A Reflection for Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Find today’s readings here.
“The LORD keeps those who are constant,
but more than requites those who act proudly.” (Ps 31: 24)
“When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door,
and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” (Mt 6:6)
Today, I am not thinking about fasting and almsgiving.
Here in New York, we are just one day from the start of summer and the longest day of the year. Today is also Juneteenth, a national holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the United States.
Today is a day for a party, a day to spend outside enjoying the sunshine. It is not a day to lock yourself up in a room and pray.
And yet, that is what Jesus is telling us to do in today’s Gospel. In the Gospel of Matthew, in a reading we know well from Ash Wednesday, Jesus warns us against arrogance and advises us to keep our prayer and fasting secret, so as not to be like the hypocrites.
Why read this Gospel today? It gives Lent, as my daughter might say. And no one wants to be thinking about Lent right now.
This is just a coincidence of the calendar, of course. But I think there is a good reason why we revisit this Gospel reading during Ordinary Time.
“The Lord keeps those who are constant,” we hear in today’s psalm. In other words, the Lord looks with favor upon those who are loyal to him. That means those who pray and give themselves to God year round, not just in Lent.
It is sometimes tempting to think there are times of the day or year for prayer and times for other things. But of course, this is not true. We must be constant in our attention to God. That means at all times and in all seasons—on Ash Wednesday and on Juneteenth.
And what does God offer in return? “The Lord keeps those who are constant.”
Keeps. What a consoling verb. Summer will come and go. Only God remains.
