Reflections on the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ by Phyllis Booth

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mal 1:14b-2:2b, 8-10
Ps 131:1, 2, 3
1 Thes 2:7b-9, 13
Mt 23:1-12

Today's first reading invites us to examine our thoughts and behavior regarding who we are. Malachi questioned the priests and Pharisees of Jerusalem, who were abusing their role as leaders; why they were showing partiality and taking advantages of their positions. They were teaching the Laws of God and expecting the people to live according to the law, but their own behavior was scandalous.

Malachi reminded the priests and Pharisees that we are all God's Children and we all have one Father who is God and even the priests and Pharisees are to live according to the Laws of God. If we examine our thoughts and behavior, are we talking the talk and walking the walk as God's children?

First Thessalonians expands on these same points because Paul and the disciples were gentle in their teaching of the Gospel and their behavior was compassionate, joyful and loving. They made no demands on the people, but encouraged them to receive the Word of God and believe that He is the Father of all and He is faithful to the covenant made with Abraham.

In Matthew's Gospel, we find Jesus telling the crowd and his disciples to observe the Scribes and Pharisees but do not follow their example. The Scribes and Pharisees preach but do not practice. They put heavy burdens on their followers but do nothing to help lift the burdens. They seek places of honor.

Jesus encourages the crowd to focus on the spiritual teachings of God's words. To live a life of service. Serve others from your heart, not for honors or status. Families are to be compassionate to one another. Married partners are to live lives that are pleasing to each other. WE are to feed the hungry, visit the sick and clothe the naked. We are to do all these things and more with humility because "whoever exalts himself will be humbled, but whoever humbles himself will be exalted." (Matt 23:12)



~ Image found at Sabbath Sermons

You Shall Love! ~ 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ex 22:20-26
Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51 (2)
1 Thes 1:5c-10
Matt 22:34-40

Again, in this week's Gospel, we find the Pharisees trying to trap Jesus. The question put to Jesus is which commandment is the greatest among the 613 commandments in the Mosaic Law. Jesus is not to be trapped because he also knows the Law and without hesitation, he sums up the entire 613 commandments and the teaching of the prophets with the words:

"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matt 22:37-39)

Jesus is saying that to fulfill the Law and the prophets, one must love God with our whole being AND to love other people. All people; not simply people who are like us, but everyone. We must love because we have been created by God in the spirit of love. The kind of love that we must show is an unselfish love where we abandon our own interests so that the other person's needs become more important than our own. This is how Jesus loved. He was willing to sacrifice himself so that we could live.

As we can all recognize, an unselfish and sacrificial love is not easy for us to attain. However, as we grow in our faith and in our love of God, we can appreciate and find comfort in Paul's words to the Christians of Thessalonika when he wrote, "...you became imitators of us and of the Lord, receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the Holy Spirit so that you became a model for all the believers..." (1 Thes 1:6-7)

There is power in our love of God and our love for others. It will affect how we live in relationship to others and will enable us to do everything for the glory of God.



~ "The Pharisees question Jesus" by James Tissot

Who do we belong to? ~ 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Is 45:1, 4-6
Ps 96:1,3,4-5,7-8,9-10
1 Thes 1:1-5b
Matt 22:15-21

It is interesting to see how slyly the Pharisees and their enemies, the Herodians, worked together to trap Jesus. In today's gospel, we see that this time, the issue was the division between the secular and the religious.

They began their assault by heaping praise on Jesus for his truthfulness in teaching the way of God. They noted that Jesus was not concerned about the opinions of others; or about their status. He simply taught the truth. (Matt 22:15ff)

And then these hypocrites posed the critical question: "Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"

As an aside, it is important to note that the Pharisees were against the tax for several reasons; one being that the Roman coins used to pay the tax had the image of Caesar, who claimed to be divine, inscribed on it.

On the other hand, the Herodians, who were pro-Roman, supported paying the tax. Thus these two opposing groups were positive that by asking their question, they would trap Jesus into advocating one side or the other, thereby making him lose credibility and embarrassing him.

Jesus could not be trapped. Holding up the coin, he replied: "...repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." (Matt 22:21)

As we ponder this incident in the ministry of Jesus, we understand that actually everything and everybody belongs to God. Even Caesar and all he stood for. We recognize that God uses even kings and nations for his own purposes. We see this being described in the first reading from the prophet Isaiah, where the Lord calls the pagan king, Cyrus, his "anointed," and uses him for the sake of Israel, his chosen people... even though Cyrus does not know the Lord.

How beautifully the psalmist praises our God. He recognized God as the Doer of wondrous deeds; the just Lord of all the nations. "...great is the Lord and highly to be praised; awesome is he, beyond all gods." (Ps 96:4)


~ Image found at St Takla Haymanot Coptic Orthodox Church

St. Elizabeth's Men's Day 2011 ~ Mary T. Walker, The Roving Reporter

Sunday, October 9th was a bright, beautiful day. As I entered the church through the basement, my eyes were filled with the beauty of the decorated tables, colorful yellow flowers and the smell of bacon cooking. It let you know that it was indeed a special day of celebration. It was Men's Day!

Even the Kitchen Committee members, Lucy Thompson, Gloria Johnson, Stephonia Owolabi, Carolyn Nash, Peggy Beverly and Barbara Randall were dressed color coordinated in black and yellow as they prepared the morning treats. We are always grateful for each of them.

Entering the Sanctuary, things were buzzing with the rosary being said and preparations were being done for the morning worship. Parishioners, families and friends were gathering with greetings, smiles and the excitement of the day. The choir area was taking on a different look as the newly formed "Men's Choir" members were taking their places. Eugene Ponton, Phil Brew, Tommy Smith, Peter Thompson, Odell Mealy (Pete), Cliff Wright, Sam Walker and Larry Williford under the direction of Kim Ford with Scott Stell on piano. The choir delighted us with their selected songs, moving us to sing with joy and sometimes be moved to tears. Could this possible be the start of a newly formed choir???


