24th Sunday of Ordinary Time [A]

 


24TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME [A]


What is Paul describing? He’s describing a plan that centers around the notion of solidarity. Jesus has of course descended from Heaven. Why? It’s so that he can be in solidarity with us. By being produced from the womb of a human mother, he enters into a state of solidarity with the human race. Is it a complete solidarity? Not yet. He still has to take his place among the dead. He takes his place among the living by being born of Mary. He takes his place among the dead by dying upon the cross. Now the solidarity is completed. Now he can be called “Lord” of both the living and the dead (see Rom. 14:9). 


This begs a number of additional questions: what does it mean when we acknowledge Christ in this way: as “Lord” of the living and the dead? What is the objective behind all of this? Is it the pursuit of authority? Is that his primary desire? Is it simply that he wants to have authority over as many people as possible? Is he a megalomaniac? Or is he actually being altruistic? As it turns out, he’s preoccupied with the task of saving us. It’s not a preoccupation with power or with authority. Rather, he desperately wants to save us. And this confronts us with yet another question: Save us from what? 


Your thoughts shift immediately to the afterlife. He’s saving you from the lake of fire. He’s saving you from an eternity of pain and perdition. And while that does represent a valid perspective, it leaves out the issue of this present life. Should we regard it as a restricted mercy? Is it being exclusively reserved for the next life? Or will a portion of it spill over into the life that you are currently living? Yes, he is committed to saving you from a lamentable afterlife. Nevertheless, try to appreciate that he is likewise committed to saving you from a deficient pattern of EARTHLY life. He’s concerned with the hereafter, and also with the here and now. 


Regarding the here and now: have you noticed any areas of deprivation? In other words, a lack of meaning, a lack of purpose, a lack of fulfillment? Are you beginning to feel like a slave? Are you being ruled by your passions, your impulses, your appetites, your desires? Are you locked within a shroud of hopelessness? Does it rank as a deficient way of life? If so, then take another look at the Lord’s plan. Note how it centers around the concept of solidarity. Take note of this fact, and then follow through. Respond by allowing him to be in solidarity with you. 


Not only does he prescribe mercy (see Sirach 27 & Matt. 18), but he furthermore puts mercy into practice. And it’s not a deferred mercy; rather, it begins here and now. It’s not a mercy that is being set aside for the next life. It’s ready and available for the life that you are in the process of living. He wants to do something about the hereafter. And yet, additionally, he wants to do something about the path that will be leading you into the frontier of the hereafter. 


Concentrate not just on the destination but also upon the journey, to paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson [19th century New England poet/philosopher]. Do that and you will be in good company. You’ll be keeping company with Emerson—and more importantly with the Lord. The Lord is certainly concentrating on both: the destination and the journey. And he is prepared to do something about both. But there is something that we need to do as well. We need to welcome his involvement. It’s about saying “yes” to his special brand of solidarity. 

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