Sunday, November 10, 2019

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 156

Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us, 
so that the word of the Lord may speed forward and be glorified, 
as it did among you, 
and that we may be delivered from perverse and wicked people, 
for not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful; 
he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.


Deep into November, approaching the end of the year and the Solemnity of Christ the King, our readings recall the promise of eternal life. While philosophers dispassionately discuss the subject -- and are welcome to it -- we wait on it, believe in it, and trust in it day by day. We hope in the promise that our sacrifices will be rewarded; our sins, forgiven; our grief, consoled; our traumas, healed; and our suffering transformed to glorious delight. We hope that our families, friends, and churches will rise up singing on that great day, and that we will find our place among the saints and angels who live forever to sing God's praises. 
This is not an academic discussion for us. 
In today's second reading from Second Thessalonians, one of the oldest Christian documents, we hear Saint Paul urging his disciples to "pray for us so that the word of the Lord may speed forward and be glorified." 
Our destiny is not about us.  If I lend money to a friend because I want him to pay me back with interest, I have clearly set aside our friendship. Likewise, when we come to the Lord we abandon our particular agendas at the front door and surrender to the glory to be revealed.  Very likely, during that process, we experience enormous relief and wonderful healing, as our gratitude takes us out of ourselves and into the plans God has for us, "plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.
Sure, I might have some particular ideas about how the Lord should save me; and there's probably no harm in sharing them with the Lord in prayer. But, as some wit has said, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." 
Certainly the Lord had the last laugh on Saul of Tarsus as he prayed for a successful mission in Damascus. 
November in our Catholic tradition is the season of judgement. We consider "death and judgement, heaven and hell." We might call the final Sunday of this liturgical year the Solemnity of Christ the Judge. If judge is an uncomfortable title for us, it's more familiar than king. It's a reminder that our life in the Lord is for the Lord who is with us. The season invites introspection, honest appraisal of our sinful habits, penance and the realization that we cannot save ourselves. No human plan of redemption, however clever, can succeed unless the Lord has inspired its conception. 

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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.

Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.

I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.

You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.