Homily: Twelfth Friday of Ordinary Time
Twelfth Friday of Ordinary Time (Genesis 17: 1, 9-10, 15-22) “Laughing with God”
God speaks to Abraham several times about a covenant. We can think of three different people in the Old Testament who made covenants with God. Noah made a covenant after the flood. In that agreement God said he would not destroy the world again with a natural disaster. Abraham made a covenant with God as he became the Father of the chosen people and inherited the promised land. Finally, Moses made a covenant and part of that covenant was the gift of a moral law that all Christians and Jews try to follow.
Abraham was said to be a friend of God. What are the characteristics of an intimate friend? Such a friend is a person that we can share our inner most thoughts with. We trust that friend to sit with us when we are distraught. An intimate friend is probably somebody who we can constructively criticize and who we take criticism from. We do not get defensive when we are critiqued because we know that criticism offered is done so in love. We also do not get upset if the comments are offered with a humorous twist. With good friends we can easily laugh at ourselves.
We observe in the reading today that God and Abraham are having a deep discussion. God tells Abraham of his dreams for Abraham’s descendants. Abraham lays on the ground and laughs at God. We would think that God would have been angry with Abraham, but we see the depth of the friendship when God does not get mad. God simply takes the outlandish plans, and the Lord brings them to fruition. God has the last laugh.
We are left to wonder if we can ever have such a friendship with God. Our Lord invites us into such a relationship every day of our life.
Reflection Questions:
- Do I consider God my Friend? How do I talk to the Lord?
- Does God ever laugh at me? What concern so I have that I think God would be amused by?
Dear Parishioners,
One of the things that we have not been able to do the past year and a half is to rent our parish hall for groups of more than 50. This all has now changed so we are open for business. If you have a party or reception you are planning, please consider Culemans Hall. We now have the parking lot right next to the building (the old bank lot) so that makes things even more convenient.
We also are holding funeral luncheons again. We had the first one for this year last week. Hopefully, you will not need this service, but if you do, the space is there for you. If we want to serve a lunch to friends and relatives who are from out of town, it is nice to have a quiet space to sit and reminisce. Keep all this in mind.
May Our Lady and all the Angels and Saints watch over you.
Fr. Mark