LITURGY NOTES FOR THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME
Fifth Sunday of the Year
February 4th 2018
Suggested formula for recognition of indigenous people and their land.
We acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians of the land
on which we stand.
We pay our respects to them and for their care of the land.
May we walk gently and respectfully upon the land.
or
I acknowledge the living culture of the ……..people,
the traditional custodians of the land we stand on,
and pay tribute to the unique role they play in the life of this region.
‘…whoever closes his eyes to the past
becomes blind to the present.
Whoever does not wish to remember inhumanity
becomes susceptible to the dangers of new infection.’
Richard Von Weizaecher, former President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Speech 5/8/85
Only the truth is revolutionary
The good news of the resurrection of Jesus is not that we shall die and go home to be with him, but that he has risen and comes home with us, bringing all his hungry, naked, thirsty, sick prisoner [brothers and sisters] with him.
Clarence Jordan
Readings
First Reading Job 7:1-4, 6-7
Responsorial Psalm Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 R. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
Second Reading 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23
Gospel Mark 1:29-39
Penitential Rite
· You bring home and protect all those who are displaced. Jesus, have mercy.
· You heal the broken hearted and bind up their wounds. Christ, have mercy.
· You raise up the lowly and the poor in spirit. Jesus, have mercy.
Opening Prayer
Healer of brokenhearted, [or: Tenderhearted God]
in faith and love we ask you,
to watch over the whole human family
and encourage all of us
to be engaged in the healing of our world.
Jesus revealed you as a God of life
by touching those in need of healing.
Fill us with his tender love and concern,
that we too may follow him
in bringing his healing power
to all those who suffer.
Prayers of the Faithful
Introduction: Let us pray to God who sends us to mend that which is broken, bridge that which is alienated, and heal that which is diseased. May we, together with all women and men from all the religions of the world show all people God’s love and welcome.
- For people in war countries ravaged by conflict, violence and misery – especially Syria, the Ukraine, Gaza, West Papua, we ask your healing. God of the brokenhearted, hear us.
- For all displaced people - in refugee camps, those escaping from oppression, those crowded on unseaworthy boats and those towed back out to sea by unwelcoming countries, we ask your healing. God of the brokenhearted, hear us.
- For people who are ‘doing it tough;’ - the unemployed and people living with disability and terminal illness, those in despair over broken relationships, those grieving the death of a loved one, we ask your healing. God of the brokenhearted, hear us.
- For those throughout the world who are suffering and do not have the means to ease their pain: for those without access to nourishing food, clean water, needed medication and adequate health care, we ask your healing. God of the brokenhearted, hear us.
- For a deeper commitment to the health and care of our planet and its resources so that those who come after us may share in the goodness of creation. God of the brokenhearted, hear us
- For teachers that their important work of education be acknowledged and that education is a journey, not a commodity, we ask your healing. God of the brokenhearted, hear us.
- For children going to school for the first time and who are leaving the security of the family home, we ask your healing. God of the brokenhearted, hear us.
- For those who care for the sick - doctors, nurses, chiropractors, psychologists and all those in healing professions, we ask your healing. God of the brokenhearted, hear us.
- For the leaders of nations, that they make justice and service the foundations of the social order and bring to all a sense of dignity and human fulfillment, we ask your healing. Healing God, hear us.
Concluding Prayer: Healing God, as we place these heartfelt prayers before you keep us awake to our responsibility to be your caring and healing presence in the our world.
Prayers of the Faithful for World Day of Prayer for the Sick February 11 – coincides with the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes
Introduction: O God, Everlasting Love, enfleshed in Christ Jesus, poured upon us through the Holy Spirit, we come to You (today, this evening, this morning . . .) to receive our prayer for those among us who are ill.
· Tender, compassionate God, fill us that we may receive all who are ill with your love, we pray . .
· Life-giving God, fill us, that our faith will assure those who are suffering, that their pain will blossom into life, we pray . . .
· Strength-giving God, pour into all who care for the sick, the embracing, enduring love of Jesus, we pray . . .
· Source of Love, fill us with vision and courage to pursue research that will bear fruit in healing, we pray . . .
· Welcoming God, receive from our hands the loved ones we return to you, we pray . . .
· Righteous God, empower us to struggle against the injustices of the present health care systems, we pray . . .
Concluding Prayer O God, hear our prayer—these we have spoken and those yet in our hearts. We trust in your loving response, through Christ the Risen One. Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Healer of brokenhearted, [or: Tenderhearted God]
may the bread and wine
you give us for our nourishment
enable to us become sacraments
of your healing presence in our world.
