Today's Thoughts...

Today Thoughts: On this Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time we are confronted with the question – “Where are we rooted?”
 
Jeremiah in the first reading uses the images of a tree and a bush to reflect the options we have in living life. On the one hand we can be like the barren bush in the desert or the tree planted near the water. We can be cursed or blessed. We can trust in human things, in the things of the world or we can trust and hope in the Lord. The question is where are we rooted? In whom have we placed our trust?
 
Jesus posses this same question but differently. In Luke today we listen to the Sermon on the Plain a counterpart to the Sermon on the Mount but different. Where Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount provides us with eight Beatitudes, Luke in the Sermon on the Plain provides us with four Beatitudes and four “woe-to-you”, or maledictions. The basic question I started with is still there – “Where are you rooted?” With whom do you stand? Are you willing to let go of the world, of riches, of plenty, of adulation? Are you willing to identify with the poor, the hungry, those dealing with loss and the fact that you are not the most important?
 
Jesus is painting a picture of what it means to be a disciple. This is not a glamorous job, ministry or life. It demands commitment, perseverance and patience. We have got to sink our roots into God for the long haul. The life of a disciple, the life of a prophet is challenging at best with no worldly reward. Perhaps said a little differently as a follower of Jesus we are to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.
 
We are asked today in our readings to see life through a different lens. We are to look and see with the eyes of faith and compassion!
 
Have a blessed and holy Sunday everyone!