7/22/2012 – 16th Sunday in ordinary time – Mark 6:30-34

             Last Sunday, our Gospel reading was from the sixth chapter of Mark, about how Jesus sent his disciples out two by two to bring his Good News to the world, giving them the authority to anoint the sick with oil and to cast out demons.  One can imagine that this was a very intense, tiring experience for the disciples.  Today’s Gospel takes place later on in the Gospel of Mark after the disciples have returned, as they give Jesus a report about what happened on their journey.  We can just imagine how they felt.  After any of us has gone on an adventure or a long trip, we have a lot of stories that we want to share with our family and friends.  Jesus must have sensed that the disciples were worn out and that they needed to get away to a faraway place in order to energize and renew themselves.  Jesus takes them to a deserted place in order for them to rest for a while.  But this peace and quiet that they desired never come to fruition.  The crowds realize that Jesus and his followers are going to the other side, so they rush ahead of them to meet them there.  Jesus and his disciples are attracting so much attention and interest, yet they truly needed a break in order to continue with their work.

         I think all of us have felt burned out at one time or another, so it is important for us to have times of renewal and retreat in our lives.  We priests are required to spend at least a week each year on retreat or with spiritual exercise in order to renew both our bodies and our spirits.  This why I went on the pilgrimage to Spain this year; that experience certainly energized my soul.  What strikes me about both today’s and last week’s Gospels is how Jesus and his disciples work as a team.  Jesus is their leader, that is for sure, but they work together in ministry and in proclaiming God’s kingdom.  I have had different people tell me that they don’t need a church or organized religion in their lives, that just having a one-on-one relationship with God is enough.  But that is not the message we get from Holy Scripture in general, and it’s not the message that we get from the Gospel readings we have had these past two weeks.

         In a lot of ways, we as Christians in modern America are at a crossroads in the way we live out our faith.  I remember as a child how Christianity was given a lot of respect in our country, how priests, nuns, and ministers were some of the most revered people in society.  Today, organized religion seems to be under attack by everyone, from the government to the popular media.  Some of us wonder if we are going to enjoy the religious liberty to even practice our faith according to the laws and morality of the Church if these same attitudes continue to prevail in our society. 

         I started thinking about how we as a parish need to respond to what is going on in our world and in our community, how it is so important for us to work together and to build up our Catholic community here in Yazoo City and Belzoni.  President John F. Kennedy, a Catholic himself, famously told all Americans in his 1961 presidential inaugural address: “ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”  I think all of us might ask ourselves not how the Church can serve us, but rather how we can serve God as members of our Catholic community.  I am really proud of those who had been members of St Francis who out of unity and solidarity have asked us now to look at combining into one mass now that we are all one united Catholic community here in Yazoo City.  While we grieve over the loss of St Francis, we look at how we can strengthen our community and serve others.   You might see a notice in the bulletin asking for donation of food and casseroles to bring to the sick and shut-ins of our community.   It is so important for us to show our love and concern to our sick and shut-ins, to be there for them in their time of need, and helping them with meals at such a time is a great way we can minister to them as a community.  I am even making a couple of tuna casseroles myself to put in our freezer to contribute to the effort.  With the parish council, the adult religious education class, and Sister Michelle’s theology class, we have been coming up with ways that we as a parish can better serve the members of the community.  Michelle Rutledge, Melissa McGraw, and some of the other adults have been helping to get our youth program active again.  We are planning a meeting of the altar society in August, a potluck dinner to celebrate our parish’s feast day of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, a work day to take care of some improvements and repairs that are needed at our parish, and a welcoming committee to welcome visitors to our church, and also to get fallen-away Catholics back into the Church.  I can go on and on with some of the wonderful ideas we are coming up with, but unless we get different people to participate, these ideas will just remain ideas and nothing more. 

         Jesus worked in ministry with his disciples, and he rested with his disciples as well.  I hope in the coming months that all of us with look into our hearts to see the ways that God is calling each one of us to participate in our Catholic community and to serve him.