XI Sunday in Ordinary Time: reflection – Fr. John Marshall, St. John the Baptist, Milwaukie, OR
1My dear friends in Christ,
Too often we give too much attention to quantity rather than quality. Quality over quantity essentially means choosing things of high standard matters more than the amount or number of things that you have. To put it another way, value matters more than volume. Like the mustard seed in Jesus’ parables in the Gospel the end result matters more than its size.
In the Gospel, Jesus illustrates how faith when nurtured and cared for like a tiny seed can grow as high as the clouds and provide food and shelter to others, including yourself. It varies from person to person, but the amount of time and effort you put into nurturing your relationship with Jesus makes all the difference. Jesus is always a loyal and loving friend, but if you don’t reciprocate, and only call on Him when you are in need, should you be surprised that your request is not answered to your satisfaction? How would you feel about such a friend if they did not to you? If you nurture your relationship with Jesus, then you will know Him as much as He knows you. You will understand precisely how Jesus will respond to any of your requests when you call out to Him in need. But hopefully, as you nurture and mature your relationship with Him, you just don’t go to Jesus when you are in need but go to Him because you love Him, and you know He loves you.
We can meet up with Jesus every time we pray. We don’t have to use those formulized prayers we learned as children if we don’t want to, we can just talk to Him. Tell Him your hopes, dreams, joys, sorrows, and pains. Be brutally honest if you need to be with Him. You meet Him through the Sacraments, especially in the Holy Eucharist. When you receive Him in Holy Communion, go to your inner sanctuary and talk with Him. Reverence Him as He reverences you. The quality of our time we give to our relationship with Jesus will make all the difference. Start small and work to have a continuous and life-giving relationship with the one who loves you the most!
God bless you all!