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11th Sunday in Ordinary Time - B - June 14, 2015
The Kingdom of God is like...
Parables are extended metaphors. Something is like another. Parables deviate from metaphors in the reaction of the audience. Jesus told parables to turn the view of the audience in a new direction, one which listeners did not expect. The Kingdom was not based on people’s expectations, but on God’s will.
WEEKLY BLOG For the summer, I’m presenting a thumb nail sketch of culture in the time of Jesus. In this first installment, we’ll investigate some of the givens in ancient societies.
VIDEOCAST We're taking a summer break on the videocasts; they will return for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
MP3 PODCAST In this week’s audio podcast, we dig deeper into the metaphor and see how Jesus used the verbal comparison to get the attention of his audience.
FIRST READING Like Jesus after him, Ezekiel used a metaphor to present a new vision for Judea after the shock of the Babylonian exile.
PSALM Psalm 92 used metaphoric language to compare the faithful man to the faithless.
SECOND READING In his second letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul claimed to have courage, simply because he firmly believed he would not die lonely; his companion was Jesus.
GOSPEL In Mark’s gospel, Jesus told two parables about the Kingdom: the parable of the farmer and the parable of the mustard seed. One spoke to the end times and God’s providence; the other spoke to the humble beginnings of the Kingdom.
CHILDREN’S READINGS In the story for the first reading, Lindsey felt sap, the “blood” of a tree, and reacted to the analogy her older brother told her about. Ezekiel made an analogy between the twig and the king, the tree and the Jewish nation. In the story for the gospel, Brandon heard a story about a superhero with an unusual power, one to be used for the good of others. Jesus told parables that also had morals; the morals to his stories challenged people’s faith.
FAMILY ACTIVITY This week, have your family members make up stories about God’s Kingdom. Encourage them to use metaphors.
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