Reflections for Sunday, May 18, 2014

by Maurice Blumberg on May 14, 2014 in Catechesis, Sunday Reflections

Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion
(Acts 6:1-7; Psalm 33:1-2,4-5,18-19; 1 Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-12)

Accepting Jesus’ Invitation To Come to Him

Come to him … and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house. (1 Peter 2:4, 5)

Beloved, come to me. I am the cornerstone, Jesus. My arms are wide open to receive you. I have chosen you and called you by name. You are precious in my sight—far more valuable than diamonds or gold. I know what you’re going through. I know so well what it means to be worn down around the edges, chipped, cracked, and even broken. I was rejected by the very stones I created. But now I am the chief stone in the master plan of my Father the architect. And I invite you to come to me and rest beside me, the cornerstone.

I have fashioned you as a strong, living stone; let me fill you with my strength. Let me join you to your brothers and sisters so that together you can become a spiritual house. You are meant to be the place where my glory dwells. So I am refining you, polishing you, and shaping you. Let me complete this work so that you fit snugly next to the other stones in my house. I want to give you a gleaming finish so that you will be a brilliant reflection of my glory. I want to turn you into a monument of my loving kindness for all to see.

I have laid you, my living stone, in the place where you are. You have a special job in the plans of the Master Builder. As you rely on me, the cornerstone, you’ll find the strength to tell the world how I have called you out of darkness and into my light. Tell everyone how I have restored you and have given you a purpose. And show them that they are also precious to me. Remember that someone else came and told you about me. You rest on their shoulders. Now those whom you touch will be laid upon your shoulders as I continue to build my house.

So come to me, and proclaim my greatness.

“Lord, thank you for fashioning me as a precious stone in your house!”

(Many thanks to The Word Among Us (www.wau.org) for allowing us to use meditations from their monthly devotional magazine. Used with permission. The Word Among Us Mass Edition contains all the readings and a meditation for each of the daily and Sunday Masses.)

Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion

1. In the first reading, we see that the Holy Spirit provided the Apostles with a creative solution to their time management problems, especially how to provide a time for their spiritual life in the midst of their busyness. In what ways do you struggle to find a daily time for prayer and Scripture reading in the midst of your busyness? How often do you ask the Lord to assist you? In order to get in a daily prayer time and Scripture reading, what creative solutions can you and the Holy Spirit come up with in order that you not neglect your spiritual life and the Word of God?
2. The responsorial psalm says that our praise and worship of God is “fitting.” What are some of the reasons the psalmist gives for this praise and worship? To what extent is your times of prayer devoted to “exult,” “praise,” and “give thanks” to God versus just addressing your needs? How can you change this?
3. In the second reading, St. Peter says we are to “announce the praises” of God who “called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” How have you experienced this in your life? How might your life announce the praises of God? In what ways are you still holding onto parts that are in the darkness?
4. In the Gospel reading, we hear these words of Jesus: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.” Jesus is the answer to all of our concerns. He is “the way and the truth and the life.” How would you describe your relationship with Christ? What steps can you take to deepen your faith in God the Father and Jesus?
5. In the meditation, Jesus invites us to come to him, the “cornerstone,” so that we can become “like living stones … built into a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5). How would you describe how you have personally accepted Jesus’ invitation to come to him?
6. The meditation goes on to say that “You have a special job in the plans of the Master Builder.” What “job” do you think Jesus has called you to do in his spiritual house?
7. Take some time now to pray and thank the Lord for his call to you to be a “living stone.” Use the prayer at the end of the meditation as the starting point.