Hi everyone, and welcome to Weekly Homilies with Father Mark Suslenko, Pastor of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut. We are part of the Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford. I'm Carol Vassar, parish director of communications, and this is Episode 28 of Season 7 for the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time  - September 8, 2024. Our Gospel reading is from Mark Chapter 7, verses 31-37. 

Again Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,

“Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!” — And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

The Gospel of the Lord 

“Opening Your Story to Jesus,” by Father Mark S. Suslenko, Pastor, SS. Isidore and Maria Parish, Glastonbury, Connecticut

We may not realize it, but every one of us has a story to tell. It's a story about where we have come from, how we came to be the person we know ourselves to be, a story about how life is playing out before us at this moment, and a story about where we think it will all end. These stories of our lives speak of the deeper aspects of ourselves, and they often reflect the voices of those significant others who came into the formation of who we are today. Those voices could have had very positive things to say, or those voices could have said some very negative ones as well. The impressions people make upon us go a long way to the working out of our story, how it plays out. The players in our story and the script that is followed. Sometimes our stories begin like fairytales: once upon a time in a small village. Or sometimes, they start like a novel, a drama, or a mystery. 

How does your story begin?  

You know, one of the things about stories is they all require authors,  and we are the authors of our own life story. They unfold as a result of our pen. The characters we put within our stories, how they interact, what they say, how the events unfold. Sometimes, those characters are in our stories by choice, and sometimes, we find ourselves having to deal with them and somehow finding a way for them to fit in, almost like a puzzle. 

One thing about a good author and a good novel, if you have ever really found yourself engulfed in one, is that it captivates you. Because each little piece is a part of a bigger hole, all leading you to what the outcome might possibly be. There's nothing worse than really finding yourself immersed in a story and somebody coming along and telling you how it ends. It takes the whole joy out of the experience.  

Well, our lives are like that as well. Each one of us, in our stories, has an end in mind. How is your story supposed to end? It's an important question to ask.  

Every author knows how to reach that end, how to construct the piece, and how to deliver that message. Sometimes, our earthly stories are really consumed with a lot of fears and anxieties about what's playing out in front of us. Sometimes, our stories reflect very difficult relationships with people who are close to us, people who have this unique ability to just get under our skin and to just find that one vulnerable place that we get tripped up on. Sometimes, our stories are filled with changes, starting out with one vocation in life and finding ourselves embracing another. Sometimes, our stories are filled with the process of aging, the fear of getting old, of our bodies not working like they used to. Sometimes, our stories reflect our anxiety with illness as we deal with something we have no control over, something that will ultimately change our lives dramatically. Sometimes, our lives are predicted by our schedules, and we're preoccupied by all of the conflicts and the stresses and the challenges that are facing us each day, trying to negotiate our jobs and our homes, trying to provide for our children, trying to face the stresses of bringing our children to soccer one day and our daughter to dance the next, of trying to keep on top of our schedules, of trying to organize our environments, of trying to be a good spouse, a good parent. Sometimes, we're over-preoccupied with our work, requiring us to work long hours that take us away from home, a work situation that causes a lot of stress and anxiety, and worry that's brought into our everyday life. 

Sometimes, our stories are tragic. Sometimes, our stories really reflect grave disappointments. We can easily feel cheated out of life. Why are things happening the way they are? Why isn't God intervening in this problem that I have? Why do I have to encounter this trial? Maybe one of our parents is dealing with illness that's requiring me to go above and beyond.  

What's in your story? Who are the characters? How do they play out and what's the end?  

Jesus had a story, too. Once upon a time, in the small village of Bethlehem, he was born to a set of parents, Mary and Joseph, although Joseph wasn't his real father. And his story played out just like ours; he was rooted in history, rooted in time. He encountered all the same stuff we do. He was disappointed. He was fearful. He needed to escape and be refreshed. He felt the pressures of his vocation. He was scorned. He was hated. He was nailed to a cross. He suffered. He died. He did all of those things that we encounter, and we experience.  

What does your story say about suffering? What does your story say about times when you've been hurt, deeply hurt, by someone you love? You  know, Jesus and his story. Jesus wants to become a part of our story. And as you look at the pages of your story as they unfold and as they are laid out,  on how many pages do you find the face of Christ?  On how many pages do you find the presence of God? 

Jesus wants to be on every page of our story. Yes, we are the authors for sure. We can choose to move to pieces. We don't have to be a victim of circumstance. We can change. Ideas can change, because our stories affect how we hear, how we see, and most importantly, how we act. If we've been told we can't do something, we're not good enough, and we go into a situation, why would we think we could do it when everybody's been telling us we can't?  

But we can, if we change the story. 

Jesus wants to be on every page of our book, and God wants to be our editor. How many pages of your story reflect this: that Jesus suffered and died for you? How important is that event to the story of your life: that you have a savior, a God who suffered and died for you? How many pages of your story reflect the importance of coming here and having our stories realigned with God's through the wonderful gift of the Eucharist, the banquet of Christ? How many pages in your story reflect your companionship, not only with your spouse and your children but your companionship with God?  

You see, sometimes (in) our stories, we formulate them by looking down. We see the immediate stuff of our lives, and our perspective can sometimes get skewed by that vision of looking down and looking at just what's in front of us and what's consuming us, and what’s preoccupying us. The amazing thing about Jesus' story is Jesus lived in the here and now, but he always looked up when he reflected on his story. His eyes were always to heaven, not down, up. And that is what gave perspective to the way he suffered. That's what gave perspective when he was ridiculed. That's what gave perspective when he felt cheated. That's what gave perspective when he felt robbed. That's what gave him perspective when he fought prejudices of the day and went out and beyond and didn't let how people looked or how they act, influence them coming to him. 

There's wisdom in looking up, not always looking down, 'cause Jesus is saying to every one of us today that he wants to break into our story, "Be opened." Be opened. As you look at the experiences of your life, as life unfolds for you, as your story continues to be created and recreated, let me help you see. Let me help you hear and let me help you act so you don't get too consumed in the here and now, and you don't lose perspective, and you can see what I see: the bigger picture. As you look at the story of your life, I'm assuming that you're here today. It means that the end for you is heaven that you see that as the end of your existence here on Earth, that eternally you'll be in heaven with God. The big question is, does your storyline, the characters in your story, how the story unfolds, does it serve that end? Is that where you, the author, are bringing your story to completion? Is that going to be the big surprise at the end of it all?  

Jesus wants to become part of our story. 

I'll leave you with this simple quote today from Saint Ignatius of Loyola. He says this, "How insignificant the Earth seems to be, how insignificant the Earth seems to be. When I consider heaven." Think about that. "How insignificant the earth seems to be when I consider heaven." If we brought that perspective to all that's going on in our life, then the importance of this immediately gets reduced a bit. The flame on the stove gets turned down a little bit. Our fears become lessened a little bit. We don't need to be as anxious. We don't need to be as controlling. We don't need to be as angry. We don't need to be as frustrated because our eyes are where they need to be, not where we often find them to be. Be open, and let Jesus be a part of every page of your story. 

Father Mark Suslenko is the pastor of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Learn more about our parish community at www.isidoreandmaria.org. And follow us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Our music comes free of charge from Blue Dot Sessions in Fall River, Massachusetts. I’m Carol Vassar. Thanks for joining us.