The responsorial psalm for July 2 captures the common thread throughout the readings from this 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time. “Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.”
In the first reading, the woman of influence is promised to be blessed with a son after caring for the holy man of God, Elisha. In the second reading, St. Paul reminds us that through our baptism, we are raised up to live in newness of life with Christ. In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of the rewards that one will receive by caring for his people. The goodness of the Lord is truly amazing.
You may notice that the rewards and the Lord’s goodness demand something from us. The woman of influence cares for the prophet of the Lord. St. Paul tells us that we must live for God and be dead to sin. Jesus gives certain criteria to receive these rewards.
It is good for us to have faith in Jesus and to believe in the Gospels, but it must also have an effect on our lives. Jesus says that we must love him above all else. This means putting him first, over and above all good things. He wants that priority of place in our lives.
It is easy for other things to demand our time and energy, to take priority in our lives. Maybe it is schoolwork, with exams and papers. Maybe it’s your kids and all their extracurricular activities. Maybe it’s the demands of a job. Sometimes it is social media and constant scrolling to see the next attention-grabbing thing on the screen. In no way is this to say that some of these things are not good. But do they get in the way of our first and greatest love?
These things continually seek our love and attention, just as Jesus does, and we must ask ourselves, where is Jesus? Is Jesus first? Does my love for others flow from my love for Jesus? Does my desire to be successful with work or study come from my love to please Jesus? Do I allow Jesus to have the priority in life, trusting that he will provide all the rest? At times, we will find ourselves challenged, but that should not surprise us. Jesus tells us, “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.”
The cross is heavy and there are moments in life when we would rather not have anything to do with it. But when we truly love our Lord, the way that he loves us, we come to realize that the cross that each of us must carry is but one of the ways that we live out our love for him.
As we carry our cross each day, and love our Lord above all else, the Lord will surely reward us with his goodness. Jesus will keep his promise and generously pour grace into our lives. Then, with the psalmist, we can sing forever the goodness of the Lord.
Father Zipp is parochial administrator of St. Mary of the Lake in Plymouth.
Sunday, July 2
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
