{"id":7156,"date":"2021-07-25T12:52:37","date_gmt":"2021-07-25T02:52:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/?p=7156"},"modified":"2021-07-25T12:53:13","modified_gmt":"2021-07-25T02:53:13","slug":"the-countdown-out-of-lockdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/the-countdown-out-of-lockdown\/","title":{"rendered":"The Countdown out of Lockdown"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

The Countdown out of Lockdown<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

adapted from a sermon by Fr Mark Basily<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Passage Luke 9:10-17<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we drive around these days, we find empty and deserted streets. Even here at church, it has become empty and deserted during the lockdown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A very similar scene is witnessed in the Gospel. We see a scene of a deserted place. The disciples had returned from their ministry, eager to tell the Lord what they had done. The Lord, in response, takes them to a deserted place. He did this so that they could spend time with Him and to be alone with Him, free from distraction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The people hear that the Lord is present in this area and they flock to hear His words. Christ spends all day teaching them and instructing them. They are so immersed in His teaching that they forget what time it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The disciples grow concerned and tell Jesus that is time to send them home, for they were in a deserted place. If we picture this scene of a deserted ground, that was dark, probably getting cold, and far from any shops, the natural response would be to send them all home.We know the disciples are probably beginning to feel hungry as they are thinking about where the people will get food. If it is the end of the day, then it is likely that they are tired also. This scene can be compared to our own lives with lockdowns still looming. Deserted. Cold. Dark. This is a time of great need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This reminds me of the countdown I give my children when I want them to do something. I start counting down from 5. 4. 3. 2.1. And hope that they do what I say before I reach 1. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This countdown has 5 loaves of bread, 4 angels, 3 trees, 2 priests and 1 random. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FIVE LOAVES<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The story of the Gospel begins to change with the 5 loaves. The problem was easily solved by our Lord without any assistance. Yet He insisted that the disciples give the people something to eat. Christ should have done it! He\u2019s God. Why does He need the participation of the disciples?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So they say to Him, \u201cWe have no more than five loaves and two fish!” (Luke 9:13. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christ actions clearly say, \u201cthat is all I need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If those 5 loaves were not present that day, would the people have been fed? Maybe not. For this is the nature of God. He is a Co-Worker with us. He does not like to work in isolation. He wants to use humanity to do His Work. Those 5 loaves were acquired that day for His Work. The start of this scene being transformed was the participation of the disciples in service. Service was the beginning of transformation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

FOUR ANGELS<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There was a legend of 4 angels. When God began to create the world, there were 4 angels that came to Him with a question. One angel came and asked the scientific questions, \u201cHow are You creating the world?<\/em>\u201d The second angel asked the philosophical question, \u201cWhy are You creating the world?\u201d<\/em> The third angel asked the self-seeking question, \u201cWhen You finish creating the world, can I have it<\/em>?\u201d The fourth angel asked the Christian question, \u201cHow can I help You create the world?<\/em>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Christians, this should be on all our minds! How can I help the Lord? When we are in scene of devastation and despair and isolation and desertedness. The question for us is not in the divisiveness of the details, but in, \u201chow can I help?<\/em>\u201d and \u201cwhat can I offer?<\/em>\u201d and \u201chow can I support another person?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

THREE TREES<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There is another story of three trees. The three trees were talking and the first tree said, \u201cwhen I grow up and become a really big tree, I want to be cut down and made into lumber to build a large hotel that accommodates for kings<\/em>.\u201d The second tree said, \u201cwhen I grow up and become a big tree, I want to cut down and built into lumber that will make huge ships that will sail the oceans<\/em>.\u201d The third tree said, \u201cWhen I grow up and become a big tree, people will look up and I would direct them to God.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As time passed, and the trees grew, the first tree was cut down and built into a manger. The first tree complained and complained. This was not what the tree wanted. Until one night, the Son of God was born in this manger. Then the tree was at peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second tree was cut down, and it wasn\u2019t used to build a\nlarge ship, but a small boat that was used in the Sea of Galilee. It complained\nand complained, until one day, our Lord stood on this boat and spoke wonderful\nwords of light. Finally this tree was at peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third tree was cut down and was made into a cross. It\ncomplained and complained, surely it could not point people to God when it\nbecame a method of execution. Then one day, the Son of God was crucified on\nthis Cross. This tree, too, was at peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All these trees had a hope and vision for their lives, but\nthey could not find peace until they were used by God. Our life is exactly like\nthese trees. We will never have peace until God uses us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

TWO PRIESTS<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There is a story of two priests. During the last lockdown, Fr Yacoub thought to himself, \u201cI don\u2019t want to be restricted to my house. I don\u2019t want to be cut away from service.\u201d<\/em> Instead he lived at church. Fr Augustinos prays the early mass daily in the church. During this lockdown, there are restrictions that force certain areas to have a Covid test every 2-3 days if they need to leave the area for work. You would think that Fr Augustinos would cancel his early masses. Instead, he found a solution. He would sleep in the church until lockdown is finished. Nothing prevents or stops service and ministry. We always push forward and find ways to serve, no matter what.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ONE RANDOM<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

And finally, the story of the one random, that is, you and I. The random is each of us. What am I doing with my life? The 5 loaves and 2 fish story began in a deserted place. The deserted place that we read about in the Gospels became transformed with service. This is how our lives change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A beautiful story is born when service enters. Our life will always feel empty if we do not have a service or ministry. Service is the flavour of life. If all I\u2019m doing is working and providing for my family; eating, sleeping, enjoying myself then I will never be at peace. Our hands need to be involved in service. Your hands need to be reaching out to those in need. Your heart must be outstretched toward our Lord. Then, there is peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The coldness of the world is then replaced with joy. In these days we are living, let us ask ourselves, \u201cwhat am I doing with my life? How am I serving? I must be doing something.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Countdown out of Lockdown adapted from a sermon by Fr Mark Basily Passage Luke 9:10-17 As we drive around these days, we find empty and deserted streets. Even here at church, it has become empty and deserted during the lockdown. A very similar scene is witnessed in the Gospel. We see a scene of … Continue reading “The Countdown out of Lockdown”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7157,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7156"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7158,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7156\/revisions\/7158"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}