Past Sunday Reflections October 28, 2007
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Ghanaian Catholic Community
At Christ The King Church
At Christ The King Church
Sunday Mass at 5PM
| 141 Marcy Place | Bronx, NY 10452 |Tel: 718 538 5546 |
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SUNDAY REFLECTIONS - October 28, 2007
Dear Brothers and sisters,
Happy Sunday to all of you. How was the weekend? Busy, busy as always? I hope we are taking good
care of ourselves. We need time to rest, time to be with the family, to be with friends and time to be alone
and with the Lord. I think that is why the monthly half night prayer service is a great opportunity to get
away from our busy life, to be before the Lord in thanksgiving for the blessings continually bestowed upon
us our families, friends and the world.
Many could not make it this Friday for the half night prayer service because of the rain. Sorry the rain had
to fall so heavily and throughout the evening, but thank God some of us were able to make it and we had
another joyful and graceful time to pray and celebrate the Eucharist together. We hope that the last Friday
of November you will join us for the end of year prayer service. Come hear the word of God, and join
with Mrs Cecilia Sekyiamah, Brothers Augustine Anyimadu, Charles Kluvi and Edward Boahene in
worship and praises.
Now let us turn to the readings for today and what the message is for us.
First Reading, Sirach, 35:12-14, 16-18
Second Reading,2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Gospel, Luke 18:9-14
Today's first reading is taken from the book of Sirach, also known as Ecclesiasticus. The English translation
of Ecclesiasticus is the Church Assembly. The people of God when they gather in worship. The author of
the book is also sometimes used to refer to the book as Sirach. His full name is actually Jesus Ben Sirach,
which means in Greek Jesus, son of Sirach.
The Book of Ecclesiasticus is part of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. It is about traditional
wisdom of the elders. As the name of the author says Jesus Ben Sirach, Jesus is the grandson of the origin
author (Sirach) of the stories. As a young man he listened to the stories told by his grandfather and the
elders and that is what many, many years after they have died he decided to document for the use of the
church in teaching. This is what we will call the "wisdom of the elders". What do you call that in Akan?
Yes! the wisdom of our elders is scripture, it is the word of God. The proverbs, the wise sayings, the
stories and histories of our ancestors are treasures of wisdom (God's revelations to our fathers) yet lost to
us today. We must SANKOFA!
This wise and and pious Jewish writer of the second century B.C. had some very instructive advice for his
comtemporaries and for us on the qualities which prayers of petition should possess. Prayers to God
should be acts of adorations, praise for his infinite goodness and mercy and thanksgiving for his manifold
gifts to us, not when as many of us do, turn to God when we need some temporal favour.
The prayers of the humble man whose purpose in life is to serve God in all his/her goings and comings, in
all his/her day's work, will be heard. Her prayers will "pierce the cloud and reach heaven". For "God judges
justly and affirms the right" The prayer of the true lover of God, of the true humble servant of the Lord,
will be that God's will may be always done, even if, as may be, that will of God entails earthly sufferings
or trials for him/her. But let us ask ourselves, how many of the prophets, the servants of God, the good
people of this world haven't carried their crosses? Nelson Mandela? Mother Theresa? the Dalai Lama?
The above is just the reflection for the first reading. The Gospel is another rich story. Two men,
representing us, you and me, representing two classes of men and women. Most often than not we are
either like this Pharisee in the Gospel story or the Tax collector. I leave the rest of the story for you to tell.
Jesus almost all of the time will speak in parables with explications to challenge his listeners to think about
their situations. Let us individually also reflect on this parable and see where we stand in our attitudes
towards God, others, brothers and sisters. One thing we must look at Pride! And pride takes so many
forms. It speaks so many languages, and has many colours, sometimes difficult to identify and admit.
Thank you. Have a Blessed Week and God Bless Us All
Dear Brothers and sisters,
Happy Sunday to all of you. How was the weekend? Busy, busy as always? I hope we are taking good
care of ourselves. We need time to rest, time to be with the family, to be with friends and time to be alone
and with the Lord. I think that is why the monthly half night prayer service is a great opportunity to get
away from our busy life, to be before the Lord in thanksgiving for the blessings continually bestowed upon
us our families, friends and the world.
Many could not make it this Friday for the half night prayer service because of the rain. Sorry the rain had
to fall so heavily and throughout the evening, but thank God some of us were able to make it and we had
another joyful and graceful time to pray and celebrate the Eucharist together. We hope that the last Friday
of November you will join us for the end of year prayer service. Come hear the word of God, and join
with Mrs Cecilia Sekyiamah, Brothers Augustine Anyimadu, Charles Kluvi and Edward Boahene in
worship and praises.
Now let us turn to the readings for today and what the message is for us.
First Reading, Sirach, 35:12-14, 16-18
Second Reading,2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Gospel, Luke 18:9-14
Today's first reading is taken from the book of Sirach, also known as Ecclesiasticus. The English translation
of Ecclesiasticus is the Church Assembly. The people of God when they gather in worship. The author of
the book is also sometimes used to refer to the book as Sirach. His full name is actually Jesus Ben Sirach,
which means in Greek Jesus, son of Sirach.
The Book of Ecclesiasticus is part of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. It is about traditional
wisdom of the elders. As the name of the author says Jesus Ben Sirach, Jesus is the grandson of the origin
author (Sirach) of the stories. As a young man he listened to the stories told by his grandfather and the
elders and that is what many, many years after they have died he decided to document for the use of the
church in teaching. This is what we will call the "wisdom of the elders". What do you call that in Akan?
Yes! the wisdom of our elders is scripture, it is the word of God. The proverbs, the wise sayings, the
stories and histories of our ancestors are treasures of wisdom (God's revelations to our fathers) yet lost to
us today. We must SANKOFA!
This wise and and pious Jewish writer of the second century B.C. had some very instructive advice for his
comtemporaries and for us on the qualities which prayers of petition should possess. Prayers to God
should be acts of adorations, praise for his infinite goodness and mercy and thanksgiving for his manifold
gifts to us, not when as many of us do, turn to God when we need some temporal favour.
The prayers of the humble man whose purpose in life is to serve God in all his/her goings and comings, in
all his/her day's work, will be heard. Her prayers will "pierce the cloud and reach heaven". For "God judges
justly and affirms the right" The prayer of the true lover of God, of the true humble servant of the Lord,
will be that God's will may be always done, even if, as may be, that will of God entails earthly sufferings
or trials for him/her. But let us ask ourselves, how many of the prophets, the servants of God, the good
people of this world haven't carried their crosses? Nelson Mandela? Mother Theresa? the Dalai Lama?
The above is just the reflection for the first reading. The Gospel is another rich story. Two men,
representing us, you and me, representing two classes of men and women. Most often than not we are
either like this Pharisee in the Gospel story or the Tax collector. I leave the rest of the story for you to tell.
Jesus almost all of the time will speak in parables with explications to challenge his listeners to think about
their situations. Let us individually also reflect on this parable and see where we stand in our attitudes
towards God, others, brothers and sisters. One thing we must look at Pride! And pride takes so many
forms. It speaks so many languages, and has many colours, sometimes difficult to identify and admit.
Thank you. Have a Blessed Week and God Bless Us All