Prayer after Communion
Healer of brokenhearted, [or: Tenderhearted God]
you make us one in Christ
as we share in the one bread and the one cup.
May we bring your liberation
to the world with respect
and by working together
towards its healing.
A Four-fold Franciscan Blessing
v May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.
v May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.
v May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.
v May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really CAN make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.
Notices
February 4 Birth of Rosa Parks 1913
February 4 Birth of Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1906
February 6 International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation.
February 8 International Day of prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking and feast of St Josephine Bakhita (Patron)
February 8 Birth of Martin Buber
February 11 World Day of the Sick. Message of Pope Francis for 26th World Day of the Sick 2018. Theme Mater Ecclesiae: ‘Behold, your son... Behold, your mother. And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.’ (Jn 19:26-27) https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/sick/documents/papa-francesco_20171126_giornata-malato.html
February 11 Release of Nelson Mandela from prison 1990
Further Resources
Human beings … need humanity. They need heartfelt concern. Those who work for the Church’s charitable organisations must be distinguished by the fact that they do not merely meet the needs of the moment, but they dedicate themselves to others with heartfelt concern, enabling them to experience the richness of their humanity. Consequently, in addition to their necessary professional training, these charity workers need a ‘formation of the heart’: they need to be led to that encounter with God in Christ which awakens their love and opens their spirits to others.
Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical Deus caritas est
The beauty that will save the world is the love that shares the pain.
Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini of Milan
Individual initiative alone and the mere free play of competition could never assure successful development. One must avoid the risk of increasing still more the wealth of the rich and the dominion of the strong, whilst leaving the poor in their misery and adding to the servitude of the oppressed.
Pope Paul IV, On the Development of Peoples, #33
Love for others, and in the first place love for the poor, in whom the Church sees Christ himself, is made concrete in the promotion of justice.
Pope John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, #58
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.
Rabbi Abraham Heschel, 1907-1972, Jewish Theologian and Social Activist
The effects of kindness are not always seen immediately. Sometimes it takes years until your kindness will pay off. Sometimes you never see the fruits of your labors, but they are there, deep inside of the soul of the one you touched.
Dan Kelly
I Am Here Now Prayer for the World Day of the Sick (2006)
When I’m feeling so sick and tired
lost in a fog, restless and wired
oh so alone, chilled to the bone
my cries of absence just sink like a stone.
Suddenly strangers and friends heed the call
weaving compassion connecting us all.
Arms of these angels bring warmth and esteem,
their labor of love birthing forth a new dream.
Words become flesh, I know not how.
A prayer, a promise, a vow:
simply, I Am here now. I Am here now.
When I ache I can’t contemplate,
you know my desire for you is so great.
I seek your presence & long for your face,
remembering tenderly your warm embrace.
You heard my cry & reached out your hand,
leading me back to that great promised land.
You opened my eyes, now I could see
it was you all along who were pursuing me.
Words become flesh, I know not how.
A prayer, a promise, a vow:
simply, I Am here now. I Am here now.
I can cling to the future & past,
but with you I can dwell in the present at last.
The great I Am whose flames never fade
is in you and me; that’s the way we were made.
With nothing to lose, I take off my shoes
& choose to be one with You,
the bringer of good news.
In sickness & health, no matter to me,
we’re brothers and sisters in solidarity.
Words become flesh, I know not how.
A prayer, a promise, a vow:
simply, I Am here now. I Am here now.
Rod Accardi, Supervisor National Association of Catholic Chaplains [adapted for gender inclusiveness]
You Raise Me Up
Josh Groban
When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up… To more than I can be.
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up… To more than I can be.
There is no life – no life without its hunger;
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;
But when you come and I am filled with wonder,
Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up… To more than I can be.
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up… To more than I can be.
Graceful
Bouas and Cleves
Some wise words from my grandmother ....
I went one day for a walk out in the street,
The first person I met there had no feet.
‘Well hey brother, what happened to you
To make you look the way you do?’
‘Well I was one of the people in the war.
The one's you forget once the war's been fought.
But I didn't have much luck, as you can see,
And as I sat here I found my peace.’
The next day I went to a shopping mall,
Saw a woman just as she had a fall.
When I stopped to pick her up I could see,
She was blind, as blind could be.
With every word she said, she smiled.
We stood around and talked and laughed for a while.
She told me all about her family
And I could see that she was happy.
So, when you're feeling down, take a look around.
When you're feeling hurt, you just think of her.
I got a phone call just the other week,
From a friend with whom I had to speak.
He told me that he had the HIV,
A big black cloud descended over me.
