Discerning the Will of God - 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

Many of us have had the experience of looking for something familiar to us: our car keys, shoes, a favorite coffee mug, or some other mundane item. After an exhaustive search through the entire house, we find them right in front of our eyes. They were there the entire time, and yet we could not see them. Why? Very often we already have a preconceived idea of where they were, and when the object isn't where we think it should be, we lose our focus and search in vain for the missing item. Discerning the will of God often follows the same pattern; happily, the readings can help us see what is really obvious.

The prophet Jeremiah provides an honest dialogue between Jeremiah and God. The prophet thinks at first that God has duped him into thinking falsely about the will of God for him and the nation of Israel. However, Jeremiah realizes that in reality he duped himself. We all expect to have success in the work God has called us to perform, and when our idea of success is not met, then we blame God. The truth is more difficult to accept: that we have provided ourselves with a false notion of success and our vocation. Jeremiah thought his preaching would convert Israel: that they would return to God and thus overcome their enemies. That outcome didn't happen, and yet God's will was present in that outcome as well as in Jeremiah's work. Fidelity to our vocation is the most important aspect of discerning God's will. Authentic discernment can only exist within a heart that is faithful to God's call.

Paul finds himself in a similar prophetic role. In the second reading we find Paul exhorting the church of Rome not to be conformed to this age, but instead to be renewed by the transformation of our minds. Only through such transformation can we then discern the will of God for us - what is good, pleasing, and perfect. The Christian community in Rome faced the difficulty of practicing their faith in the very heart of the Roman Empire. Pressure was mounting for the Christians to acquiesce in accepting the growing cult of the emperor. Rejection of this cult led to loss of status and financial security. Later this rejection of the cult would lead to the loss of their lives, and yet again we find that fidelity is essential to discernment. Worship of one's nation, no matter what form that takes, is always the sin of idolatry and thus the most blatant example of infidelity.

The Gospel text provides us with the ultimate criteria for knowing the will of God. The mission of Jesus is to live and die for others. Peter cannot see this truth because he has already had his own understanding of what the Messiah of God should be. Like most Jews of his day, Peter saw the Messiah as a political leader who would overthrow Roman occupation and lead Israel back to its time of glory before the time of Jeremiah. Peter had conformed himself to his present age, not to the will of God. The mission of Jesus is our own mission as well. The entire call of God for us is to imitate Jesus in his fidelity to God and thus live for the sake of others to the point of death.

In the early church martyrdom was the ideal to which the Christian aspired, for it meant imitating Jesus in his death as well as in our lives. The modern age has affected the attitude of Christians. Instead of expecting martyrdom as the lot of Christians and not shrinking from it, we find ourselves complaining at the faintest slight against us. Finding acceptance in the world from Constantine to our own age has led us more often than not in conforming ourselves to the age rather than to the will of God and the example of Jesus. Yet in every age the Church has examples of those who did not seek such conformity to the age. We see in their lives the authentic imitation of Jesus that instilled within them the peace that enables us to overcome the hostilities of the world, and, sadly enough, even from those within the Church.

As we seek to be faithful to the call of God and the example of Jesus, let us unite ourselves with the liturgy for today in having before our hearts the opening prayer for today: "Let us pray to God who forgives all who call upon him. Lord God of power and might, nothing is good which is against your will, and all is of value which comes from your hand. Place in our hearts a desire to please you and fill our minds with insight into love, so that every thought may grow in wisdom and all our efforts may be filled with your peace. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."

Making the Team - 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

We have all been there: the sandlot or gymnasium where we are all standing in an awkward mass. In front of us two of our peers are captains and they are choosing players for their teams. Depending on the sport there are only so many slots to be filled and some of us won't be chosen for a team. The feeling of not belonging in these experiences is palpable and difficult for a young person to deal with. Now, imagine an entire group of people who are not chosen to belong to the team. In our times we would call such exclusion discrimination, but corporate exclusion was common in ancient times, and it explains the condition of the Gentiles with respect to Israel and access to the one true God. The readings today show us a God who picks all of us to be on his team.

The prophet Isaiah develops the promise of the Messianic age when the hope of the Gentiles' entry into the fold of Israel comes to fruition. From the time of the diaspora to the Christian era Gentile conversions to Judaism were rare due to the requirements of the Jewish dietary laws and male circumcision. At best, Gentiles who desired a relationship with the God of Israel but who would not conform to these external practices were known as God fearers: they believed in God and followed the moral law of Torah, but they were not considered Jews and thus not part of God's chosen people. Isaiah provides the hope of a future inclusion where worship of God and adherence to the justice precepts of Torah were the marks of such inclusion. This hope finds an echo in the responsorial psalm today: O God, may all the nations praise you!

In the second reading we find Paul talking about the actual inclusion of the Gentiles in his present day. The preaching of Paul provides the concrete realization of Gentile access to the one true God. God has provided a generous gift to all - Jew and Gentile alike, and Paul reminds us that God's gifts are irrevocable. The Gentiles come to Christian faith because now they have access to God through Jesus Christ. Fidelity to the moral law and participation in the sacrifice of Christ through sacramental action and living the law of love are now providing this access. The old divisions of race, class, and gender are now gone. All have access to God and all are radically equal in Christ. The Messianic age is here through the obedience of Christ and our acceptance of that obedience in our lives through faith.

The Gospel of Matthew provides us with a scene from the life of Jesus that seems indifferent at best to the needs of the Gentile woman. Matthew is writing to Jewish-Christians who are facing two distinct struggles: the acceptance of Gentile converts, and seeing their connection to Judaism dying away. The Temple had been destroyed and Jewish-Christians are being expelled from the synagogues by rabbinic Judaism. Today's text simultaneously addresses both issues: Jesus welcomed the Gentiles through faith in him, and at the same time Jesus rebukes rabbinic Judaism in finding their faith wanting in comparison to the Gentile woman. The action of Christ and our access to it by faith, not ancestry or ritual piety or anything else, is what saves us all.

Everyone of us stands in need of Jesus' healing and salvific work in our lives. The faith of the woman led her to healing and to works of justice. We must reach out to all peoples in bringing Jesus' teaching and example to others. This love excludes no one, the gift of faith is offered to all. It does not come to us by our own action and we cannot earn or merit it. What is more, we cannot impose conditions on others or place limitations on God's grace which is present all around us. Our works do not lead to faith; God leads us to faith and we then respond to that gift in our lives. The biblical texts for today's liturgy make this point abundantly clear.

As we seek to imitate Jesus in our ministry to others, we help to bring forth the Messianic age to its full completion. Let us pray with the Church in seeking the grace of God to carry out this work: "Let us pray with humility and persistence. Almighty God, ever loving Father, your care extends beyond the boundaries of race and nation to the hearts of all who live. May the walls, which prejudice raises between us, crumble beneath the shadow of your outstretched arm. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."