A Reflection for Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Find today’s readings here.
There isn’t a lot of ambiguity in today’s Gospel. Jesus’s frustration and anger that the people of the towns who witnessed “his mighty deeds” but still had not repented is clear. He warns them of the reckoning that will come on the day of judgment and what really is at stake: “Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the nether world.” It was a strong and clear message to those in Chorazin and Bethsaida but also to each of us.
I believe that God loves us unconditionally. He looks beyond our poor choices, our selfishness, our pride and our greed, to recognize the goodness that exists in each of us simply because we are his. It’s a comforting and joyful notion that there is nothing we can do to make him love us less. That said, and as Jesus reminds us, his mercy does not come unless we seek it sincerely.
There is abiding proof of God’s goodness in all aspects of my life – the wisdom of my father, the laughter of my children, the company of my friends, the beauty and warmth of long sunny summer days. And so, much like the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida, I have witnessed the mighty deeds of God’s presence. So what does Jesus’s message really mean to me and my day-to-day life?
As I reflect, I think it means that I—all of us—need to be responsible for the gifts we have been given and use them in God’s glory. We need to be worthy of the goodness and forgiveness that God bestows on each of us so generously. It means we need to promote his message in all aspects of our lives and be mindful of his example. It means we need to trust in his care and feel confident in his protection. It means we should reflect and repent when we have fallen short of expectations.
And because I believe in a loving God, I look at today’s Gospel as an opportunity. An opportunity to truly hear God’s call and transform that into actions worthy of all the gifts we have been given. This isn’t easy—we are humans, of course, and feelings of insecurity or anxiety or jealousy get in the way—but it does provide an aspirational goal for each of us; a charge that we each strive to be the very best version of ourselves and actively work to recognize and repent for those times we are not. In doing so, we afford ourselves the very definition of God’s grace—what an extraordinary gift.
