16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B<\/a>
\nJeremiah 23:1-6
\nEphesians 2:13-18
\nMark 6:30-34
\nJuly 22, 2012<\/p>\nOnce again the apostles gather with Jesus.\u00a0 But this time their gathering takes on a different significance.\u00a0 They are just returning from the mission that Jesus sent them out on.<\/p>\n
To understand the significance of this we need to look back some.\u00a0 Jesus began by drawing disciples to himself.\u00a0 A big part of this was the miracles he performed.\u00a0 He then preached to them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The point of all this was to teach the disciples what it truly meant to be disciples, what it truly means to follow the commandments not as a legal code but led by the Holy Spirit, believing in our hearts.<\/p>\n
Jesus sought to give them a solid foundation of faith.<\/p>\n
Only after giving them this foundation does he send them out on a mission to heal, drive out demons, and preach.\u00a0 And only by Jesus\u2019 authority do the Apostles do this.<\/p>\n
I think it is essential that we also realize that the apostles did not just go out and keep going.\u00a0 No, after a short time, they returned to Jesus.\u00a0 They did not establish churches of their own or go on a missionary journey never to return.<\/p>\n
When they do so he invites them to \u201cCome away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.\u201d\u00a0 He isn\u2019t talking about a vacation.\u00a0 It is more a retreat to rest, regroup, and renew with Jesus.\u00a0 The apostles understood that they did not know everything.\u00a0 They needed to keep returning to Jesus.<\/p>\n
Of course, there is a lesson in all of this for us.\u00a0 First, we need a solid foundation of faith to truly live as Christians.\u00a0 That foundation begins with our parents sharing the faith with us.\u00a0 The Church always recognizes parents as the primary teachers of their children but to continue to build the foundation, we come formally to learn about faith in one of two ways.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
For many, it means attended Catholic School such as our own Immaculate Conception School for pre-K through sixth grade.\u00a0 (Incidentally, we still have openings if you would like to enroll your children.)\u00a0 Even if you send your children to Catholic School you should be involved in their learning.\u00a0 It is a fact that children learn best when their parents are involved in their education.\u00a0 It could just be helping them with their homework.<\/p>\n
For others, in the past it meant weekly religion classes either on Sunday or afterschool.\u00a0 Our program (FAMBRE) for Kindergarten through fifth grade runs a little differently.\u00a0 It means once a month with the whole family coming together with \u201chomework\u201d to work on in between. (Of course, there are also our middle school youth groups for 6th, 7th, & 8th graders, and Senior Youth Groups for 9-12th grade.<\/p>\n
But I want to focus back on FAMBRE for a moment.\u00a0 I said the whole family comes together.\u00a0 One might be wondering why the adults would come.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Number one – I already said children learn best when their parents are involved in their education.\u00a0 We tend to think of our religious education ending before we become adults.\u00a0 But in reality, just like the apostles who came back to Jesus, we need to keep coming back to learn more.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The primary way we do this is by our coming to Mass.\u00a0 We do not just learn about Jesus, receive our First Communion and go out into the world never to return.\u00a0 No, we keep returning for the grace of the Eucharist and to hear God\u2019s Word from Scripture broken open for us to help us deepen our relationship with Jesus.<\/p>\n
The foundation begins with parents, continues with Catholic School or religious education.\u00a0 But the learning\/growing should never end.<\/p>\n
Let us strive to become closer to Jesus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Here is my homily for Sunday, July 22nd. 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B Jeremiah 23:1-6 Ephesians 2:13-18 Mark 6:30-34 July 22, 2012 Once again the apostles gather with Jesus.\u00a0 But this time their gathering takes on a different significance.\u00a0 They are just returning from the mission that Jesus sent them out on. To …<\/p>\n
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