While we entered Ordinary Time two weeks ago, you might not have noticed it at Sunday Mass with the white colors still up for our Solemnities of the Most Holy Trinity and Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. With all this behind us now, we see the green colors of Ordinary Time as we begin our long journey with Christ as he takes us on his mission to spread the Good News. This week’s readings remind us that with this mission comes with struggles, but that the Lord is on our side:
The Word for the 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Jeremiah 20:10-13
Psalm 69: 8-10, 14, 17, 33-35
Romans 5:12-15
Matthew 10:26-33
We open with a passage from the prophet Jeremiah. Here it would seem everyone is against him. His followers and friends are denouncing him or simply walking away while still others are eager to find ways to bring him down. But Jeremiah isn’t concerned, because he knows he has the Lord on his side. The Lord is his champion. And he praises God for standing by him in his moments of difficulty. Our Psalm reflects Jeremiah’s struggle and his confidence in God’s love as we sing, “Lord, in your great love, answer me.”
Our second reading begins a long study of Paul’s letter to the Romans. As you may remember, during Ordinary Time, our second reading may not be reflective of the themes found in the first reading and the Gospel. This is because the Church fathers wanted to take this time to have the people do a deep dive into the Epistles, the letters from Paul, and others. So beginning this week, and through the end of July, we will be reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans, a pivotal work from Paul because his audience in Rome was much more diverse and living in what was then the heart of the known world. In this week’s passage Paul discusses the nature of sin and what we would call “original sin.” He introduces the concept of sin, starting with Adam, through Moses, and how through Jesus we have been redeemed. Keep in mind that many of the people in this Roman church were not Jewish, so Paul needs to introduce them to Adam and Moses so that the link to the one God, God’s people, and God’s son, Jesus, can be better understood – primarily that the sacrifice Jesus made on the Cross gives us a clean slate, a chance to be redeemed.
Our Gospel from Matthew continues on these ideas of persecution, sin, and redemption. This passage comes in the middle of a section referred to as “the commissioning of the Twelve.” Jesus is speaking to all his selected Apostles and as told them that there may be some suffering involved in carrying out their mission, but in this week’s Gospel passage, Jesus tries to reassure them that God recognizes both those who are good and those who are not, and that those who recognize Jesus as the Christ will find favor with God. This is the beginning of our long Summer where we will be traveling with Jesus and his Apostles on their mission to spread the Good News – that all are redeemed through Christ.
Final thoughts:
When you hear the term “ordinary time” it makes you think of things that are, well, boring. Mundane. Not really worthy of our full attention. For the Church, however, it is anything but boring. The season of Ordinary Time means that we’re just counting the weeks before the next big season, but it’s also a time where we can take the time needed to do a deeper dive into what Jesus is preaching and teaching and doing on his long journeys with his disciples. Ordinary Time gives us the chance to actually walk with Jesus, from town to town, just like one of his Apostles, watching and learning as we go. We get to put ourselves in the narrative as we follow him and learn about God and his Kingdom. It is our journey through the readings of Ordinary Time that make the other seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter so much more extraordinary. I hope you will join me for this journey.
The Word for the 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Jeremiah 20:10-13
Psalm 69: 8-10, 14, 17, 33-35
Romans 5:12-15
Matthew 10:26-33
We open with a passage from the prophet Jeremiah. Here it would seem everyone is against him. His followers and friends are denouncing him or simply walking away while still others are eager to find ways to bring him down. But Jeremiah isn’t concerned, because he knows he has the Lord on his side. The Lord is his champion. And he praises God for standing by him in his moments of difficulty. Our Psalm reflects Jeremiah’s struggle and his confidence in God’s love as we sing, “Lord, in your great love, answer me.”
Our second reading begins a long study of Paul’s letter to the Romans. As you may remember, during Ordinary Time, our second reading may not be reflective of the themes found in the first reading and the Gospel. This is because the Church fathers wanted to take this time to have the people do a deep dive into the Epistles, the letters from Paul, and others. So beginning this week, and through the end of July, we will be reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans, a pivotal work from Paul because his audience in Rome was much more diverse and living in what was then the heart of the known world. In this week’s passage Paul discusses the nature of sin and what we would call “original sin.” He introduces the concept of sin, starting with Adam, through Moses, and how through Jesus we have been redeemed. Keep in mind that many of the people in this Roman church were not Jewish, so Paul needs to introduce them to Adam and Moses so that the link to the one God, God’s people, and God’s son, Jesus, can be better understood – primarily that the sacrifice Jesus made on the Cross gives us a clean slate, a chance to be redeemed.
Our Gospel from Matthew continues on these ideas of persecution, sin, and redemption. This passage comes in the middle of a section referred to as “the commissioning of the Twelve.” Jesus is speaking to all his selected Apostles and as told them that there may be some suffering involved in carrying out their mission, but in this week’s Gospel passage, Jesus tries to reassure them that God recognizes both those who are good and those who are not, and that those who recognize Jesus as the Christ will find favor with God. This is the beginning of our long Summer where we will be traveling with Jesus and his Apostles on their mission to spread the Good News – that all are redeemed through Christ.
Final thoughts:
When you hear the term “ordinary time” it makes you think of things that are, well, boring. Mundane. Not really worthy of our full attention. For the Church, however, it is anything but boring. The season of Ordinary Time means that we’re just counting the weeks before the next big season, but it’s also a time where we can take the time needed to do a deeper dive into what Jesus is preaching and teaching and doing on his long journeys with his disciples. Ordinary Time gives us the chance to actually walk with Jesus, from town to town, just like one of his Apostles, watching and learning as we go. We get to put ourselves in the narrative as we follow him and learn about God and his Kingdom. It is our journey through the readings of Ordinary Time that make the other seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter so much more extraordinary. I hope you will join me for this journey.
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