Sunday Reading Connections and Life-Application
Sunday Reading Connections and Life-Application
Scripture & Art
Poetry
Movies & Film
Fr. Hawkswell
In Lewis’ The Last Battle, at the end of Narnia, all the creatures in the world rush up to the doorway where Aslan (Christ) is standing. As they approach him, they all look him straight in the face. As they do so, the expression on their faces changes: either to fear and hatred, or to love.
That change marks each creature’s final decision. It is not the work of an instant, but the culmination of the decisions of a lifetime. Hell is “not a punishment imposed externally by God, but a development of premises already set by people in this life,” Pope John Paul said. It is “the state of those who definitively reject the Father’s mercy, even at the last moment” of life.
God gives us a lifetime—from birth to death—to make up our minds. However, once we have decided, he accepts our decision.
Yes, “the time is short.” The time for decision is now.
James
Wetzstein
Valparaiso University
The shortest sermon in the Book,
Five Hebrew words is all it took
To turn huge Nineveh around;
We know its size, for on the ground
A three-day’s walk is sixty miles!
And thus the author makes us smile
To see what little Jonah said
To turn the whole place on its head.
SOURCE: LectionaryPoems.com
3rd Sunday of Year B
FIRST READING: Jonah 3:1-5
SECOND READING: 1 Cor 7:29-31
GOSPEL: Mark 1:14-20
Jonah, the Musical
(2017)
“Jonah: The Musical” adapts the story of Jonah and Nineveh into a contemporary setting with original songs. It aims to convey the message of redemption and God’s mercy to viewers.
For the Sake of the Call (1990)
Steven Curtis Chapman
In Mark 1:14-20, Jesus calls his first disciples, Simon, Andrew, James, and John, to leave their fishing nets and follow him. It is noteworthy that Jesus does not promise them worldly gain, fame, or applause. Instead, he simply says, “Come follow me.” The lyrics reflect this scene by stating that the disciples knew from the start that their road would not lead to fame, but they still responded to Jesus’ call with reckless abandon. This echoes the response of the disciples who left their empty nets behind without concern for personal gain.
by Charles de Foucauld
Father,
I abandon myself into your hands;
do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you:
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me and in all your
creatures – I wish no more than this, O Lord.
Into your hands I commend my soul;
I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands without
reserve and with boundless confidence,
for you are my Father. Amen