The readings for Mass on Sunday, August 14, 2011 can be found here: 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Please help God help me. Read the Scriptures for this weekend. Suggest to me a thought from your mind, an emotion from your heart or an example from your life, so that I can speak to the people of St. Andrew something that might connect with their minds, hearts and lives.
This is what I am thinking thus far … When we buried Kimberly at much too young an age, we noticed something about those who arrived to grieve. They came from all walks of life, from all kinds of places and for all kinds of reasons. Their languages, their skin tones, their ethnic backgrounds, their jobs, their interests and causes were all so different, one from another. Many of them did not know each other. Some had to explain to Kim’s parents how they knew her. One flew in that afternoon, sat on the sidelines at the funeral home for several hours, and when the visitation ended, left directly for the airport to fly back home to Colorado that night. Kim’s father said it best, “Kim collected friends. The only thing that anybody had to do to be her friend was to want to be her friend, and that was it. You were her friend.”
According to Isaiah, all who join themselves to the Lord will be acceptable to him. The apostle Paul worked for the salvation of his own people and for the salvation of those who were not his own. Distracted and convinced by the thought of someone sneaking table food to a puppy under the table, Jesus reached out his healing hand to the outsider (and underdog) who cried out, “Have pity on me. Help me. Please, Lord.” That was enough for her to be his friend.
Now click on “comments” below, and tell me what stirs in you when read Isaiah, Psalms, Romans and Matthew.
With Open Doors 
Difficult, difficult, difficult. To keep the sabbath free; to have great mercy; to have great faith.
Yes, yes, yes. Worth it? Worth it? Worth it? I hope, I hope, I hope.
All who join themselves to the Lord are acceptable to Him. How much of our time, our lives do we spend trying to make ourselves acceptable to someone, some group? Often times we present ourselves as something, someone that we aren’t just to be accepted. The Lord doesn’t ask that or want that of us. Once we find Him, join Him he accepts us as we are. How much happier could we be if we could live our lives that way? To just be who we are and be accepted for it, to accept others. It’s not a reason to not strive to be the best person you can be, just a reason to not have to pretend or strive to be someone you’re not.
I wish you could preach in my place, that is, instead of me, this weekend, Mollie. You’re right. That woman in the Gospel didn’t pretend to be something she wasn’t, did she?