February 13-14, 2010
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Last Sunday before Ash Wednesday
Jeremiah 17:5-8 First Corinthians 15:12-20 Luke 6:17-26
Blessings and woe, blessings and woe; like a debit sheet before an accountant, the season of Lent approaches with its annual opportunity to take a measure of our life, accompanied with the send-off Gospel exclamations of ‘blessings and woe!’ In a refutation of those who see the accumulation of personal wealth, accomplishment and possessions as signs of God’s favor, this weekend’s Gospel speaks POSITIVELY of those who are poor, hungry, weeping and hated.
The implication is that if we find ourselves in these circumstances we must be doing something RIGHT and to rejoice in the knowledge that God finds favor within us. Perversely, those who are accomplished and content are lamented: ‘woe to you who are rich, who are full, who laugh, who are praised.’ Once again, the implication is that these individuals ‘don’t get it’ and will not experience the gracious pleasures of God. In The First Reading from Jeremiah we are invited to listen and discern where we seek our strength? Do we seek fulfillment and satisfaction from our own accomplishments or from our relationship with God? Does our comfort and ease with Jesus afford more peace or do we hedge our bets with a healthy investment portfolio and personal attainments?
If these last months and years have shown us anything, financial markets can and will gyrate, our investments can evaporate or be stripped from us through fraud and theft, the safety nets of our own making can be easily ripped and torn. When all else fails, on what do we rely for our strength and comfort. When all is woe, to whom do we look to lift our eyes toward blessings? When we see no way forward, who lifts us from our despair. When government programs simply won’t fix everything, when the brilliance of doctors just can’t save, on whom do we rely for help and meaning? With the approach of Lent, these next six weeks are offered to us as a priceless opportunity to take an accounting, to measure our woes and blessings…and perhaps discern that all of our woes may be invitations to perceive the blessings and smiles of God?
Thank you for joining with us on this Valentine’s/Food Fair Weekend. May you relish the loves in your life and be enriched by the relationships that are tested and true. You are invited to enjoy the many tasty treats of our Food Fair following Mass, if not to consume here, take it home for lunch or dinner or something to share with your fellow workers on Monday. This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the traditional start of Lent and a day of abstaining from eating meat and limiting ourselves to the equivalent of one full meal spread out over the entire day (fasting.) Please check out the Ash Distribution schedule in the Bulletin, they start early, 4:00 a.m. so you can proudly identify yourself as a Roman Catholic-Christian throughout your work or school day. The Bulletin has other news within it, so please take a copy on your way home. Thanks…and on this Valentine’s weekend, remember, you are loved. FKB
