Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves” (Mt 11:28-29). The Lord invites us to find peace and joy in Him this Sabbath as we set aside time to worship and rest.
PREPARE
“Remember the sabbath day—keep it holy. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God.”
Sabbath comes from the Hebrew word “Shabbat”, which literally means “to stop.” Keeping holy the Sabbath is not just a commandment, but an invitation. An invitation from the Lord to stop our work, stop our worrying, stop our striving. An opportunity to fid rest and to be renewed. A chance to refocus on the things that truly matter - the Lord, family, community. In our culture, Sunday has become a day to “catch up” on everything that didn’t get done during the week, and any time left over is often seen as an opportunity just to “get ahead” for next week. But we Christians have a chance now to remember what it means to keep the Sabbath. During this pandemic the Lord is calling us back to Himself, offering us a chance to reclaim the gift of the Sabbath, reminding us again what it means to “keep it holy.”
A basic principle for observing the Sabbath is only to do things that can be considered “rest” or “worship”. Here are a few ideas to consider to begin more to enter into the Sabbath. Maybe pick just one thing to focus on this Sunday, then next Sunday keep that practice in addition to a second one. And then the next Sunday add a third, to slowly over time begin to enter into this great gift of the Sabbath more and more.
Keep the Lord at the center - read the Mass readings ahead of time, participate in Mass, make more time for prayer, spend some extra time in silence focusing on the Lord
Try not to work - resist the urge to check your email, or catch up on a few things, and leave it for Monday
Plan ahead - take care of what needs to be done before Sunday, so plan the rest of your week to make sure you get the laundry done, have gone grocery shopping, etc.so you don’t have to do any of it on Sunday
Spend the day “screen free” - try to stay off social media, internet news, and your phone as much as possible. If you can’t make it the whole day try to go for at least a few hours
Be intentional with others - if you live with others (ie. family, roommates), is there something you can do together like play a game or go on a hike? If you live alone, can you reach out to a good friend and catch up?
Leisure, not entertainment - try to do things that are life giving; binge-watching a favorite show or playing video games for hours rarely leaves anyone with a new zeal for life. Read a good book, go on a long walk, develop a hobby.
PARTICIPATE
“Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18:20). Each Sunday we are called to “keep holy the Sabbath” and although that may look different for right now we will still come together as a St. Ann community through the gift of technology.
MASS READINGS
GIVING
Take a few minutes to give to St. Ann Parish. Please give generously and sacrificially as an act of faith during these difficult times. You can give online:
After giving, offer ways to be generous of your whole self during this trying time for our world.
“Each must do as already determined without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work.”
PROCESS
“Behold the Lamb of God” (John 1:36)
John the Baptist begins a chain reaction by his declaration of Jesus as “the Lamb of God” to two disciples standing nearby (John 1:35-36). One of these two was Andrew, who asks the Lord where He is staying and is then invited by the Lord to “come, and you will see” (Jn 1:39). Andrew, who was “the brother of Simon Peter” (John 1:40), in turn brings Simon to Jesus, who declares that he “will be called Cephas” (John 1:41-42). Later in the Acts of the Apostles, we hear about how Peter eventually preached Christ risen from the dead to a crowd on the day of Pentecost resulting in “about three thousand persons” becoming followers of Jesus that day (Acts 2:14-41). The story does not end there either; according to a study by the Pew Research Center from 2012, “Christians number 2.2 billion, or about one-in-three (32%) people worldwide”, (https://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-christians/) meaning that the word continued to spread and still does today! With a simple invitation, all this became possible!
The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes how powerful this “chain reaction” is as we read: “Faith is a personal act - the free response of the human person to the initiative of God who reveals himself. But faith is not an isolated act. No one can believe alone, just as no one can live alone. You have not given yourself faith as you have not given yourself life. The believer has received faith from others and should hand it onto others. Our love for Jesus and for our neighbor impels us to speak to others about our faith. Each believer is thus a link in the great chain of believers. I cannot believe without being carried by the faith of others, and by my faith, I help support others in the faith” (CCC 166). We are called to be a link in the chain of faith which reaches back to Jesus; this happens through invitation.
Jesus calls us to be “one spirit with Him” (1 Corinthians 6:17) causing us to “delight” with Him in accomplishing “His will”, which is that others would come to know Him. Sharing our faith with others does not need to be complex or intimidating. Like Eli helping Samuel, we can help others start to recognize the voice of the Lord. Like John the Baptist, we can just point others to Jesus, sharing what we know to be true. Like Jesus, we can gently invite others to simply “come and see”, realizing that it is God who, ultimately, makes the invitation and He is inviting us to participate in sharing it.
PRACTICE
It can feel intimidating to invite someone to something involving faith. But if we believe the Gospel is the best news ever, and that having a relationship with Jesus makes all the difference in our lives, then we should be eager to share that with others! And even though it can seem scary or awkward, the truth is that many people are searching and are just waiting for an invitation. Dr. Thom Rainer, author of “The Unchurched Next Door” says that eighty-two percent of people who identified as “unchurched” are at least somewhat likely to attend church if invited.” But in that same study he found that only 2% of church members actually ever invite someone! This book was written back in 2008, but the uncertainty of our current times seems to actually be making people even more open to exploring faith.
So the practice this week is very simply to invite someone to something! Consider inviting someone to Mass with you, or inviting them for dinner or coffee to discuss faith. Or a great first step for many people is Alpha. Alpha is a series of interactive sessions where guests have an opportunity to explore life and Christian faith freely in a friendly, and informal environment. New Alpha courses start next week: https://www.stannparish.org/alpha
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Think about how you can continue to reflect on God’s word to you this week, and how you can invite others into the conversation. You can use the questions below for personal reflection, or to grow with others. Be creative! You could consider gathering with friends and family, or starting a group text, or a group FaceTime, to discuss the questions below.
What stands out to you from the readings this week? What might God be speaking to you at this time?
Were you able to find the date of your baptism last week?
Have you ever had an experience like Samuel in the first reading? When you heard the Lord calling you or speaking to you?
In the Gospel we see John the Baptist pointing Jesus out to the two disciples, helping them to recognize Him. Has someone ever done that for you in your life by helping you to follow Jesus?
Then almost immediately after meeting Jesus, Andrew goes and brings his brother Simon Peter to Him. Is there anyone who you have ever led to Jesus, or helped to follow Him? If so, what was that like? If not, is there a reason why?
Does inviting others to things about faith seem intimidating? Why might that be?
What can we learn from the examples in the Gospel about inviting others? (John the Baptist very simply pointing out Jesus, and then Jesus simply inviting the disciples to “come and see.”)
KIDS
ACTIVITY
Set up a “Domino chain reaction” using dominos, markers, books, dvd cases or anything that you could set up and knock into each other. Set up a domino course around the room. Watch how one domino knocked over starts a whole line-up falling down.
CONNECTION
In this Sunday’s Gospel, John tells Andrew about Jesus and then Andrew tells his brother, Simon, about Jesus. John starts a domino effect that helps bring others to know Jesus. We are called to be like John and share about Jesus to others around us.
PRACTICE
This week share about Jesus to one other person who may not know him. It can be as simple as telling one of your friends or family members that “Jesus loves you!”
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
John helps point Andrew to Jesus. Who in your life has helped point you to Jesus? What did they do?
John calls Jesus the Lamb of God. Why does he call Him that? (Lambs are meek and gentle and were often used as a sacrifice to God in the Old Testament.)
Jesus invites Andrew to stay with Him and become his friend. How are you invited to be friends with Jesus? (Going to Mass, taking time to talk/pray with Jesus, following him)