Within just a few short months it seemed,
This man that had such energy,
Wouldn't be taken to the hospital,
He wanted to die graceful.
Gracefully, he died so gracefully.
Gracefully, he died so gracefully.
So, when you're feeling down take a look around.
When you're feeling hurt, you just think of her.
And when the night is long, you can sing this song.
©The Hottentots 2001
Freedom Song
Carl Cleves and Parissa Bouas
In the beginning there was sun for all to share
Happy people roamed, the children of the earth
We knew the mysteries, the stories and the secrets
We had our hardship, but our hardship we could bear
We found new ways to change the lifestyle we were living
It brought great freedom when we discovered oil
But like before it was greed that brought war,
And yet we keep asking for more
Come and seek justice and take hold of freedom
The word don't mean nothing while people abuse it
And now freedom sees us wasting our resources
And now freedom sees us raping the earth
But like before it was greed that brought war,
And yet we keep asking for more
©Hottentot Party 1998-2001
Going to the moon and beyond is not very far to go. Far greater distances have yet to be journeyed within our own hearts and minds.
Author Unknown
Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.
Mark Victor Hansen
We all have the drum major instinct. We all want to be important, to surpass others, to achieve distinction, to lead the parade. ...And the great issue of life is to harness the drum major instinct. It is a good instinct if you don't distort it and pervert it. Don't give it up. Keep feeling the need for being important. Keep feeling the need for being first. But I want you to be the first in love. I want you to be the first in moral excellence. I want you to be the first in generosity.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 1929-1968, American Civil Rights Leader
I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 1929-1968, American Civil Rights Leader
Sometimes we feel that we've got to climb a mountain or raise a monument to leave our mark on the world. What we fail to recognize is that often we make a difference simply by existing, by handling what life gives us. Maybe the way we deal with our challenges and our rewards inspires someone else to achieve worthwhile things in their own life.
Blaine Lee
What we focus on, we empower and enlarge. Good multiplies when focused upon. Negativity multiplies when focused upon. The choice is ours: Which do we want more of?
Julia Cameron, American Teacher, Author, Artist and Poet
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th US president (1890-1969)
When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest...and there is nothing to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war.
Plato
The ideal set up by the Party was something huge, terrible, and glittering - a world of steel and concrete, of monstrous machines and terrifying weapons - a nation of warriors and fanatics, marching forward in perfect unity, all thinking the same thoughts and shouting the same slogans, perpetually working, fighting, triumphing, persecuting - three hundred million people all with the same face.
George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four
He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, science for him the spinal cord would fully suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, senseless brutality, deplorable love-of-country stance, how violently I hate all this, how despicable an ignorable war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an action! It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.
Albert Einstein
Either man is obsolete or war is. War is the ultimate tool of politics. Political leaders look out only for their own side. Politicians are always realistically maneuvering for the next election. They are obsolete as fundamental problem-solvers.
R. Buckminster Fuller
The principal power in Washington is no longer the government or the people it represents. It is the Money Power. Under the deceptive cloak of campaign contributions, access and influence, votes and amendments are bought and sold. Money established priorities of action, holds down federal revenues, revises federal legislation, shifts income from the middle class to the very rich. Money restrains the enforcement of laws written to protect the country from abuses of wealth--laws that mandate environmental protection, antitrust laws, laws to protect the consumer against fraud, laws that safeguard the securities markets, and many more.
Richard N. Goodwin - Speechwriter for John F. Kennedy
Money becomes evil not when it is used to buy goods but when it is used to buy power... economic inequalities become evil when they are translated into political inequalities.
Samuel Huntington - Political Scientist
Most loving God,
As your desire for mercy for the poor is unrelenting,
may we be unrelenting in our pursuit of mercy for all;
As your compassion for the suffering of the poor knows no limit,
may our hearts overflow with compassion for all;
As you long for justice for the poor,
may we strive for justice for all.
Forgive us our meager faith that doubts your providence and bounty,
and our abiding neglect of your Son in the poor and needy of the world;
Open our eyes to the structures of oppression from which we benefit,
and give us courage to accept our responsibility,
wisdom to chart a sound course amid complexity,
and perseverance to continue our work until it is thoroughly finished.
Breathe your life-giving Spirit afresh
into your Church to free us from apathy and indifference,
and so bless and direct our endeavors
that we may be agents of your mercy, compassion, and justice,
to the end that new life and hope may abound
and your Name be praised in every place;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation
Prayer for Peace
Let us, then, pray with all fervor for this peace
which our divine Redeemer came to bring us.
May He banish from the souls of all
whatever might endanger peace.
