My beautiful Bride, Anna, and I celebrated our aniversary this weekend. We had dinner and went to the Tulsa Ballet. The fanciful performance was called “Dorthy and the Prince of Oz.” Loosely adapted from the “Wizzard of Oz”. Part of the plot was that Dorthy and the Scarecrow volunteered to save the kingdom from war.
Volunteering can come in many forms and levels of commitment. I once new a women named Mary, a single mom, who volunteered so much that her children, a boy and a girl were always being taken care of by someone else. Mary developed cancer and died in her forties. She missed out on two beautiful children who longed for their mother.
Life is a balance. We all juggle responsibilities and our sense of duty to build the Kingdom of God.
Now I was part of an interdenominational group of men . The non-catholics in the group would say Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast
The we have the reading today from James So also of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. These two scriptures seem to argue with themselves until we look closer.
Jesus Christ is the ultimate volunteer. He gave His life for us. What the scripture means is that you cannot have one without the other. Jesus says in today’s Gospel For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it.
In the movie ” Finding Nemo” the seagulls say ” mine, mine, mine, mine” The message for today is that it is not me, me, me, me but we.
Being a servant and volunteer is important. There, however, must be a balance between giving of oneself and our other duties and responsibilities to include the we in our lives. It may be as simple as praying for a neighbor.
God Bless you always
Bob Burford
Please look again at Sunday’s reading from Sirach 15 says Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him. Immense is the wisdom of the Lord; he is mighty in power, and all-seeing. The eyes of God are on those who fear him; he understands man’s every deed. No one does he command to act unjustly, to none does he give license to sin.
