Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
B 2021
INTRO: Loneliness can be a difficult part of life. No one wants to be lonely. They say “one can be lonely even in a crowded room”! Maybe even in this crowded room?
THE REALITY……. there are people who are lonely and the world pandemic certainly contributes many these days who are lonely!
Easy question…… Who were the two main characters in the Gospel story today?
JESUS
THE LEPER
MOST DEFINITELY the leper was lonely……
By virtue of the disease…lepers were exiled and set apart from the community.
What I like about this healing was:
JESUS’S RESPONSE to a sad situation and a lonely leper.
He saw, understood and responded with an affectionate heartfelt action. He didn’t leave the leper ALONE!
He’s teaching me, he’s teaching the church, you and me, to respond to sad situations with what we can. We are to do what we can if we are presented with other people’s sad situations.
My priest friend works in a homeless shelter and tells me this wonderful story of compassion for sad situations that others are in.
TENNIS SHOES are a BIG thing for kids, most, especially boys.
Well… one day coming in to help at the homeless center was a mom and her 12 year old son… The son struts in with these fantastic new, crazy looking if you ask me, expensive tennis shoes….
And as he’s serving the poor their meal he spy’s this young kid … similar in age wearing a ragged per of shoes ….
He looks down at his prized possession of tennis shoes ….. And says to his mom, “Can I give that boy my tennis shoes?” …… And of course does so.
EVEN A CHILD CAN COMPASSIONATELY respond to a sad situation.
So here we are today…..LEARNING ABOUT JESUS and how he responds to the LONELY leper…the sad situation of His day and this is supposed to affect us INTO ACTION like Jesus did!
CONCLUSION
The liturgical season of Ordinary Time is meant to CHANGE US in words and deeds into becoming more like CHRIST ON EARTH, learning about Him from the Gospel readings each week. May all of us respond this day with actions to assist those who are lonely.