Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
It’s a safe bet to say that we can all remember a very special Fourth of July celebration at some time in our life. It may have been our first experience of fireworks, or a hot July afternoon eating watermelon under a shade tree, or a Fourth of July parade around the square of a small town complete with floats and marching band, tractors, and lastly, of course, riders on horseback.
Scenes and memories like these remind us that we’re just ordinary people living ordinary lives sparked with special moments of excitement and lasting meaning. We sometimes pass over the ordinary thinking that the “good stuff” only happens in the extraordinary. But our spirituality, our relationship with God, is always based on the ordinary. After all, in the Book of Genesis, God delighted with every act of creation calling it “good” but when humanity was created it rose to the level of “very good.” In fact, when looking closely at ordinary humanity we should not be surprised to find the imprint of God the Potter’s hands. God continues to be with us.
Our first reading for this 14th Sunday reminds us that God takes the initiative in speaking to us. Throughout the long history of the Old Testament, God used the Law and the Prophets to call the people to deeper faithfulness. As ordinary patterns of life settled in, there was a tendency for the people to forget and even ignore the original content and meaning of the law. The prophets had the difficult job of calling the people back to their original promises to remain faithful to the covenant. God is insisting that the Prophet Ezekiel speak to the people who have become “hard of heart.” The prophets have always had to be strong and tough-skinned!
Sometimes God speaks to us, if we listen, through our own difficulties in life. St. Paul admits in the second reading that he had a personal handicap. We’re not sure what it was, some have suggested a speech impediment. But whatever it was, it forced him to accept this weakness as his ordinary condition throughout his daily life. That meant he had to learn to trust all the more in the power of the Lord and not himself when he preached the Gospel.
Today’s Gospel gives us a very vivid picture of Jesus returning to his hometown. Unfortunately, the town expected him to be ordinary in the way they had always remembered him and took offense when he dared to call them to a new depth of faith. Can’t you just hear some of them mumbling: “Who does he think he is?” The Lord’s word, like the words of the prophets, can be fruitful and adaptable in any and all situations, but the one who is listening must be willing to hear it.
Reflection question: How often have we failed to listen to words of wisdom because the speaker was “out of the ordinary” and asked us to change?
Reflection by Fr. Daniel Petsche, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections