Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Jesus Carries the Cross”
by El Greco, 1600-05

Readings for the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time [1][2]

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

Readings and Commentary:[3]

Reading 1: Jeremiah 20:7-9

You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped;

you were too strong for me, and you triumphed.

All the day I am an object of laughter;

everyone mocks me.

Whenever I speak, I must cry out,

violence and outrage is my message;

the word of the Lord has brought me

derision and reproach all the day.

I say to myself, I will not mention him,

I will speak in his name no more.

But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart,

imprisoned in my bones;

I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it.

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Commentary on Jer 20:7-9

Jeremiah’s oracle has foreseen the fall of Jerusalem and the great exile as Israel is sent into slavery in Babylon.  In this passage he makes an emotional outpouring to God.  He recognizes that God’s word makes him outcast and people think of him as a lunatic but even though he has tried to be silent God’s call forces him to cry out in the prophetic voice.

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

R. (2b) My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

O God, you are my God whom I seek;

for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts

like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.

R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary

to see your power and your glory,

For your kindness is a greater good than life;

my lips shall glorify you.

R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Thus will I bless you while I live;

lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.

As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,

and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.

R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

You are my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.

My soul clings fast to you;

your right hand upholds me.

R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

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Commentary on Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

Psalm 63 is an individual lament.  In this selection we see the emotion of one who longs to be reunited with God from whom separation is like being cast into a desert without water.  The singer professes faith in God’s salvation and expresses faith that the prayers offered will be answered.

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Reading II: Romans 12:1-2

I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God,

to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,

holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.

Do not conform yourselves to this age

but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,

that you may discern what is the will of God,

what is good and pleasing and perfect.

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Commentary on Rom 12:1-2

St. Paul begins a new topic with these verses from his letter to the Romans.  The demands of the “New Life” of the Christian are laid out; beginning with the idea of complete dedication to the ideals of their faith.  This dedication is expressed here in language reminiscent of the ritual sacrifice of animals as holocaust (burnt offering) in the Hebrew and pagan ceremonies but using the bodies of the faithful in this context. The clear idea is the Christian, like an animal sacrificed to God as a holocaust - completely burned and offered up to the Lord, is to be wholly given to Christ (see also Leviticus 1:3ff), untainted by the sins of the world (“Do not conform yourselves to this age”) but, in following the will of God – a pleasing sacrifice to him.

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Gospel: Matthew 16:21-27

Jesus began to show his disciples

that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly

from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,

and be killed and on the third day be raised.

Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,

“God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”

He turned and said to Peter,

“Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.

You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

Then Jesus said to his disciples,

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,

take up his cross, and follow me.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,

but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world

and forfeit his life?

Or what can one give in exchange for his life?

For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory,

and then he will repay all according to his conduct.”

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Commentary on Mt 16:21-27

The passage begins with Jesus’ explanation of his coming passion. Jesus, using the title “Son of Man” (see Daniel 7:13-14), foresees his trials and passion. This frightens the disciples and probably confuses many of the entourage (remember, there were more than just the 12 following Jesus around) and Peter confronts him asking him to take a different approach to what he tells his students. Seeing this request as an invitation to take an easier path, Jesus rebukes Peter.

This is the second time within the Gospel of St. Matthew the Lord instructs the disciples that if they wish to follow him, they must take up the cross (the first time is in Matthew 10:38). This passage focuses the followers of Christ on the idea that serving the Lord must come before any other purposes in life since it is through following Jesus that eternal life is gained. It is also explicit that bringing the Word of God, the message of the Kingdom of God to the world will lead to persecution and even the possibility of death.

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Reflection:

In the novel “Dune” by Frank Herbert, the young hero of the story, Paul, was at one point tested under torture to see if he was “human.”  In the story the proof of his humanity was that he could endure great pain because he knew that he would be killed if he did not.  In Sacred Scripture today, Jesus proposes a test for fidelity to the faithful discipleship that requires the believer to deny those human impulses that would lead one to follow the wisdom of the world but deny the eternal life of the spirit.

If we follow the Lord’s logic we see the truth of it.  The wisdom of the world is completely focused on self-preservation and propagation.  That means that when a desired course of action is challenged, human wisdom weighs the odds of success and the consequences of failure and follows the least risky path, regardless of collateral damage and regardless of which moral principles must be sacrificed.  An amoral person will predictably always follow this pattern in life decisions.  Society’s laws have attempted to curb these baser impulses, especially when it comes to dealing with the general population.  However, in dealing with personal relationships, these laws do not dictate a moral course but rather allow great latitude as long as the individual does not disturb the status quo. 

Jesus changes that for his followers.  God the Father tried to tell the ancient Hebrew peoples about the need to be more concerned for things of faith than for things of flesh.  This concept flies in the face of human tendencies toward self-preservation.  We see that emotional appeal in the reading from the Book of Jeremiah.  The prophet recognizes that exhorting the people of Jerusalem to repent – to turn away from their hedonistic worship of false gods, is making him a laughing stock and an outcast.  He even tries to deny his role as Prophet but God’s spirit drives him to continue.

St. Paul tells us the depths of conversion to which we are called.  He analogizes that we are to become like the holocaust, made sacred in prayer and totally dedicated to God.  It is that same conversion that Jesus calls us to when he says “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”

Today we are called to conversion once more.  We are shown the depths to which we must conform our hearts, denying those primal impulses that make us human but deny our spirit.  We are called to “…be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God”.  Let us vow today to attempt that transformation toward the people God calls us to be.

Pax

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[1] ALTRE

[2] The picture used is “Jesus Carries the Cross” by El Greco, 1600-05

[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible hyperlinked to the Vatican.VA site with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.