Be Situationally Aware!

 

Deacon Kevin Gingras

July 20th, 2025

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072025.cfm

Genesis 18:1-10a    Psalm 15:2-3, 3-4, 5

Colossians 1:24-28    Luke 10:38-42

Situational awareness - it seems to be something lacking that plagues society lately.  We are so distracted by all the social media, the phones, computers, and news, it’s no wonder we aren’t aware of where we physically are at a specific point in time.  Folks on the phone block grocery aisles and can’t hear you say excuse me as you try to get past.  Commuters on the highway aren’t aware of others around them as they change lanes or miss the light turning green.  

I am just as guilty.  A few weeks ago, I was in adoration, sitting there with the true presence of Jesus Christ right there in front of me, and then it started to storm outside.  The lightning was vivid even through the chapel’s stained glass windows.  The rain and wind pounded the windows. The rumbles of thunder were loud.  My focus became the storm.  I checked my phone to see where the current lightning was striking and where the storm was heading.  I was no longer situationally aware that I was still in the presence of Christ!  That’s a good segue into today’s readings, I think.

Abraham was situationally aware of his guests.  He did not know that it was angels of God who were visiting him, but he kind of gathered that they were a big deal. It’s also interesting that the text says

The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oak

So this text begins in the singular and Abraham greets the LORD as such, but later on it switches to the second person plural, and the one suddenly becomes three.  This strange change in the number of visitors helps illustrate the mystery of God.  In the next chapter of Genesis, we find that two of the men are identified as angels.  Regardless of that, Abraham was situationally aware that these men were a big deal and looked to be travelers, so he treated them by getting water to wash from the journey, hurriedly preparing them a meal of bread, curds, milk, and meat from a tender choice calf.  Abraham was aware that these visitors were important and acted accordingly.

Next, we hear of Martha, who was not as situationally aware as Abraham today. Martha welcomed Jesus into her home when He came to her village.  She knows it’s Jesus, but she’s so focused on the fact that she’s doing all the work and Mary is just resting and listening to the “Master” that she stops working to attempt to bring Jesus into a bit of a family spat that is brewing.

Martha didn’t have a chance to read St. Paul, it wasn’t written yet, so she never heard:

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake

And therefore, Martha wasn’t rejoicing when she suffered in aggravation at her lazy sister Mary! I can relate to Martha based on my time in adoration, in front of the Lord Jesus, yet focused on the storm around me.  Martha’s main issue was her lack of focus.  She was torn between her service and preparation for her very important guest and her lazy sister Mary, who wasn’t helping.  Mary was focused.  Martha was so situationally unaware that she even tells the Son of God what to do!

Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.

My wife is quick to remind me that later in scripture, we see Martha doing much better, serving without complaint, and she accepted her correction from Jesus and learned from what was said to her. 

Now let’s focus on the tabernacle we have here in the Church.  That tabernacle is situationally unaware of what it currently holds inside - how could it be, it has no mind, it’s simply wood, metal, and some cloth.  You cannot fault it for not knowing it holds within the precious body and soul of the true divinity of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist!

What about us?  Most of us today will come up to receive Jesus Christ at communion time.  We cannot be situationally unaware after we do!  We become a living tabernacle!  Ask the Holy Spirit for help today so that we may be truly aware of who we now contain inside of us, the true body, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ Himself. Take time to reverently return to your pews and kneel, offering prayers of thanksgiving for the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is present inside of us, making us all living tabernacles!

St. Teresa of Calcutta reminds us:

"Every Holy Communion makes you a more perfect tabernacle of God".

Faith will get you through the storm

 

Deacon Kevin Gingras

June 19, 2021

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062021.cfm

There are a few things that jumped right out at me from today’s readings. First, Jesus is a VERY sound sleeper but I’m not so sure that would be a good basis for a homily! Next is when Jesus says Quiet! Be still! to calm the storm and the sea obeys him. In chapter one of Mark, Jesus also spoke to a demon in a similar manner:

“Quiet! Come out of him!” The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.

The demon listened to Jesus, obeyed his command like the sea did in today’s Gospel. The other thing that jumped out was a comparison to the first reading of Job and the Gospel. In both, there is a storm. God is addressing Job in that storm telling Job that it is He, God that formed the seas, controlling it, telling it where to go, setting its limits. The sea listened to its creator God. In the Gospel of Mark, it is Jesus who is controlling the sea, telling it to “be still” and the sea listened and calmed down. That’s quite the Christological study right there - Jesus' power equals God’s when we compare these two readings. It helped his disciples see who Jesus really was and it should also help us see that today in time as well. We could ask the same question they did:

“Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”

Thanks to great theologians, Church Doctors, and Church Fathers who gave us the definition of the Trinity we know who Jesus is today in time. Jesus is God. They are two distinct individuals yet one and the same. Today we need to rely on the entire Trinity: Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit to get us through the storms in our life! When I began the Diaconate program in the Fall of 2015 life threw some curveballs at me. We had a few issues going on. We were not financially stable at the time, to the point where I would go to the gas pump on my way to work and pray to God that my debit card would work so I can get to the office. At the same time, we also knew my dad would be dying soon and was under the care of hospice in Good Samaritan Hospital. Also, somebody else very close to me was in another hospital along with several other things we were dealing with in life at the moment. I had to tell my family why I wasn’t at the hospital as much to see my dad during these last days. I remember one of my family members saying to me that with all this going on how do you keep it together. The answer was quick and simple - God and my faith. Without that, I would have been a blubbering mess. It was my faith, the Trinity getting me through this storm in my life. My faith got me through this storm and I look back on it as a place where my faith grew, not where it went away and I offer prayers of Thanksgiving for that, for the Holy Spirit guiding me when I needed it most. I’m not angry that the storm wasn’t calmed, I’m overjoyed I made it through. If you have some time this week, read the entire book of Job. It’s an allegorical story; a dramatic telling of the problem of the suffering of the innocent. See what Job went through and not once did he curse or become angry with God. Job stayed strong through many trials. We can learn from that.

Satan will use our life’s storms to try and break us down. Our fear, our anxiety, our anger. Emotions like this, when not kept in check through prayer, will become a weapon Satan uses against us. Don’t let him! Remember how many times Jesus told us not to fear. For some reason it seems oddly fitting to quote Yoda from Star Wars who also was very wise as he said:

"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."

So when we have those moments of fear in our lives, doubt, anger, negative feelings cry out to Jesus (not Yoda) as the apostles did:

“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

We are on this crazy journey called life. We will face trials, tribulations and storms during this journey. Remember that Jesus is always close by, don’t leave him asleep in the stern during those storms, cry out to him in the storm. He does care for you and will help you, maybe not by taking away the trial, but by giving you stability during it. Saint Faustina teaches us well how to get through these tough times as she went through many herself. She says:

"In difficult moments I will fix my gaze upon the silent heart of Jesus, Stretched upon the cross, and from the exploding flames of his merciful heart, Will flow down upon me power and strength to keep fighting"