O H A N A | September 22, 2015

 September 22, 2015

I’m sure you’ve heard the quote, “Ohana means family, family means no one is left behind or forgotten…” from the movie Lilo And Stitch. I grew up knowing exactly what Ohana was because my family is actually from Hawaii. Ohana is not limited to your own immediate family and/or even your blood relatives. Ohana is beyond that circle and extends itself into a larger network. We grew up basically addressing every adult as either Auntie or Uncle. Half the time they were actually related to me, but because I identified them with a title implying family, they were indeed family. There are many cultures that have similar practices, however, mainland USA is not one and I feel very blessed to have been raised with this understanding of Ohana.

Today’s gospel is one of those that might give you the impression that Jesus is being kind of a jerk (again). Mary and his brothers (the Middle Eastern culture is one of those that have large extended families and they use the same word for cousins as they do for siblings, so these “brothers” may be cousins) were trying to get closer to him, but the crowd was too big. I picture the crowds that will be assembling this week for Pope Francis and can imagine if his mom and siblings were in that crowd trying to reach him…crazy. But Jesus recognized an opportunity to teach them and he took it. Basically, he gives us a definition of eternal Ohana, when he was told that his mom and family were standing outside wanting to see him, he said, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.” While it can seem like Jesus was blowing off his mom and family, what he was actually doing was inviting us to be his Ohana.

We have the opportunity to accept or deny this invitation. Acceptance means that we will hear the Word of God and practice it. I find great comfort in the word practice because it implies that I am still learning the lines, or the blocking, or the choreography, or the sports play, or the notes, or the tune, or the rules, or the fundamentals, or the process. With practice comes growth and one day, after I’ve practiced enough, I will be ready to play in the game or to perform on the stage. So as long as we are practicing the things we hear in the Word of God, we will not be forgotten. I know I can handle that and so can you.

I’ll leave you with a poem that I wrote years ago about the Word and how it has impacted my life. It comes from a quote that my Bible study teacher, Kevin Saunders, used frequently, “A worn out Bible is a symbol that a Christian is not.” The idea is that we not only need to stand on the Word of God, but also strap it to our feet like leather sandals, and walk it out into the world. Ohana, let’s not forget one another as we walk each other home.

WORD

By Jen Bedison

The WORD is fastened to my feet, but

I am still learning how to walk.

   The leather needs more time to soften.

            I need to break it in.

The highway from head to heart is unfolding.

  More than a feeling

            it is thought, taste, breath.

Muscle memory and will take it to the next stage

            of digestion and show.

The WORD made flesh and in spirit,

I put on clothes of love and

        I study books hanging in a wardrobe

                                  that takes me to worlds of promise and hope.

Mysteries are abounding and drama whets my appetite for

truth and light.

These WORDS, these stories, these morsels of grace

            bring peace and wonder and adventure.

My feet are longing to dance with these stories

            so that others can join in the steps

                        that will lead us to

                                                       HIM.

Like honey, they sooth and sweeten.

Like vinegar, they sanctify and clean.

Like bread, they satisfy and nourish.

Oh, great WORD of life,

            fill me with your soul and rest in my being

     so that I may sing as sweetly as your promise of eternity.

Walk yourself out into the world

            in all my deeds, in all my sufferings, in all my all.     AMEN

Tuesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 450

Reading 1 EZR 6:7-8, 12B, 14-20

King Darius issued an order to the officials
of West-of-Euphrates:
“Let the governor and the elders of the Jews
continue the work on that house of God;
they are to rebuild it on its former site.
I also issue this decree
concerning your dealing with these elders of the Jews
in the rebuilding of that house of God:
From the royal revenue, the taxes of West-of-Euphrates,
let these men be repaid for their expenses, in full and without delay.
I, Darius, have issued this decree;
let it be carefully executed.”

The elders of the Jews continued to make progress in the building,
supported by the message of the prophets,
Haggai and Zechariah, son of Iddo.
They finished the building according to the command
of the God of Israel
and the decrees of Cyrus and Darius
and of Artaxerxes, king of Persia.
They completed this house on the third day of the month Adar,
in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
The children of Israel–priests, Levites,
and the other returned exiles–
celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
For the dedication of this house of God,
they offered one hundred bulls,
two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs,
together with twelve he-goats as a sin-offering for all Israel,
in keeping with the number of the tribes of Israel.
Finally, they set up the priests in their classes
and the Levites in their divisions
for the service of God in Jerusalem,
as is prescribed in the book of Moses.

The exiles kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.
The Levites, every one of whom had purified himself for the occasion,
sacrificed the Passover for the rest of the exiles,
for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.

Responsorial Psalm PS 122:1-2, 3-4AB, 4CD-5

R. (1) Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
“We will go up to the house of the LORD.”
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

Alleluia LK 11:28

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are those who hear the word of God
and observe it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel LK 8:19-21

The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him
but were unable to join him because of the crowd.
He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside
and they wish to see you.”
He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers 
are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”