Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 110

I urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love…

 

In today’s gospel, “Philip answered Jesus, ‘Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.’” His remark echoes Elisha’s servant who asked in our first reading, ““How can I set twenty barley loaves before a hundred people?”

We might ask a similar question of Saint Paul, “How can acting humbly, gently, with patience, and bearing with one another make a difference in the face of so many crises? Can’t you see we must do something big, dramatic, and even violent if we expect anything to change?”

The great philosopher Descartes, by way of a thought experiment, proposed, “Cogito ergo sum!” which translated means, “I think therefore I am.”

It worked for him but more often we think, “I act and therefore I am!” If I am not doing something I don’t I exist! I am doing, working, and making a difference. I am saving lives! I must act to save myself and everyone around me! I cannot dare to stop.

The gospel relieves us of all that. We are responsible, in the sense that we must respond to God’s saving grace. But we neither initiate God’s saving deeds -- His mighty works -- nor make them happen. Rather, we receive and allow the Spirit of God to direct us. If I take up a project without God’s initiative and direction it will come to naught.

We are afflicted also with many prejudices and presuppositions that blind us from seeing God’s mighty works among us. We often ask, "How can good come of this? It’s so hopeless!" These normal human reactions assume a godlike knowledge of good and evil and only demonstrate our shortsightedness. From our low place we cannot see beyond the horizon, we need guidance from One on High who sees farther and wider.

That’s where we begin to learn the patience of which Saint Paul speaks.

Many Americans today believe we are living in an apocalyptic era. The End is near, they say. But the polarization of our political parties is largely a product of the news media and their rabid courtship of ever more consumers. They exaggerate, amplify, and exacerbate our differences for their own profit.

Our borders are secure against military aggression; our economy is diversified and resilient; our governments are still functioning, and our Christian presence is still prophetic. Predictable problems appear as our cities grow while small towns and rural communities disappear; that irreversible development must be addressed.. We are aggressively addressing racism and young people are leading the way. Our biggest worry may be widespread family disintegration but watching NPR, CNN, or Fox will not improve that situation.

This is the Catholic hour. More than ever, Catholics must prophetically represent the fidelity, courage, and sacrificial generosity of Jesus. We do that by our practice of faith, our concern for our neighbors, and our confidence that God is still in charge.