Reign over Me:
The 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time
July 23, 2023
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Wisdom 12:13-19; Psalm 86; Romans 8:26-27; Matthew 13:24-43
Matthew gives us sayings about what the reign of God is like in these three parables. The point is that God’s reign is all around you, it is mysteriously incomprehensible, it is barely noticeable at first, and it is growing more rapidly than we can explain. Another point is: You cannot control it. The reign of God is beyond your grasp, and it comes in unpredictable ways. You can add yeast to flour and you cannot explain the steady growth; you can plant the tiniest of seed and it becomes a large bush disproportionate to the size of its seed. Science can yield clues, and we cannot conclusively figure out how this growth occurs. Another point is: Since you cannot control it or tame it or subjugate it, sit back in amazement at the work God is doing.
The Psalmist tells us that for some reason, God is good and forgiving, though we do not deserve what God offers. The author of Wisdom tells us attributes of God, like God’s use of justice and clemency, that God is lenient to our shortcomings and poor choices, and that kindness and understanding are divine virtues that we are to imitate. Then, Matthew tells us that God will sort out the righteous from the weeds at the end of time. It reminds us that we are not the judges, but that we grow alongside those who stand in righteousness and those who lack it. Our job as Christians is just to grow and flourish as best we can no matter our circumstances.
We are not to judge in condemnation. What is a common refrain priests hear in the Reconciliation Room? “Father, I don’t like my attitude around my negative judgments.” Now, that awareness is a start. If we refrain from speaking judgmentally against another person, then we find we are calmer and more accepting and more willing to cut someone some slack. We find we are closer to what the first reading says: a good person who is kind and forgiving and less apt to want to control the behavior and actions of others. Life would be much easier if we did not try to control so often. We are more accepting of God’s reign around us.
If these parables are what the reign of God is like, then I want to be part of it. I want my mistakes to be forgiven when I do something dumb. I want God to be lenient to me when I should be called on my actions and pay the fine. I want to be reconciled with someone I hurt because I still care about the person and I want our relationship restored to what it once was. When I’m grumpy and not at my best, I want to experience the kindness of another person. When I hold a misperception, I want someone to gently teach me that my perception needs to be viewed from a different angle. I want to be able to grow in wisdom and grace and goodness. I want to be able to develop in ways that are inexplicable and mysterious so that I marvel at what has happened to me and to others. I want to be able to stand before God at the end of my time and say, “Thank you for doing what I never could have done without your help. I am grateful and still unfinished.”
And as I ponder how God has blessed me, I know the measure of my life will be how I have blessed others. If I’ve been forgiven, I want to abundantly forgive. If I have received undeserved mercy, I want to extend mercy to others as widely as I can. If someone has been kind to me, I want to give it exceedingly to others. I do not yet comprehend God’s reign, but I like what I see, and I want to sit back in amazement and watch the unfolding of the mystery that I cannot explain. I watch in worship and be as articulate as I can, as I say, “wow.”
Scripture for Daily Mass
Monday: (Exodus 14) When it was reported to the king of Egypt that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants changed their minds about them. They exclaimed, "What have we done! Why, we have released Israel from our service!"
Tuesday: (2 Corinthians 4) We hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.
Wednesday: (Exodus 16) The children of Israel set out from Elim, and came into the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt. Here in the desert the whole assembly of the children of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
Thursday: (Exodus 19) In the third month after their departure from the land of Egypt, on its first day, the children of Israel came to the desert of Sinai. After the journey from Rephidim to the desert of Sinai, they pitched camp.
Friday (Exodus 20) I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have other gods besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them.
Saturday (Exodus 24) When Moses came to the people and related all the words and ordinances of the LORD, they all answered with one voice, "We will do everything that the LORD has told us." Moses then wrote down all the words of the LORD.
Gospel:
Monday: (Matthew 12) "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you." He said to them in reply, "An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it
except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
Tuesday: (Matthew 20) Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?" They said to him, "We can." He replied, "My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."
Wednesday (Matthew 13) On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow.
Thursday (Matthew 13) You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted and I heal them.
Friday (Matthew 13) The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit.
Saturday (John 11) Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died]. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home.
Saints of the Week
July 23: Bridget of Sweden, religious (1303-1373), founded the Bridgettine Order for men and women in 1370, though today only the women’s portion has survived. She desired to live in a lifestyle defined by prayer and penance. Her husband of 28 years died after producing eight children with Bridget. She then moved to Rome to begin the new order.
July 24: Sharbel Makhuf, priest (1828-1898), joined a monastery in the Maronite tradition and lived as a hermit for 23 years after living fifteen years in the community. He became known for his wisdom and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.
July 25: James, Apostle (1st century), is the son of Zebedee and the brother of John. As fishermen, they left their trade to follow Jesus. They occupied the inner circle as friends of Jesus. James is the patron of Spain as a shrine is dedicated to him at Santiago de Compostela. He is the patron of pilgrims as many walk the Camino en route to this popular pilgrim site.
July 26: Joachim and Anne, Mary's parents (1st century) are names attributed to the grandparents of Jesus through the Proto-Gospel of James. These names appeared in the Christian tradition though we don't know anything with certitude about their lives. Devotion of Anne began in Constantinople in the 6th century while Joachim gained acclaim in the West in the 16th century. He was revered in the Eastern churches since the earliest times.
July 29: Martha (1st century), is the sister of Mary and Lazarus of Bethany near Jerusalem. Martha is considered the busy, activity-attentive sister while Mary is more contemplative. Martha is known for her hospitality and fidelity. She proclaimed her belief that Jesus was the Christ when he appeared after Lazarus had died.
This Week in Jesuit History
- July 23, 1553. At Palermo, the parish priests expressed to Fr. Paul Achilles, rector of the college, indignation that more than 400 persons had received Holy Communion in the Society's church, rather than in their parish churches.
- July 24, 1805. In Maryland, Fr. Robert Molyneux was appointed the first superior by Father General Gruber.
- July 25, 1581. In the house of the Earl of Leicester in London, an interview occurred between Queen Elizabeth and Edmund Campion. The Queen could scarcely have recognized the worn and broken person before her as the same brilliant scholar who had addressed here at Oxford 15 years before.
- July 26, 1872. At Rome, the greater part of the Professed House of the Gesu was seized and appropriated by the Piedmontese government.
- July 27, 1609. Pope Paul V beatifies Ignatius.
- July 28, 1564. In a consistory held before twenty-four Cardinals, Pope Paul IV announced his intention of entrusting the Roman Seminary to the Society.
- July 29, 1865. The death in Cincinnati, Ohio of Fr. Peter Arnoudt, a Belgian. He was the author of The Imitation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
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