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Twenty-Sixth Sunday In Ordinary Time

This little boy is standing before a judge who is about to decide in his parents custody battle. The judge says to the little boy: I think you should go and live with your mother. O No says the boy, she beats me.

Well, then live with your father. O No says the boy, he beats me too. The judge pause and thinks and says How about you grandparents.. No the boy says they beat me too.

So the judge says who do you want to live with? The little boy says send me to the Red Sox. The red sox asks the judge. And the little boy replies “Yeah, they don't beat anyone!

It's the unexpected twist to a story, isn't it, that makes the story interesting and worth telling and makes us want to find out how it turns out. We're never quite sure until the end.

And I was thinking how true all that is about the story of Jesus; all the unexpected twists and turns from the very beginning: no one expected the King to be born in a stable with no wealth; and no one expected Him to die on a cross between two thieves; and all the years in between, over and over again Jesus did the unexpected – from choosing simple fishermen to be his apostles to eating and drinking with tax collectors and prostitutes; from healing the blind and the lame to casting out legions of demons. Jesus life seems to flow from one surprising thin to another.

And in today's gospel reading the apostles are again confronted with that unexpected side to Jesus personality. They come to Him certain that He will be angry about people who are curing the sick and casting out demons in his name even tho they are not His disciples. The truth is that the apostles were jealous — they thought they had the corner on the Jesus market. And Jesus simply responds: Anyone who acts in my name cannot at the same time be against us. He's telling the apostles that they should attend to their own way of living the gospel and know that God will act in unexpected and surprising ways – and not to get in the way of God.

We all live lives that are filled with the unexpected - sometimes they are happy surprises and sometimes not so happy. Falling in love, becoming successful, feeling fulfilled and happy can be pleasant surprises. (Divorce, illness, financial worries, the death of a loved one are not so pleasant) (Failing to meet expectations, having your heart broken, feeling unloved are not so pleasant.)

But one of the things that Jesus shows us is that when life takes unexpected twists and turns, those are moments when God is particularly close to us. It is unusual when life turns out the way we expect .

It is the unexpected elements that make life interesting and worth telling the story. And it is in the interesting, surprise events that God is drawing us closer to Himself and to the love He deeply want to offer us.

So let's try to be aware of the happenings in life every day – and know that even in the disappointments, we have opportunities to discover God's nearness and God's love. Perhaps even when we root for the Red Sox.