A sad scene, and puzzling too. Why is Jesus saying such things to his followers? And how are we supposed to understand them?
Sunday Readings' Discussion Questions
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Aug. 26, 2012 (21B)
From the Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University
Sunday Readings
Podcast of the Readings
Video of Reflections on Readings
Lecturas y Comentarios
New American Bible
Prayer of the Hours
BQ: Must we believe the Church 100% to be Catholic?
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Questions on Sunday's Readings for use by discussion groups,
prayer groups, or for individual prayer.
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First Reading
Joshua 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b
1. Both the First Reading and the Gospel are concerned with choice. The Israelites gave reasons for choosing to serve the Lord. “For it was the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, …performed miracles…and protected us.” What is your reason for choosing God?
2. In which do you have more invested, a choice you made or a choice someone else made for you? What are the implications for your family, church, job and community?
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19, 20-21
1. If we truly serve the Lord, we can be confident that 'He will watch over all our bones', as the Psalmist says. Explain how your faith has given you peace and strength in the face of your afflictions.
2. We are engaged in a spiritual battle with the evil one and his helpers, but our Psalmist says that the Lord will confront evildoers and destroy them. Tell of how you have been able to defeat evil with the Lord on your side.
Second Reading
Ephesians 5:21-32 or 5:2a, 25-32
1. Compare and contrast the bride with a difficult childbirth and the Church with the birth of new ideas.
2. What idea do you think Paul is trying to communicate by comparing the relationship between husband wife with Christ and the Church?
Gospel
John 6:60-69
1. Compare Joshua and Peter. What good leadership qualities do you find in these readings? What qualities would you like to see in Church leadership today? If you had a say, how would you set up Church “management”?
2. Jesus asks, “Do you also want to leave?” If you were there would you be one of the many disciples who returned to his/her former way of life or one that stayed with Jesus? Is there any middle ground here? Discuss.
Sunday Bible Study Group
Please share your thoughts on the Sunday Readings. May we be blessed by God's words as reflected in your thoughts and experience-sharing.
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“Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.”
ReplyDeleteOnce again we revisit this psalm
of thanksgiving. And for the third
consecutive Sunday the Gospel
challenges us to stop murmuring
and stand up for our faith.
And the question is the same,
“Do I truly believe that Jesus
is the living bread that came down
out of heaven and that whoever eats
His flesh and drinks His blood will
remain in Him and will live forever?”
Like Joshua, am I prepared to take
a stand and declare, “As for me
and my household we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua commits himself and his family
to serve the Lord. What better commitment
would there be for me, in our time?
Where would I go if I did not serve
the Lord? To whom would I turn
without my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?
I thirst for Jesus and would be parched
and dry without Him in my life.
I must Stop murmuring about
how difficult it may be to accept His words
and declare that Jesus is truly the Holy One of God.
Who else would hear my cry,
as our psalmist says, or confront
evildoers on my behalf ?
“Many are the troubles of the just,
but the Lord delivers them all.”
We are all afflicted; our Spirit
may be crushed (as the psalmist says),
but “God watches over all our bones.”
“When the just cry out, the Lord hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.”
Who else would listen to my cry?
If I cry out to the Lord, He will hear me
and rescue me from all distress.
Where else would I turn?
I have the Lord as my ally
in my fight against the evil one.
And with Him on my side victory is certain.
“The Lord confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.”
So the teaching is clear –
“Let His praise be ever in my mouth,
and let my soul glory in the Lord.”
Amen