Sunday - June 26, 2022
If God has given you the world's goods in abundance, it is to help you gain those of Heaven and to be a good example of sound teaching to your sons, servants, and relatives.
--Saint Ignatius
TODAY'S READINGS
THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Lectionary: 99
Reading I
1 Kgs 19:16b, 19-21
The LORD said to Elijah:
“You shall anoint Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah,
as prophet to succeed you.”
Elijah set out and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat,
as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen;
he was following the twelfth.
Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him.
Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said,
“Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,
and I will follow you.”
Elijah answered, “Go back!
Have I done anything to you?”
Elisha left him, and taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them;
he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh,
and gave it to his people to eat.
Then Elisha left and followed Elijah as his attendant.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
R (cf. 5a) You are my inheritance, O Lord.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.”
R You are my inheritance, O Lord.
I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R You are my inheritance, O Lord.
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence
because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
R You are my inheritance, O Lord.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R You are my inheritance, O Lord.
Reading II Gal 5:1, 13-18
Brothers and sisters:
For freedom Christ set us free;
so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.
For you were called for freedom, brothers and sisters.
But do not use this freedom
as an opportunity for the flesh;
rather, serve one another through love.
For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement,
namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
But if you go on biting and devouring one another,
beware that you are not consumed by one another.
I say, then: live by the Spirit
and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.
For the flesh has desires against the Spirit,
and the Spirit against the flesh;
these are opposed to each other,
so that you may not do what you want.
But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Alleluia Phil 2:8 1 Sm 3:9; Jn 6:68c
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Speak, Lord, your servant is listening;
you have the words of everlasting life.
R. Alleluia
Gospel Lk 9:51-62
When the days for Jesus’ being taken up were fulfilled,
he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem,
and he sent messengers ahead of him.
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.
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.
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.”
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.”
**********************************
How to Handle Rejection
How well do you handle rejection? This Sunday's Gospel reading shows us how the disciples reacted to rejection. They had entered a Samaritan village ahead of Jesus, as he had asked them to do, to gather an audience. But because the Samaritans had an anti-Jewish prejudice, they didn't want to listen to Jesus. Their hearts were closed to anything he might want to say. And so they missed an opportunity to experience the Savior of the world.
How do you feel when close-hearted people reject your efforts to bring Jesus to them? What do you feel like doing when someone refuses to listen to you? Or when you try to explain a teaching of the Church but they don't even want to try to understand?
The disciples who traveled with Jesus didn't like rejection any more than we do. Two of his closest friends, James and John, thought they would do Jesus a favor by asking, "Do you want us to zap them with a lightning bolt?"
Jesus had previously told them to deal with rejection by wiping the dirt from their sandals and walking away. Now he lived what he preached by walking away these Samaritans. He didn't force his beliefs upon the villagers, even though they definitely needed the truths he could have taught them.
There's a lot we have to give up when we follow Jesus, including the grudges we like to hold and our desire to deal with rejection by retaliating. Why give others that kind of control over our moods? Wiping the dirt from our shoes means we get rid of the bad feelings that steal our joy.
At the end of this scripture, Jesus explains that following him is always a forward motion. We're always walking away from something -- away from rejection, away from our unloving reactions to prejudice, away from the close-heartedness of those who are as yet unteachable -- and moving into the loving embrace of Christ.
To move forward, remember that the Holy Spirit is the only one who can prepare a heart to receive Jesus. When we try to bring someone to Jesus and fail, we're not really failing; we're planting seeds rather than harvesting the crop. Let the Holy Spirit finish the work while you move on to other fields.
Today's Prayer
Forgive me, Lord, for being self-centered, focused only on my own needs and worries. I want to look at You and follow You with loyalty and a thankful heart. Amen.
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