14th Sunday in Ordinary Time A July 9, 2023

Fr. Rick’s Two Minute Homily for 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time A
July 9, 2023, Luke 11:25-30
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070923.cfm  

I am not a Mechanic.

Sometimes we have a good laugh at ourselves. I remember my first car after ordination. It wasn’t a clunker, but it needed some work. I heard a rattle under the carriage. I thought the muffler was loose.

So, I pulled out some tools, got some cardboard, and squeezed under the car. My dog, Zeke, had the strangest look on his face like he was saying, “Do you know what you are doing?” After I finished, I drove around the block. The rattle was still there. So, I took it to a mechanic who figured out the problem and fixed it. 

My mom and dad had a saying, “Ricky, you’re too big for your britches.” That’s pretty much what Jesus experienced with some of his contemporaries. They thought they knew it all.

They even said the Messiah could not come from Nazareth. No one told them Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the town of King David. Such individuals rejected Jesus. Groups of people like the scribes and Pharisees, and even whole towns did not accept him.

But when someone did, he couldn’t help but shout, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike.” 

Sometimes we think we know better than our Mother Church, who has been faithful to Jesus for over 2000 years.

Sometimes we are too big for our britches when we are too full of ourselves. Self-esteem is healthy, but arrogance and pride hide God and his gifts from us and others. On the other hand, children don’t have to think twice about asking for help when they are struggling with something.

We can use a dose of Mother Mary’s humility, who didn’t understand what God was asking of her but said in complete trust, “Let it be done to me as you say.”

Gospel Challenge:

Do you have a muffler that rattles? Have you tried to fix it, and it still rattles? Go to the only One who is all-powerful and can do everything for us. He has an unlimited number of resources waiting to share with us. Ask Mother Mary for her trust in God.

Watch how good it feels when Jesus rejoices over you. Get to know the Father of Jesus and yourself a little more every day. A small dose of humility goes a long way.

Fr. Rick Pilger, IC 
pastor 

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