Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time / Msgr. Owen F. Campion
The Sunday Readings
The first reading for this weekend’s liturgy is from the Book of Ezekiel, who is regarded as one of the great Hebrew prophets.
Not interested in themselves, but only in imparting the revelation of God, the prophets rarely left any biographical details about themselves. This does not mean, however, that mystery surrounds them all.
It is clear that Ezekiel was active as a prophet during the Hebrews’ exile in Babylon. Apparently born in Judah, he was in Babylon as one of the original exiles rather than being descended from an exile who came earlier while he was born in Babylonia.
It is interesting to imagine the psychological state in which the exiles lived in Babylon, and how their mental frame of mind affected the fervor of their religious belief and practice.
Despite all the differences between their time and our own, basic human feelings pertained for them as these emotions would for us.
Ezekiel encountered great faith, without doubt, but also most surely experienced despair, anger and disbelief in the power and fidelity of the One God of Israel.
In preceding verses, the prophet bemoans the unfaithfulness of the kings of Judah and their people, but not God’s infidelity.
In this reading, he insists that God will restore the people to safety and security. God is faithful. People must also be faithful to God.
St. Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians is the source of the second reading.
In the background is an obvious interest in earthly death and its consequences. By the time that St. Paul wrote and preached, Christians already were being held in suspicion by the culture and, even more ominously, by the political authority.
The Apostle urges the Corinthian Christians to see heaven as “home,” and to prepare for an end of earthly existence when they will have to answer before the judgment throne of Christ.
For the last reading, the Church presents a parable from St. Mark’s Gospel.
It is the familiar Scripture story of the mustard seed. The Lord likens the kingdom to the growth of a plant into a mighty bush. The implication for us is that we may grow in our place in the kingdom if we follow Jesus.
This story confronts us with our own potential, and also with our responsibility as disciples.
The growth of the mustard seed from the moment of being planted to its budding until it reaches full maturity is inevitable. It is God’s will and God’s plan, unfolding in nature. Belonging to God, planted by God, it will become the greatest of all plants.
In our humanity, we are small and limited. Still, God wills us to be great and mighty in our holiness, and to grow into the strength and majesty of the fully developed bush.
This is God’s will and God’s plan for us. However, we must make of ourselves the rich produce to be gathered by God in the great harvest that will come at the Last Judgment.
Reflection
In these readings, the Church brings us to face that event common to all things living, but rarely acknowledged and always feared by humans.
In fact, other species of living beings place nothing above their instinct to survive.
Never denying death or belittling the will to survive, the Church—as the teacher of genuine truth—places life, death and survival in context. It presents this teaching in these readings.
Earthly life is not the be all and end all, whether we believe it or not. Life shall endure after physical death.
What will this mean? It is a question to be answered personally from deep within each person’s heart. It will mean everlasting life—but only if we live now with God. The choice belongs individually to each of us. †