XVII Sunday of Ordinary Time

Readings:
2 Kings 4:42-44

Ephesians 4:1-6

John 6:1-15

Thoughts for your consideration: by John Gonzales

This week our lectionary readings are based on the great miracles performed by Elisha and Jesus where they multiply the loaves of bread to feed 100 and then 5,000 people respectively. In between these two miraculous moments we hear St. Paul the apostle offering the Ephesians community a message of divine hope based on the ultimate unity that God desires for us.
There are times when the Sunday lectionary readings give me great inspiration and I am able to reflect on the wisdom of the Gospel as it relates to me and the world around me. Other times I am not particularly moved by the readings and I struggle with my own dry reception of them.  And then there are times like this week, when I am downright challenged by our own sacred scriptures.

Perhaps I should preface this reflection with a confession regarding my own personality. I am a realist. While I firmly believe in the tenets of our faith and I maintain a firm hope in the Kingdom of God as taught to us by Jesus Christ and the apostolic tradition of our own Church I have a pragmatic personality that tries to envision this faith and hope through the lens of my own lived reality.  Add to this personality my own (possibly unhealthy) attention to details and logistics and the reader may begin to understand why this week’s readings are deeply challenging to me.

Many of us have had the experience of organizing events: there are family events, group events, parish events and work related events. I have done my share of event organizing. Depending on how successful you want your event to be you have to meticulously organize every detail so that people can enjoy themselves. The catering aspect of the event is of particular importance. Offer to little food and drink and you will probably hear about it.
For those of us who have organized events the story of Elisha and Jesus can pose a logistical nightmare. My heart goes out immediately to Philip and Andrew in the Gospel reading. I can hear the panic in their voices as they try to offer our Lord some dose of reality amidst his request to feed the multitude. But my own challenge goes deeper then the logistical problem of catering to a multitude. It is one thing to organize a single event, daunting as it may be; it is quite another thing to work for a mission that seems completely impossible. St. Paul tells us that the ultimate divine hope for us is “one body and one Spirit… one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.” In the midst of addressing violence and civil unrest in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America; in the midst of addressing climate change and the global economic crisis; in the midst of promoting national healthcare and immigration policies; one can rightfully ask, “Where is the one body?” I for one have asked this question several times.

The answer is that in our own limited boundaries of space and time we will not be able to see this great hope and expectation of God. God however is not limited by our own boundaries and God is able to see something that we individually cannot. This is where faith must step in and where a person like me has to step back and continue to work for what to me seems futile and almost hopeless to me. God is able to see something that I cannot and he still has hope in a unified Kingdom of God that is built on love, mercy, justice and peace. St. Paul of the Cross reminded the people of his time that this orientation to God ultimately demands that we devout ourselves to a divine will that is beyond our own comprehension:
“abandon yourself more and more completely in the loving bosom of our dear God, undismayed by aridity, desolation, or anything else, but pressing forward magnanimously. Oh, how pleasing to His Divine Majesty is this loving abandonment of our will to the Will of God!”

In the second reading St. Paul reminds us of his own orientation and personality virtues that help him to preach a difficult Gospel message and he invites us to adopt these virtuous measures. It is worthwhile for someone like me to deeply reflect on this invitation that is found in the first verse of chapter four. I think all of us who are daunted by reality and the logistical issues that confront us with regards to building up the Kingdom of God should take some time this week to reflect on this passage.
“I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

2 Responses to “XVII Sunday of Ordinary Time”

1. pdamiancp says:

   July 23, 2009 at 5:01 am

   John,

   Thank you for that reflection. Often there is nothing else to do but continue in faith. Surrender and trust can be the most difficult things to do in one’s (I was going to say spiritual, but it pertains to everything) life.

   Phil
2. Catholic Charities of Central Texas says:

   August 10, 2009 at 4:41 pm

   Thank you for this great post! We have a similar meditation today regarding kindness and compassion. Looking forward to your reading your posts!

   God Bless