32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Background: Having arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus once again finds himself arguing with the scribes, the teachers, and interpreters of the Torah. Like all the other Hebrew prophets who have preceded him, he calls to account those whose actions do not reflect their teaching and praying—especially in the way that they treat the most vulnerable among us. It is important to note that the widow’s generosity is paralleled in the reading from Hebrews with Jesus’s own generosity in giving away his very life for us. There is also a reminder of the judgment that is coming for all of us, a common theme in these last Sundays of the liturgical year.
Discussion Questions
- What are you doing in your lives primarily to make an impression on other people? How is that standing in the way of your real growth and happiness?
- How do you treat people that you may not usually pay much attention to? Servers, cashiers, and store personnel? Children and the elderly?
- How do you treat those who work for you or who report to you?
- Is your generosity measured by dollars and cents or be compassion and love? What reveals your real values?
Practice: Each day this week slowly pray the prayer attributed to St. Francis, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” Pause after every few lines to let the words seep into you; let them call up memories that reflect each section.
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Background: Again, we are reminded that we and our world one day shall be judged by Christ for our actions and intentions. Yet this fact should not cause us fear. As Mark’s gospel tells us, Christ’s return will be like the coming of summer since our sins are already forgiven.
Discussion Questions
- What makes you nervous about seeing Jesus someday face-to-face?
- How do you find hope in the assurance that you really will one day see Jesus face-to-face?
- What should our society or our church be nervous at the thought of judgment?
- What are your hopes for our society or our church?
Practice: Find a copy of the prayer to St. Michael that begins, “St. Michael the archangel, defend us in battle…,” and pray it each day this week. The language may seem a little old-fashioned at points, but reflect each day upon some evil that besets our world from which you wish that we would be delivered.
34th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Christ the King
Background: Again, the theme of judgment returns for today Jesus himself is on trial. A man whipped, stripped almost naked, and crowned with thorns, and standing before the military might of imperial Rome claims to be a king. Yet his “testimony” is true; and, as Revelations says, he is the “faithful witness,” loyal to the Father’s call until the end. And that is why he is now the risen Lord who in every generation offers his followers not “Pie in the sky, bye and bye” but the strength to live already in God’s truth and justice, in God’s peace and love.
Discussion Questions
- How much are you conforming to the values of this world rather than to the values God’s kingdom/reign?
- Which people in your life call you to live in God’s kingdom/reign by their example and support?
- Which people in our society or church are calling you to live in God’s kingdom/reign?
- What are you called to change in your life right now so that one day Jesus will look at you and call you his faithful witness?
Practice: Find a copy of the Magnificat, and each day this week take one or two of its verses to ponder for a while before you pray the whole text.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS – CYCLE C
Introduction to Luke: Like Mark, Luke has arranged his gospel into four major sections: the Galilean ministry, the journey to Jerusalem, his ministry there, and the account of his death and resurrection. Yet Luke adds both an extended account of Jesus’s infancy and childhood and a prelude to his public ministry. It is also important to note that Luke’s is the Gospel for the Gentiles: it is the first-half of a two-volume work in which the first half, the gospel is marked by Jesus’s going up to Jerusalem while the second, the Acts of the Apostles, tells the story of how the church brings that good news out from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.
Introduction to Advent: People often wonder why we hear so little during Advent about the events leading up to Jesus’s birth. The answer is that event is only one of his advents/comings. The First Sunday calls us to ponder how we will greet him when he comes again. The Second and Third describe how the people of his own day reacted to John the Forerunner who prepared them for his message—and make us ask how we would respond to his coming to us now. What needs to change in our hearts and our lives? The Fourth Sunday tells us that only those with deep faith can help Christ come into the world—often in unexpected ways.
1st Sunday in Advent
Background: As is usual, Cycle C of the liturgical year begins where Cycle B ended. Once again, we are called to lift up our eyes from the busy-ness of our daily concerns and to put things in their final perspective as we hear part of Luke’s “eschatological discourse.” Mark assured us that Christ’s return in judgment would be like the coming of summer; Luke now tells us that, in the midst of calamities, we need to “stand up and raise (our) heads” since “our redemption is near at hand.”
Discussion Questions
- What worldly cares really weigh you down? How might Christ help you bear them?
- What signs of hope help you raise your head and face the future?
- Whose love gives you the strength to carry on?
- Who needs you to be their source of hope in this world?
Practice: One of the classic Advent songs is Psalm 25. Pray it slowly each day this week, and let its words of trust settle deep in you.
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
