SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME C

[cappie]

We are almost two full months into the new year, journeying on  after the feast of Epiphany—the day Christians celebrate the revelation of the Divine made manifest among humanity in Jesus Christ. And in today’s readings, we are reminded that there are things beyond what we can understand in this world.

The prophet Jeremiah speaks forcibly, “ The Lord says this: ‘A curse on the man who puts his trust in man, who relies on things of flesh, whose heart turns from the Lord.  To rely on human strength, the efforts of us mere mortals, is not only foolish but accursed, according to the prophet. The author continues by extolling those who trust in God, human intentions, efforts, can only lead us so far.   Faith demands we reach out beyond what we can feel, perceive, or even know. Faith demands we reach out to God.

The epistle reading for the day leads us further down this road of trust in something beyond what we can comprehend. Paul, in his first letter to the church in Corinth, writes of the absolute necessity of the Resurrection. “ For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins.” These words are meant as words of comfort to the first-century Christian community, but to many readers today, a belief in the physical and bodily resurrection can present itself as a stumbling block.   How can that possibly be relevant to our lives in the 21st century?

  How are these ancient words written millennia ago applicable to my situation today?     How does a Christian today live this out?

Similarly, the belief in the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is something that we affirm regularly in the creed, but what does this belief mean for our daily lives?     

The mystery of our faith is not just that the words of the Scriptures apply today to our situation here, across vast centuries of time and thousands of miles of space. Among the mysteries of faith is that, through these words, we can still encounter the divine.  

   When we read Scripture, we certainly do look for things that are relevant to our lives. But we also bask in the encounter with the divine, having faith that God meets us in the reading of the holy words. It is this encounter with the divine that gave life to the faith of the mystics like Hildegard, Julian, and Teresa. The readings then become less about mining for nuggets of applicable wisdom, and more about looking and listening for resonance with the beauty we find in our lives, in the world, and in each other.

Let us turn now to that great sermon from the gospel text for the day. The Beatitudes, as these statements are known,  the question becomes, “How does this passage resonate with my encounters with God?” 

St Paul’s words about the centrality of resurrection guide us to consider where we see Jesus’ resurrection echo and harmonize with our experiences, our histories, and our lives. We attune ourselves to the beautiful mysteries of faith. The words of the beatitudes similarly become a living word when we let them wash over us: when we attune ourselves to the poor, the hungry, and the weeping around us.

Let us consider not just the relevance of these words. But let us truly let them resonate in our lives. May we all consider the mystery of the divine around us, within us, and outside us as we seek to attune ourselves to the unfolding of the Kingdom of God.

As St Paul says in today’s Epistle, we’re to be pitied if our hope is “for this life only.”