God Wants to Save You
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
“The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.”Ps. 23
It’s not that God wants to condemn you and is keeping track of your sins for that purpose; quite the opposite, He wants to save you and forgive you. However, He cannot do it without you. He can give you food, but you are the one who must put it in your mouth, chew, and digest it. He gives us His word, but you are the one who must listen to it and heed it. He shows you the way of life, but you are the one who must take it and fol- low in His footsteps. He can give you the recipe to heal from the wound of sin, but you are the one who must trust and follow His guidance. This is why His word often tells us that whoever believes has eternal life, having passed from death to life. We need faith, which is trust and obedience to Him.
“If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world… The Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life.”John 12:47ff
Divine mercy is received only in the vessel of trust, only if we trust in Him. And why distrust? It is more logical and healthy to trust in Him. What reason has He given you to distrust Him? He fulfilled His words, His works testified that it was God acting, He preached the truth that resonates in our souls, and therefore no one can say that what He preaches is false or madness. Finally, He culminated His revelation with His death on the cross and His resurrection on the third day, as He had foretold several times before His death. Only misunderstanding, lack of light, or ignorance can lead someone to distrust Him, because He deserves our complete trust. Creation proclaims the greatness of the Creator.
He wants to save us so much that to achieve it, He took on our human condition, a consequence of sin, willing to suffer as a man, distrust, slander, and persecution among sinners, even unto death on the cross, to show us the way to the Father, to salvation, and eternal life. He is the good shepherd who has compassion on those who live like sheep without a shepherd and goes out to meet us; as He still does through his church, all the baptized.
It reminds me of the anecdote of two lost in the desert without knowing the way out or to an oasis to survive, who found someone heading towards the oasis. However, they killed him to steal the water he carried so they wouldn’t die of thirst. The pilgrim died pointing the way to the oasis so they would not perish. This is what Jesus did for us: He died showing us the way to paradise.
Weekly Readings
Sunday: Jer 23:1-6/Ps 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6 (1)/Eph 2:13-18/Mk 6:30-34
Monday: Sg 3:1-4b or 2 Cor 5:14-17/Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9/Jn 20:1-2, 11-18
Tuesday: Mi 7:14-15, 18-20/Ps 85:2-4, 5-6, 7-8/Mt 12:46-50
Wednesday: Jer 1:1, 4-10/Ps 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5-6ab, 15 and 17/Mt 13:1-9
Thursday: 2 Cor 4:7-15/Ps 126:1bc-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6/Mt 20:20-28
Friday: Jer 3:14-17/Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11/Mt 13:18-23
Saturday: Jer 7:1-11/Ps 84:3, 4, 5-6a, and 8a, 11/Mt 13:24-30
Next Sunday: 2 Kgs 4:42-44/Ps 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18 (see 16)/Eph 4:1-6/Jn 6:1-15
Observances for the Week
Sunday: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Monday: St. Mary Magdalene
Tuesday: St. Bridget, Religious
Wednesday: St. Sharbel Makhluf, Priest
Thursday: St. James, Apostle
Friday: Sts. Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Next Sunday: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