May He transform all people
into witnesses of truth, justice and love.
May He illumine with His light
the minds of rulers,
so that, besides caring for
the proper material welfare of their peoples,
they may also guarantee them
the fairest gift of peace.
Finally, may Christ inflame the desires
of all people to break through the barriers which divide them,
to strengthen the bonds of mutual love,
to learn to understand one another,
and to pardon those who have done them wrong.
Through His power and inspiration may all peoples
welcome each other to their hearts as sisters and brothers,
and may the peace they long for ever flower and ever reign among them.
Pope John XXIII, Pacem in Terris
God of our present and our past,
Help us to remember how you have empowered people
to work for positive change in our world.
Grant us courage and a vision of the future
to affirm and defend the right to wholeness for all people.
Amen.
Reflections on the readings
In an interview on Youtube a couple of years ago Stephen Fry was asked was what he would say to God if he met God face to face. He said: ‘I would call God an evil, capricious, monstrous maniac’ - a bastard for having invented cancer and insects that burrow into children’s eyes. Because God is the creator of everything and all-powerful, God should/could do something to change the situation. Listening to Fry. I found myself saying that I do not believe in that God you are talking about either.
This is where I imagine Job expressing similar sentiments given the situation he was in: he had lost everything-his children, possessions, lands, and servants; he contracted a terrible disease and left to sit on a dung heap. BUT he does not come to the same conclusions. Yes, how can God be close to the broken-hearted when for many people this God seems more aligned to those in power, or those who abuse power, or the wealthy or those who wield unspeakable harm on the innocent?
Here the story of Jesus is revolutionary where God and power are separated: God as a baby. God poor. God helpless on a cross. God with a crown of thorns on his head. Caesar is the one who has the power. We have a choice: which one will we follow? Follow what is right and get strung up for it. Or, cosy up to power and do as you are told. By saying that he will fearlessly stare ultimate power in the face and call it by its real name, I think Fry shows that he is on the side of the angels even though not believing in them. Jesus: God is not some distant observer but suffers alongside all humanity. This God is not a command and control astronaut responsible for some wicked experiment on planet earth.
But many people are still oppressed by this image. Job is not afraid to complain about his situation. He struggles to believe that God ‘heals the brokenhearted’ (Psalm) when life takes an uncaring or terrifying turn. The gospel reminds us that despite human suffering and unspeakable horrors everywhere, we must address them. We can choose to give in to discouragement or take our cue from people like Mother Teresa, Peter Maurin, Dorothy Day and others who tended to the metaphorical ‘Lazarus at the gate’ by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and easing suffering in their respective neighbourhoods. There are people who sit with asylum seekers on hunger strike (Manus Island) to express solidarity. There are people of all ages who risk arrest and conviction (around the country) for nonviolently protesting inhumane treatment of people seeking asylum and protection.
After Job had lost everything, we hear how his companions originally sat in silence with him. That is often the best posture – silence - when a person is in intense suffering. But that initial silence gave way to attempts to counsel Job and convince him that he must be at fault, he must have done something wrong. His misery must be a punishment by God for some wrongdoing. For them, good people were ‘blessed’ in this life with wealth, health and family and sinners were punished with poverty and pain. Enter again, that malicious and capricious God Stephen Fry railed against.
Whilst Job cries out against this life, as we would, the whole book attempts to understand how an all-good and powerful God can permit the suffering of an innocent. But Job is not struggling against the God of compassion who joins him in his suffering and suffers at his losses but against the God of his friends - a capricious God of retribution who gambles with peoples’ lives. Job did not need them to belittle him or dismiss him, like anyone in distress, but to hear God say through them, ‘I love you’; ‘I’m here for you’; ‘is there anything I can do to help’, or ‘I don’t understand what you are going through by I’m here to support you anyway’, or ‘I’m sorry you are in pain’, or ‘though this must be difficult for you, you will get through this’.
Jesus is also confronted with the question: which God? He responds through action, as did Paul, and countless people today, by being compassionate and sympathetic with people who are overburdened. He could see people’s lives diminish before him either through physical illness or social injustice. His country was occupied by a foreign power. The footprints of war and conflict were all over his land as they are today in Syria, Yemen, Palestine and Latin America. Today we witness more and more youth sleeping under bridges or in doorways and paths of our cities. Innocent children needlessly die every day due to malnutrition or lack of healthcare. People sold into slavery. Soldiers coldly killing people with impunity in the Philippines, Mexico, Syria, Ukraine, Gaza, Iraq and Afghanistan.
