Thirteenth Sunday Gospel C

When the days for Jesus’ being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him.  
· Jesus’ ministry in Galilee has been completed. Now, Jesus looks towards Jerusalem where he will suffer, die, rise and ascend back to the Father.
· Sending messengers ahead of him was the norm that Jesus used. It was a way of preparing the people for his teaching and ministry.

On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. 
· Samaria was a territory between Galilee and Judea. The inhabitants were a mixed-breed of Gentiles and Jews who intermarried after the earlier deportation of the Israelites in 721 BC.
· When Jesus began his Galilean ministry, he experienced rejection by the people of his own town. Now, as he begins his ministry in Judea, he is at once rejected.  In each case Jesus does not retaliate. He just moves on to the places that are open to him. This is the same thing that happens when an individual doesn’t welcome Jesus into one’s heart. Jesus moves on.
· The reason why the Samaritans reject Jesus is because the Jews and the Samaritans were not on speaking terms. Jews considered the Samaritans as Jews who intermarried with non-Jews and who diluted the covenant. To the orthodox Jew, the Samaritans were ritually unclean. Recall the attitude of the Samaritan woman at the well when Jesus asked for a cup of water.

When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”  Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.
             This thinking of James and John may be the basis why Jesus called them the “sons of               thunder.     
· The disciples act from human motives of retaliation. Jesus expects a disciple to act with the same motivation as the Master: forgiveness and mercy, rather than condemnation and destruction. Can we see ourselves in this situation?

As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”  Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” 
· Discipleship under Jesus involves not only following him but embracing the life of total dependency upon the Father for everything. Discipleship involves total dedication.  How easy is that for us?

And to another he said, “Follow me.”  But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”  But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead.  But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”  And another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.”  To him Jesus said, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”
· To both Jesus reminds those called that their primary focus must be the Kingdom of God above all else, including family ties. Why would Jesus say this? The Kingdom of God—eternal life—is of greater value than even family ties. Is God first in your life or is something or someone more important to you than God in fact?
· As you reflect on this passage what do you think God is asking you to do in response?  What needs to change in your life?

(Continuing Our Glorious Inheritance)

"No circumstance in the world can ever prevent us from believing in God, from placing all our trust in him, from loving him with our whole heart, or from loving our neighbor. Faith, hope, and charity are absolutely free, because if they are rooted in us deeply enough, they are able to draw strength from whatever opposes them! If someone sought to prevent us from believing  by persecuting us, we always would retain the option of forgiving our enemies and transforming the situation of oppression into one of greater love. If someone tried to silence our faith by killing us, our deaths would be the best possible proclamation of our faith! Love, and only love, can overcome evil by good and draw good out of evil.." (Fr. Jacques Philippe)

Now, we can better understand how the many martyrs in the past and in the present could remain resolute in the face of death. Their faith, hope and love in and of Jesus was strongly rooted, like a firm foundation that nothing can uproot. When Jesus is truly the Lord of our lives, no other lord can substitute or satisfy us. Like St. Paul, we want nothing more than to know Jesus both in his suffering and in his resurrection. Today, make a conscious decision to give your life to Jesus more completely.

Solemnity of the Holy Trinity Gospel C

Jesus said to his disciples: "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. 
In this passage Jesus continues the farewell speech that extends from 13:31-17:26.

          Even after being with Jesus for three years, the apostles did not fully comprehend what Jesus has shared with them. It will be one of the roles of the Holy Spirit to further teach them and to bring all things into greater understanding over time.
As they trusted in Jesus, now they were to trust the lead of the Holy Spirit, as he leads them into a deeper comprehension of the truth.

He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming.
            Perhaps the most beautiful part of this passage is the union of the three: Father, Son, and               Holy Spirit. They speak as one. They listen to each other. They represent one another.
Jesus did not speak his own word, but said, "everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you" (15:15). In his High Priestly Prayer, Jesus will say, "the words which you have given me I have given to them" (the disciples) (17:8). In like manner, the Spirit will not speak his own word, but will speak "whatever he hears." There is a direct line from the Father through the Son and the Spirit to the disciples. Every word of Jesus and the Spirit is rooted in the truth of the Father.

           The things that are coming includes more than the upcoming death and resurrection of                         Jesus. It includes the various directions the Spirit will give them as they proclaim the Gospel of salvation. It                 will also include the things to know about the end times, as they occur.

“The power of God, the Spirit, received the presence of God (all the Father has) from the Son and declares it (i.e., gives it) to the believer. In other words, by the power the Spirit, God the Father becomes present in the life of the follower.”

St. Bede: “It is certain that many filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit have foreknown future events. But as many gifted saints have never had this power, the words, He will show you things to come, may be taken to mean, bring back to your minds the Joys of your heavenly country. He did however inform the Apostles of what was to come, viz. of the evils that they would have to suffer for Christ’s sake, and the good things they would receive in recompense.”

He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you."
We are given a portrait of the three persons of the Trinity. Jesus speaks of himself, of the Spirit’s activities, and of the Father.
St. Chrysostom: “Having said then, you cannot bear them now, but then you shall be able, and, The Holy Spirit shall lead you into all truth; lest this should make them suppose that the Holy Spirit was the superior, He adds, For He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak.”
What experiences of God have you had? How powerful were those experiences? How did you feel the presence of God?