19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The last time I had an opportunity to write a bulletin article, on the feast of Pentecost, I was moved to reflect on the virtue of hope, that which directs our eyes heavenward, accepts the promise of God, and rejects the self-defeating fears of the mind.
And as I read this Sunday’s Scriptures, they seem to me to be a sequel to that meditation.
The first reading from the Book of Wisdom reminds the people of Israel of the faith of their forefathers in Egypt, of how they put their hope in the promise that the angel of the Lord would pass over them during the night of Passover. In the second reading, Paul reminds the early Christians of Abraham’s faith throughout the Old Testament that God would fulfill His promises, even though that fulfillment would not come until many generations after his earthly life. And in the Gospel, Christ tells his disciples to have that same faith in the coming of the kingdom, at the same time warning them that it would be a long wait. That in experiencing the long wait for the Kingdom, they should not give up hope and give over to live dissolutely. Rather, he called them to patience and live their lives according to his teachings until the end.
Christ’s Kingdom on Earth seems a very, very long way right now. Events in the world and even in our own community underline this point. And yet amidst it all, Christ’s call to his disciples 2,000 years remains valid. We are called to have the same hope that our forefathers had in Him in the midst of the trials of their own times. But this Christian hope is strange to the ears of the unbeliever because it calls for an odd balance between patient acceptance to not accept paradise on earth and faith-filled action to participate in His Kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven”.
We should not expect that we’ll see the world become a loving and just society in our lifetimes. With every new soul that is born, it will have the free choice to choose good or evil, God or selfishness. And until Christ comes again, many of those choices will result in godless pain. But that does not mean we give up and join the world.
Christ calls us to the action, to works the fields of His Kingdom. That first action is to be watchful over our hearts, to keep the faith and hope of His Kingdom alive in our hearts. We build our relationship with him through prayer, sacraments, rejecting vice, and living virtue. We continue to build the Christian community, caring for one another’s spiritual and temporal welfare. We continue to give witness His Salvation and invite souls into the Body of Christ. We live with His Love.
Fruits will grow from the vine as we work His fields in this way. The more of us that respond to Christ’s call, the more we prepare for His Kingdom. Sometimes we’ll see those fruits. Often, we will not. We may not stop the big tragedies of the world and end its sufferings, but souls will be saved. People will accept the love and peace of Christ into their hearts. And hearts are where His Kingdom resides.
Only the Father knows the hour in which the world will fully come under His Love, but we do know that the hour will come for each one of us. And when we pass from this world to the next, if we have been faithful and prudent stewards and have acted according to His will, our hope will be realized in His eternal glory. And Christian after Christian will continue to do this until the last day as they participate in the chain of salvation history that began with Abraham.
So today let’s ask ourselves, “How well am I keeping watch? How much am I living according to my will and not His? What more can I do to live the Will of my Father? How am I sowing the world with the Good News?”
Don’t know where to start? If you feel a spark of inspiration today to take the next step on your journey, don’t let the business of the week smother a call you hear on Sunday. Call the parish office. We’d love to help you move in the direction of His call. Whether it’s service to the church and community or learning more about walking with one or hosting a small group or intercessory prayer, we’re here to help get you connected!
Come, Holy Spirit. Help me direct your gift of hope into the action of love.