Here we are amid the fall, closing in on the cusp of the great Advent season with many of us perhaps enrolled in sessions of “Jesus and the Eucharist” at our home parishes as a part of our Bishops’ Eucharist Revival movement – a grassroots attempt to revive and renew our Church.
And so we hear today, a treasure of readings that never fails to remind us of the power of our faith in what is so sublimely called “Ordinary Time”. And yet Isaiah, always beautifully written and loaded with so much eloquence that it can’t help but stir our faith as we are reminded this weekend that God is indeed besides us, knowing us, and then Paul reminding us to never forget how we were chosen until we come to the wonderful Gospel to yes, repay to God what belongs to God.
Such an interesting thread carries through. Work for good as you go about your day, your life. Don’t be led astray, and even though there is a clear separation of church and state, honor of God is hopefully present in all that we do – even in the most ordinary of times – perhaps taking on the form of missionary discipleship, simple acts of mercy or kindness, just ordinary friendship, peace, and acceptance among people “different” from ourselves as we go about our lives.
Accepting the diversity of gifts and talents present in our ordinary lives, may we all be quite blessed with peace and contentment knowing that we were gracious and kind to all the persons we engage with in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.