Wisdom 18:6-9; Responsorial Psalm; Hebrews 11: 1-2 &8-19;
Gospel Acclamation Matthew 24: 42 & 44; Luke 12:32-48

1. -- Lanie LeBlanc OP -
2. -- Dennis Keller OP -
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5. --(Your reflection can be here!)

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Blessings,

Dr. Lanie LeBlanc OP

Southern Dominican Laity

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19^th Sunday of Ordinary Time (C)

August 10, 2025

In the Northern Hemisphere summer is at its peak. We have struggled late spring till this time with oppressive, record-breaking heat. In the Southern Hemisphere spring time is future. Flooding and drought create chaos for the agricultural section. We seem to be enduring a resurgence of chaos. That applies to our nation, to international social, political, economic, and medical matters. Weather seems out of control and carries a threat of destruction and loss of life.

Nations are poised to tax each other. But worst of all, there is war. Territorial disputes wreak havoc and death on citizens. Terrorism takes the place of diplomatic work. Violent death greets many. Millions of lives are disrupted by greed, avarice, lust for power, and a horrific desire toward renewed colonialism and authoritarianism. Hope for a future of peace takes second place. The psalmist’s cry resonates: “Help, Lord! The just are dying out and honesty has disappeared from the face of the earth!” Why does the Creator God, the source of our life, of our salvation, of our inspiration and energy not make the Trinity’s presence known? Why does our God seem so absent from us? Where is our Savior? Where is the promised Advocate who stands up for us in the trials of life?

In these days of late summer when the heat and storms are common and our spirits are robbed of vitality; we discover hope in a review of spiritual history. In the first reading, God’s call to Abram and Sara begin a faith life. It is a call to trust, and in that trust to begin a commitment to God. Abram was renamed Abraham which means Father of a Great People. He took his flocks and herds, his servants and their families and went wandering to a place where God would show them. They went without knowing where; they went without a roadmap or GPS. They went based on God’s oath they were to be parents of a great nation. What that meant was beyond the imagination of that childless couple. Yet, they depended on faith in the Promise Maker. And so began God’s work of salvation in the world. A people was formed. Their history and the history of their descendants is one of faithfulness and failure of the nation. It was a history of discovery of God’s presence, and an abysmal practice of idolatry. In every failure, there is a challenge to relationship of the chosen with God. Each time of failure, there was a reawakening instigated by God through the prophets. It was faith in God’s faithfulness and choice of them that brought the tribes to a return to faith. Each return was a lesson for the future. The experiences of the nation led in the fullness of time to the Incarnation of the Son of God. In that Incarnation, God revealed a new and more vital kingdom than any that ever existed. At that time Abraham and Sara became progenitors of all nations, all became descendants of those two first chosen.

The time of Jesus was a terrible conflicted time like ours. The occupiers ruled with violence. Those left over Assyria captured the Northern Kingdom, those who returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian Captivity longed for a new kingdom. Their understanding of kingdom was a definition of power, of force, of violence. But the Son of Man came not with sword and spear, with chariots and archers. The Son of God, Son of Man came with an unforeseen kingdom. His kingdom was formed on the life of God. Three people relate to each other as a son relates to a father and the father to son. That relationship is vital and active. The power and energy of that relationship is the Spirit, a force. We understand that as self-giving love. That is the model Jesus presents to us in his ministry, his passion, his death, and his resurrection. Despite violence that tortured him and murdered him, he overcame. It is because of the love he experienced in his relationship to the Father through the Spirit that he endured death even murder coming from death as a resurrected, victorious person. The words of Jesus this Sunday describe a kingdom beyond the experience of humanity in all its millennia of experience. Jesus tells his disciples: “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.” That kingdom is the kingdom of God, a kingdom of self-giving love for others. That love includes our common home. It includes not only our family but humans around the globe. We cannot ignore the sufferings of others on the other side of the ocean. We start love with our family. From there, love is nurtured or slaughtered. It spreads to neighborhoods, to our parish members, to our diocese, to our state, to our nation, and to the world. Or it is slaughtered by hatred, violence, abuse, and war.

Jesus’ parable this Sunday warns us to be alert for the presence of the Lord. We are to look for Him in everyday life. We must look for him in our brothers and sisters we remember and those forgotten. We must look for the widow, the orphan, and the alien in our midst and discover Jesus’ presence in them.

The chaos and violence of the world can only be suppressed and converted to supportive and caring if it starts with us. Look for the Lord while he may be found. We will not discover him present if we fail to train our hearts to seek him. That is our hope. That is how our time will overcome and bring about the Kingdom of God. It has been promised. God is faithful to God’s promising. That Kingdom is here yet still coming into being. If we look for God only in Sunday assemblies, we will not find him on our streets, factories, offices, and fields. Let us stay awake, awaiting his presence.

Dennis Keller Dennis@PreacherExchange.com

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Volume 2 is for you. Your thoughts, reflections, and insights on the next Sundays readings can influence the preaching you hear. Send them to preacherexchange@att.net. Deadline is Wednesday Noon. Include your Name, and Email Address.
-- Fr. John

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