Breaking Open the Word - 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B
14th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B — July 4th, 2021
This Sunday, the USA celebrated our Independence Day – a day to remember and give thanks for those whose selfless sacrifice built up our nation. We pray that the Lord may bring about a great renewal of faith and love among our American people, and that the God-given rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” will be guarded for generations to come!
“It is true He was crucified out of weakness, but He lives by the power of God.”
Our Scripture sharing began with the second reading, taken from 2 Corinthians 12: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” A number of Sisters shared how they have found this passage deeply meaningful in their own lives. Sooner or later, each of us comes to a place in which we are face-to-face with our own weaknesses and limitations – and with our utter inability to “fix” them on our own. This realization can provoke a variety of responses: frustration, depression, escapism, or even denial. However, we as Christians need not become discouraged as we struggle to come to terms with our human frailty. God does not ask us to “fix” ourselves, but to bring our brokenness to Him, humbly admitting that we can do nothing without Him. It is at times like this, when we are faced with the reality of our own weakness, that He calls us to take the sometimes-scary step of total trust in Him. If we truly believe that His “grace is sufficient,” we begin to lean on Him more confidently, to expectantly await the help that we know He will give us in our challenges. An experience of our personal limitation is then transformed into an opportunity to allow God’s “power [to be] made perfect in weakness.” The point is not necessarily that our weakness is removed; after all, our supreme Model is Christ on the Cross! Rather, the goal is to find our freedom in surrender, to allow God to be victorious in and even through our weaknesses.
Moving on to the Gospel, a Sister drew our attention to a particular line: “a prophet is not without honor except in his native place, among his own kindred, and in his own house.” It is easy to see the basic meaning of this proverb in the context of the Gospel story, but Sister approached it with a broader view. Applying it to our own lives in our families and communities, she suggested that we could actually use it as an examination of conscience in our interpersonal relationships. Do I “honor” the “prophets” God places in my path each day? Do I see my family members, my friends, my religious Sisters, as persons loved and chosen by God? Do I believe that they, like me, are striving for holiness? Do I listen for the voice of Christ speaking through them? Perhaps I have been just like the people of Nazareth, who refused to recognize that God could be at work in their lives through someone they considered “ordinary.”
It is often much easier to “honor” the “prophets” outside of one’s own house. We easily admire those who are at some distance from ourselves, because all we see are the good qualities they exhibit to the world. But we are much more familiar with the quirks and foibles of those who live with us day-in and day-out! Relationships with those closest to us can be challenging at times, but if we allow the Lord to deepen them through our efforts at mature Christian love, then we are truly opened to receive the graces He wants to offer us through each other.
This examination can also apply to our attitude towards ourselves. We could ask: do I give myself room to change for the better, or do I see myself as a hopeless cause? Do I see myself as a beloved child of God, one of His baptized “prophets,” or do I think He could never work through someone as (fill in the blank – sinful, weak, ordinary) as me? Am I as merciful with myself as He is with me? Perhaps we are hesitant to recognize the good in ourselves, or to aspire to greatness, because we fear falling into the sin of pride. However, true humility consists not in constant self-deprecation, but in joyful acknowledgement of God’s greatness and our littleness. Pride enters when we attempt to claim the glory for ourselves, rather than referring all to God. Humility does not obscure our good qualities, but rather ennobles them, by helping us to recognize that whatever we possess is a gift from an all-loving Father. He delights in each of us, and He wishes us to share His joy!