Fr. Francois started the Mass with joy and this was to be the theme to permeate throughout the service. It was a time of togetherness to praise God and to celebrate and honor the wonderful men of St. Elizabeth, and to thank God for each of them. We were blessed with reflections from Jay Schwermer and Tommy Williams. Shelton Jones gave a history of the Men's Group that has continued over a 25 year period, starting in the days of Fr. Mike.

Each of us had to be touched as Shelton, on behalf of each man and perhaps, each of us members honored Larry Williford as a "Friend and Big Brother" for his love and devotion to the Men's Group and to St. Elizabeth's. Shelton presented him with a "Fried Chicken Fund." In my personal salute to Larry, I can only say "Nobody does it better!"


We were spiritually fed during the Mass and later, it was a time to celebrate with food cooked and served with love. God must have been smiling and saying, "Well done, my servants of St. Elizabeth's, well done!"

To my beloved church family, we must never lose sight of our purpose on this special corner in Highland Park. We stand in nothing but sheer gratitude for our men and for this Men's Day, 2011!


~ Photos by Amy Williford

The Great Banquet - 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ by Ronnie Archer

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time


Is 25:6-10
Ps 23 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
Phil 4:12-14, 19-20
Matt 22:1-14

The Isaiah reading tells us that the Lord will provide a feast for all people, not only for the "Chosen People."

The Apostle Paul to the people of Phillipi, in our second reading, said that he knows how to live with abundance, as well as in humble circumstances. He has learned that "he can do all things in HIM who gives strength." (Phil 4:13)

In Matthew's Gospel this week, we hear the parable of the Great Banquet; how the king had invited many guests to the wedding feast of His Son. The servants summoned the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to attend.

So the second time, he sent others to inform those invited that he had prepared the banquet and everything was ready. They still refused to come. The king was angered at this so he told his servants that the feast was ready, but those who were invited were not worthy, so he sent them out onto the main roads to invite whomever they found. The servants brought in all they saw, the good and bad, and the place was filled with guests.

When the king went to greet the guests, he noticed one and asked him why was he not wearing a "wedding garment"... but the guest would not answer. The servants were told to cast him out into the darkness where there would be "wailing and grinding of teeth." (Matt 22:13)

The story of the Royal Banquet is a most beautiful story of God's love for mankind. God is inviting us, as well, to come to the "Feast." Our names are there; everything is ready for us. How do we respond? Do we ignore the invitation as those in the Gospel did?

Sometimes we might find ourselves so busy that we can forget to honor this invitation that is also offered to us.

God had chosen the people of Israel for Himself; but God IS the Creator of all people. He loves and cares for, and wants us all to come to His banquet.

We also hear in the reading that one invited guest "was not dressed in a wedding garment." (Matt 22:11) We know that we have to be righteous to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, we will have to put on OUR garment of righteousness in order to attend that Heavenly Banquet! ...or else we will have to suffer the consequences.

How will we respond to the great invitation? "many are invited, but few are chosen!" (Matt 22:14)


~ Painting: Wedding at Cana by Mattia Preti (1655)

What happened in God's vineyard - A reflection on the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Is 5:1-7
Ps 80:12-16, 19-20 (Is 5:7a)
Phil 4:6-9
Matt 21:33-43

What happened in the vineyard?

Isaiah tells us of his friend who planted the choicest vines on a fertile hillside that had been spaded and cleared of stones. He did everything right in his planting and expected bountiful harvests for many years to come. But alas, the harvest turned out to be nothing but wild grapes! The landowner was so disappointed at what had happened, that he destroyed all he had built and allowed the land to become overgrown with thorns and briers.

In Matthew's Gospel today, Jesus tells his version of the same story. Again the landowner has built a fine vineyard. His tenants have successfully worked the land and all are expecting a plentiful harvest.

Unfortunately, the tenants are greedy and have decided that they want the vineyard for themselves. Thus, when the landowner sends his servants out several times to collect the harvest, the tenants mistreat and kill them. However, the landowner is a patient man and decides to send his heir to collect the harvest. Surely, the tenants would recognize the son as the rightful heir, respect his wishes and repent what they had done. But alas, the heir was also killed!

We can readily see in this parable, that the landowner is our God. The vineyard was the Kingdom. Jesus wanted his listeners to realize that the people (the tenants) were unfaithful to God... We see this throughout salvation history where the servants of God (the prophets) were mistreated and killed. But because God is a patient God and wishes always the good of his people, he even sent his Son to bring salvation to all. But alas, even the Son was killed!

Jesus meant this story to act as a preview of what would happen to Jesus himself: his own suffering and death. He would be the stone that would be rejected by the builders; and yet, he would become the cornerstone of a religion that would spread beyond time and place to people who would produce good fruit.

The psalmist prayed for this: "...take care of this vine, and protect what your right hand has planted...". (v. 15-16)


~ Image from Christian Computer Art

October Birthdays at St. E's ~ prepared by Ethel Cooley

Happy Birthday to Everyone!






10/01/11 ~ Heather Rapp

10//02/11 ~ Barbara Vaughan and Stanley White

10/05/11 ~ Deshawn Murray

10/11/11 ~ Barbara White and Irene Whitlock

10/15/11 ~ Roscoe Moon

10/19/11 ~ Sabiya Davis

10/21/11 ~ Cassandra Bland

10/22/11 ~ Stephonia Owolabi and Mary Walker

10/31/11 ~ Vivian Sullivan


~ Image at Dream Weaver