June 27, 2010
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

1 Kgs 19:16b, 19-21

The LORD said to Elijah:

“You shall anoint Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah,

as prophet to succeed you.”

Elijah set out and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat,

as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen;

he was following the twelfth.

Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him.

Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said,

“Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,

and I will follow you.”

Elijah answered, “Go back!

Have I done anything to you?”

Elisha left him, and taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them;

he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh,

and gave it to his people to eat.

R.     (cf. 5a) You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;

I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.

O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,

you it is who hold fast my lot.”

R.     You are my inheritance, O Lord.

I bless the LORD who counsels me;

even in the night my heart exhorts me.

I set the LORD ever before me;

with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.

R.     You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,

my body, too, abides in confidence

because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,

nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.

R.     You are my inheritance, O Lord.

You will show me the path to life,

fullness of joys in your presence,

the delights at your right hand forever.

R.     You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Brothers and sisters:

For freedom Christ set us free;

so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.

For you were called for freedom, brothers and sisters.

But do not use this freedom

as an opportunity for the flesh;

rather, serve one another through love.

For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement,

namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

But if you go on biting and devouring one another,

beware that you are not consumed by one another.

I say, then: live by the Spirit

and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.

For the flesh has desires against the Spirit,

and the Spirit against the flesh;

these are opposed to each other,

so that you may not do what you want.

But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Lk 9:51-62Gospel

When the days for Jesus’ being taken up were fulfilled,

he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem,

and he sent messengers ahead of him.

On the way they entered a Samaritan village

to prepare for his reception there,

but they would not welcome him

because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem.

When the disciples James and John saw this they asked,

“Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven

to consume them?”

Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.

As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him,

“I will follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus answered him,

“Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,

but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”

And to another he said, “Follow me.”

But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”

But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead.

But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

And another said, “I will follow you, Lord,

but first let me say farewell to my family at home.”

To him Jesus said, “No one who sets a hand to the plow

Catholic Fundamentalism Interpretation:

The Loving Programmer told Elijah, to whom He often gave direct downloads of operations He had programmed to occur later in The Creation Program to anoint Elisha as an Authorized Downloader to take his place.

Elijah found Elisha plowing with twelve yoke of oxen.  How anyone could plow with 24 oxen is beyond this interpreter, who cannot imagine the complicated series of straps and harnesses, let alone the time to hitch and unhitch, but that's the way it was.  Elijah threw his cloak over him, and Elisha left the oxen and ran after him, asking for permission to tell his mother and father goodbye before he followed him.  (I do not know what the "go back" passage means), but Elisha slaughtered the oxen, and used the wood on the plow to boil their flesh, a miracle in itself, that so little wood could produce that much heat.  He gave it to his people to eat, and followed Elijah as servant.

You, O Loving Programmer, are all I have.

Keep me, Loving Programmer, in You, Who programmed all, is my only safety.  That part of You that I can know is all that I have, You determine me.

You, O Loving Programmer, are all I have.

I bless The Loving Programmer Who downloads within me knowledge of Him and His programs.  Night and day, my spirit drives me to Him.  As long as He is my strength, nothing bothers me.

 You, O Loving Programmer, are all I have.

Because I know this, my spirit and soul are happy and rejoicing.  Even my body is at confident peace because You will not abandon my soul to eternal pain, and You won't let my own program be erased or altered.

You, O Loving Programmer, are all I have.

You will align my individual, human program with Yours, You will bring me close to you that I may stay saved, delighting in being near You, Your Power, and Your Glory.

You, O Loving Programmer, are all I have.

Fellow downloaders of His Holy Program, you are able to be saved because Christ (Jesus Christ is the fullness of The Program in perfect, obedient, human form) gave us freedom to choose to believe and obey Him.  So, don't backslide, don't let yourselves be re-enslaved by programmed entities (people or possessions), no matter how tempting they are.  Instead of that, serve one another by loving them and The Programmer.  Your entire Operating Instructions have been boiled down to "Love your neighbor as yourself." (so just do it) Don't attack and hurt each other, or you will be absorbed by hate.  Live as The Holy Wireless Connector, Who joins you with each other, The Programmer, and The Program and you won't waste yourselves and your allotted time gratifying the desires for programmed entities.  Your lower, human desires are against obeying the Spirit, and He is against giving into earthly desires.  But, if you are guided by The Holy Wireless Connector, He will join you to The Loving Programmer, and you will be free of the laws programmed into you to achieve material success.

The Program was running toward the time that Jesus (The Living Program, the summing up of all creation) would be erased and restored, and Jesus was determined that The Loving Programmer's Program would be followed, and He knew the cost.  On the way, He sent messengers ahead of Him (as The Loving Programmer had sent prophets).  They went into a Samaritan village, but they refused to welcome Him because He was going to Jerusalem (and they wanted to be the holy place?).  James and John asked if they should call down destruction from The Programmer, (Whose power they knew they could access), but Jesus rebuked them (for wanting to use Heavenly power for earthly work?).   They went to another village, and someone said to Jesus, "I'll follow You wherever You go."

Jesus answered, "Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but I, (the perfectly obedient Son) have nowhere to rest My head."  To another person, He said, "Follow me.", but that man said, "Lord, first let be go and bury my father.", to which Jesus said, "Let the dead bury their dead.  But you, go and tell other human programs about the Vast Creation Program written and downloaded by The Loving Programmer."

Another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first, I want to say goodbye to my family, at home."  Jesus said to him, "You can't start working for The Loving Programmer and go back to the lesser entities that He and human beings have programmed and be fit for The Loving Programmer (and the wonders He has programmed for you)."