Wake up! God is Present All Around You! Getting Ready for this weekend's readings (28th Sunday)

Wake Up! God is unbelievably active, but like the nine lepers we do not always thank God or even look for his presence. At other times, we think that what God asks of us cannot possibly be the way in which things will get better.

Table of Contents

Wake Up!

As you prepare for Mass this weekend, I’d like to suggest a common theme to the readings. Namely, be attentive to all God does for you. God is unbelievably active, but like the nine lepers who do not come back to thank Jesus, it is not always clear that this is the case. Our lives change, sometimes even dramatically, and we do not see that it was God who made it so.

At other times, we think that what God asks of us cannot possibly be the way in which things will get better. We sometimes can think that in everything, we know better than God what is good for us. Naaman was like that. The river Jordan was not anything too special. But the river Jordan was the start of a new way for Naaman. He was healed of his leprosy.

Can you wake up to the fact that God is all around you, always longing to give you great things? Are you grateful for the good things in life, or do you take all those things for granted. Wake up! God is active, God loves you, God cares deeply about you.

Questions to ponder

In what ways have you seen or felt the presence of God in your life over the last week?
In this weekend’s first reading, Naaman the Syrian refuses to wash in the River Jordan because the River Jordan is small compared to the rivers in the country where he comes. Have you had an instance where you felt like doing something ordinary was not worth it because you expected something more dramatic?
Do you ever feel like Saint Paul, in prison because he was standing up for the gospel of Jesus Christ?
The readings for this Sunday can be found on the bishop’s website. Read them and think about them in silence. What strikes you about them? How is God speaking to you through them?
In what ways do you need to Wake Up! in your faith?

You can listen to our homilies here.