PODCAST - Press sideways triangle below to
listen
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time,
Cycle B
St. Mark’s, Fallston / August 30, 2015
What’s Inside Makes the Difference
ANGER HELD BY A WARRIOR ++++++++++++++++++++
Ø
Many years ago a warrior
abandoned his life of war and became a monk
Ø
He lived a quiet life in the
monastery and serving the poor & sick of the village
Ø
One day, an arrogant warrior rode
thru the village terrorizing its people
Ø
He made his way 2 monastery where
he recognized the monk from their adventures years before
Ø
The warrior did everything he
could to provoke his old adversary into a fight
Ø
He threw rocks, shouted insults,
smashed parts of the monastery, but the monk would not respond
Ø
By dusk, the warrior grew tired
of the game and defiantly spat on the monastery door & rode off
THE LESSON FROM HELD ANGER +++++++++++++++++
Ø
The villagers, who’d been brutalized
by the warrior, asked monk why he didn’t confront intruder
Ø
Monk asked, “If someone offers you a gift & you do not accept it, to whom does
the gift belong?”
Ø
They replied, “He who offered it,”
Ø
“The same is true 4 [A-R-E] anger, ridicule, & envy”
Ø
“When they are not accepted, they forever belong to the one who
holds on to them”
OUR ANGER HELD +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø
In the hurts, insults, and unkind
deeds committed against us, what is often worse than the act itself is what the
act does to us as persons
Ø
C-A-V-S-S: They cause us to respond w/ cynicism,
anger,
vengeance,
self-absorption,
and suspicion
Ø
One of the most difficult
challenges of being a disciple of Jesus is not to let those things “outside” of
us diminish what we are “inside” ourselves…
APPLICATION +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø
Today we take J at his word in
the Gospel: “Nothing that enters one from
outside [the violence of the warrior] can
defile me; but the things that come from within me [C-A-V-S-S] are what defile”
Ø
Let us be attentive not to let these
displace the movement of God in our hearts…
Ø
But instead thru prayer &
reflection 2 to let God’s presence transform the evil we encountered into compassion
and forgiveness
CONCLUSION +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø
It does take silent prayer and
thoughtful reflection to lay hold of God’s grace already working within us
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
