were really just concerned about ‘power and glory’… ‘who was the greatest’. Jesus does a very revealing action. While they wanted to know who was ‘at the top’, Jesus takes a child representing someone ‘at the bottom’. He collapses the social and power structure. Receive and welcome and show hospitality and inclusion to the ‘bottom’ in society. Can you see how living this invitation will inevitably enter a disciple into upsetting the status quo. Upsetting the power structure of society. Jesus calls this a disciple ‘picking up the cross’. In your world, community family, workplace, who is ‘at the bottom’ (equivalent of a child in Jesus’ time). How could you ‘receive’ them? Jesus identifies with them. Will you stand up for them?
- In Jesus’ time, a child was ‘at the bottom’ of society because in a shame / honor culture, it would be highly unlikely that a good act toward a child would be ‘rewarded’ by the child talking to the community about the hospitality received. As a result, a kind action does not get rewarded with ‘honor’ in the eyes of the community. Therefore it is not worth doing. Can you recognise how subversive Jesus’ placing the child ‘in their midst’ is to the culture of the disciples. Who is the equivalent of a ‘child’ today?
- What is one action that you will do to be ‘livingtheword’ this week?
Download 31st Sunday Yr C
Reflection Question 5: Zacchaeus was the Chief Tax Collector of the large city of Jericho. He would have been extremely wealthy. And yet he does something extremely humbling – he climbs a tree. He publicly admits he is short in front of the large crowd. He exposes himself to ridicule in his effort of seeking Jesus. Life changing meetings with Jesus are often the result of extraordinary actions by gospel characters. What made Zaccheaus climb the tree? Instead of climbing the tree, what action could you take to get closer to Jesus? What is the risk or fear that could stop you? Who could give you support or advice?
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Download Document: 16th Sunday Yr C
Reflection Question 6: Martha and Mary have Jesus – and his hungry disciples – arrive at their home. Cultural expectations of women would have weighed heavily on both Martha and Mary to serve and provide hospitality and food. Mary however chose to do what was not socially acceptable, and sit at the masters feet, the traditional expression of being a ‘disciple’ – and one normally reserved for ‘males’. Consider what obstacles Mary has overcome to ‘sit and listen’. What obstacles would you have to overcome to sit and listen to Jesus in prayer?