Monk’s

Corner

8th Ordinary Sunday

Audio

8th Ordinary Sunday (C) Luke 6:39-45

Today Saint Paul explains to us the meaning of the Resurrection of Christ in his first letter to the Corinthians. In the time of Jesus death was considered the natural end of being. There was a concept of a place after death called Sheol but the meaning of this existence under the earth was multiple and confused, never clearly defined, therefore, not really a belief. We will approach this concept as a metaphor for death.

This sets the stage for God in His infinite love and goodness to send his only begotten Son to save us; and provide for us to share in his everlasting joy. This was His intent, from the beginning, when he created man and woman in his image and likeness. Jesus the Word, His only begotten Son, was sent to save us from the grasp of Satan, who controlled the world due to Original Sin. Christ’s death ended our everlasting death and his Resurrection wins for us resurrection into a new eternal life. So, St. Paul takes the words of the prophets to exclaim “death is swallowed up in victory.”

His letter in a very few words reminds the Corinthians of the glorious future that awaits them. It is a reminder to us also, a reminder that most of us need from time to time. Words of Hope; too often we get so embroiled in our day to day politics, and the zany, immoral concepts that we forget what life is really all about; it is good to remember where are we going, what is the end game. Young people, in school should always keep “graduation day” as their goal or the long work and stress of study will weaken their resolve and they will fail. But if they set their sight on that graduation day, they can overcome many difficulties and will be willing to make sacrifices.

We Christians are training for the highest of all graduation days. We look forward to the greatest objective that a human being can have. We are preparing ourselves for an eternity of joy with our God, who loves us more than we can ever imagine. Is there any earthly cause that is so serious that it can make us give up on that? In the gospel Jesus tells his followers how they must act to accomplish this goal. He calls the Scribes and the Pharisees hypocrites in the way that they live and preach. In ancient Greek the word hypocrite meant ‘actor’ — i.e. one who played the part; it came to mean one who pretends to be, what he is not in reality. Jesus urges us not to be like that, because he can read our mind and our heart.

There are many Christians today who have left Jesus and his Church because they are not ready to carry their crosses, they have lost sight of the goal for all people and they have lost faith in the rewards they have been promised for their earthly sacrifices.

There are millions, maybe billions of saints in heaven today who constantly thank God for the trials they were sent during their few years on earth. For it was through that suffering that they were able to turn to God and free themselves from the worldly web that entangled them and kept them from losing sight of their heavenly goal. Hopefully, some day we will be thanking him for the difficulties he sent us, trials that called us back to our Savior.

All of us spend much time planning our earthly life, that’s a good activity, but It is said, “If you want to make God laugh, show him your plans for the future.” Truth be told by truth itself, we have no idea what the future will bring. But what we are sure of is: the promise that eternal life lies ahead and that it can be one of peace and perfect happiness. So follow what St. Paul tells us, “Be steadfast and persevering in the work of the Lord. You know that your toil is not in vain when it is done in the Lord.”

So let us all keep that glorious graduation day into eternity at the front of our minds and realize that reward is worth all the trials and craziness this world can muster. Meditate daily on our reward and what it really means to to us. Let us strengthen our faith in Christ and remember the Passion he absorbed in order to conquer sin and death because he took on our humanity and let us follow in his footsteps.