These questions cannot be adequately answered but they can be responded to. Jesus does not accept the belief that suffering was due to sin or infraction of a religious rule, as Job’s friends suggest. Jesus' message about God is quite the contrary. Suffering is an inherent aspect of the human condition, though we cannot find an adequate explanation for it. Jesus did not answer these questions but showed us how to respond. He directs us toward the needs of others. He shows us how to deal with life’s tragedies: approach those who suffer, take their hands, help them up, heal the broken hearted and bind up their wounds.
Simone Weil, the French philosopher, mystic, and political activist, as a plaque on her grave: ‘My solitude held in its grasp the grief of others.’ Susan Sontag wrote that Simone Weil had the courage to live a life that was agonizingly identical to her principles, principles based in the alleviation of other people’s suffering.
Last week, we saw Jesus in the synagogue healing a man. Today, he leaves the synagogue for the house of Peter’s mother-in-law and finds many people there seeking care. Attending to some local concerns, he goes to the edge of town where he was absorbed in prayer until disturbed by his disciples. He has slipped off to a quiet place to pray. We might ask why Jesus would go off alone in the face of so much need. Why be inactive, or silent, or in solitude, when people’s needs are so great? It was in these moments of solitude that he saw the bigger picture, the wider world that God loves and embraces. Here he deepened his awareness of God's peace, compassion, tenderness and love for all. Here he heard the words he was to speak. This is where God’s agenda became more focused and evident – the healing of people and repairing the world. It was here that he became sensitised to the interconnectedness of all things and that God’s mercy is available wherever we are, whoever we are, whatever our circumstances. Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese peace activist and Buddhist monk, says that ‘practicing peace’ means ‘being peace’ in such everyday aspects of living such as walking, eating and dialoging with one another. We need to uproot the seeds of violence and war that germinate in our own being. We need to establish peace in our hearts and look at the sources of violence and war in ourselves: anger, fear, hatred, misunderstanding, and possessiveness. God wants us to live fully, starting right now by doing everything possible to build God’s Reign, through struggling for the dignity, the rights, and the well-being of all people, especially through the striving for justice. This is to repair the world. It does not occur in our enclosed synagogues or churches or mosques or temples but in our streets, our homes, shopping centres, the workplace and in the media. Note the symbolism of Jesus leaving the synagogue to go where the people are and where there is need - the house of Peter’s mother-in-law.
Speaking to the fear of terrorism and war, Thich Nhat Hanh has observed that the roots of evils such as fear, hatred, misunderstanding, and violence - cannot be removed by the military. Bombs and missiles cannot touch these inner demons. For Jesus, the practice of looking deeply does not mean being inactive. We become very active when we act with love and compassion, living in such a way that a future will be possible for people close to us and not so close to us.
We need to acknowledge and celebrate our power to bring about positive change peacefully, alone or collectively, in the face of social or cultural resistance. We are all custodians of a great energy for transformation. That energy lay within us. It is the energy that enables us to change our daily lives [acting locally] - the way we think, speak, and act – and we begin to change the wider world [acting globally].
I have said before how I stop at night with a dim light or candle and allow the words of a poem or passage of scripture or other writer take over like a prayer. This is a moment when I can listen to the words of a ‘stranger’ or ‘other’ who informs me of his or her world. St Benedict speaks of listening 'with the ear of the heart'. These strangers invite us to listen as they speak of suffering, loss, love, joy, dreams and dreams deferred. They find an echo in the human heart – and God speaks through these means as well. These friends show us God-filled ways of responding. Talking to and listening to 'strangers' may be the most important thing we do – for ourselves and the world! Yesterday, I purchased new book called Sacred Strangers: What the Bible’s Outsiders Can Teach Christians by Mary Haught. But we need to give ourselves that time away, little scraps of heaven, in order to see the world with God’s eyes and be God’s heart in the world. Paul offered himself in service of others and became all things to all people. There lay our invitation and challenge. Can we do any less in the face of other people’s suffering? Can we continue to allow the elderly languish? Can we continue to say that the Indigenous people have received more than other people from the government which has been wasted by bureaucracy? Can we continue to allow children starve? Can we continue to allow asylum seekers have their minds, hopes and bodies break down because our hardheartedness and narrow-mindedness? Can we allow hatred, prejudice, divisive patriotism rule our world? Can we continue to support bigotry or indifference by our silence? We can be sensitised to this in those moments apart, in silence and prayer, and go into the world with new vigour, stronger voices, or we can succumb to the kind of silence that is tyrannical: that continues to allow the innocent to suffer. So to see an to who the God Job seeks, let us look at the God present with and engaged with people in Jesus in today’s gospel.
