Living the Word at Ascension Church

Living the Word at Ascension

September 25, 2011

Ascension Parish Living the Word

Readings for September 25, 2011

Philippians 2:1-5

Matthew 21:28-32

In our Gospel reading, Jesus tells a brief story to probe the Jewish leaders who had just interrogated him (they had demanded to know the source of his authority). The story features two sons. Both were asked by their father to work in the vineyard. The first refused, then later changed his mind and went to work. The second agreed to work but never went.

"Which of the two did his father's will?" Jesus asks the leaders. "The first," they answered. Jesus uses this answer to point out the leaders' own unwillingness to change their minds about John the Baptist, whom they dismissed despite the evident fruitfulness of his ministry.

We're already well into the 2012 election cycle. The presidential candidates have been jockeying for position in debates and campaign rallies. The stakes are high - almost every single word can be used against them by their opponents and by the pundits. Candidates squirm their way out of "misstatements" and "unclear" language but what is absolutely not allowed is a change of mind. A change of mind is forbidden because it is equivalent to indecisiveness, incompetence or sheer ignorance.

This is the unspoken rule of our political landscape but how many times do we find ourselves also living by it? In our jobs and in our personal lives, does it seem "wrong" to change one's mind? Jesus is pointing to another value, a Gospel value that says the opposite: be free to change your mind!

The letter to the Philippians, quoting an early hymn about Jesus, reminds us that living out this value requires humility.

Prayer:

"Spirit of love,

come, give us the mind of Jesus..."

- the not-grasping, the self-emptying, the humble mind of Jesus -

"teach us the wisdom of God."

(quoted text from "Eye Has Not Seen" by Marty Haugen, #758 in Ritual Song hymnal)

Daniel Cochrane has been a member of Ascension parish for ten years. He sings in the choir and serves as a cantor. During the week, he works in the Wheaton-Warrenville school district as an assistive technology specialist.

Lectio Divina...

"Lectio divina is a slow, contemplative praying of the Scriptures. Time set aside in a special way for lectio divina enables us to discover in our daily life an underlying spiritual rhythm. Within this rhythm, we discover an increasing ability to offer more of ourselves and our relationships to the Father, and to accept the embrace that God is continuously extending to us in the person of his son, Jesus Christ."

Father Luke Dysinger, O.S.B

About Living the Word

LIVING THE WORD...opportunity, challenge, commitment

Opportunity: Living the Word is an opportunity for us to grow in our knowledge and love of God through the prayerful reading and study of the scriptures.

Challenge: Living the Word is a challenge to make more time for God in our daily lives. We challenge ourselves to come to Mass each week ready to hear God's Word proclaimed and to take that Word to the world!

Commitment: Living the Word invites us to commit ourselves to spending time with God's Word several times each week. As we read and reread these scriptures, think about the words we read, and bring these words to prayer, we encounter Christ, God's Living Word.

What is a Lectionary?

A lectionary is a list of scripture readings (also called "lections," from the Latin lectio) selected for reading at worship services; it is also the book containing the actual readings. The term is most commonly used in the Catholic Church for the Lectionary for Mass, which contains the readings prescribed for the Masses for Sundays, feast days, weekdays, sacramental celebrations, funerals, and Masses for special occasions or particular devotions-basically, any Mass.