Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Yr C 2025

Title

Living in the Resurrection

Outline

We live in the world of the personality cult

It is the cult of the strong man, a Putin in the Russian world, a megachurch pastor in the Protestant world, a billionaire perhaps in the USA world. But while these and other so-called greats who are really like Napoleon whom the papal nuncio address as “my dear little man,” are not the future of the world or church, for “Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD,” as Pope Francis suggested in a letter to United States bishops our government leaders, including some Catholic ones, are doing. They are not the future, for their future is to become “like a barren bush in the wasteland that enjoys no change of season.”

Notice that the text does not say that God’s followers should make them cursed or blow them away like chaff - God rules and we do not.

We instead live, if I may say it, in the cult of the risen Lord

For “Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” He is ascended and ruling, along with “those who have fallen asleep in Christ,” and that is the one to whom we look for the outcome of history.

Our world is a short term world looking for immediate results, but our King sees the whole of history in one moment and will bring it to the most just and merciful outcome, so we trust him.

How then do we live?

We live in the present telling ourselves the truth because he who is truth has said it: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.”

The world around us will shout the opposite, so we have to constantly tell ourselves the truth because of him who said it. And we live according to the truth.

And yet we do not hate those others, for we believe the rest of the truth: “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you.”

No, instead, we pray the chaplet of divine mercy for such folk, for whether or not they think they are having fun now, they are in a sad state.

And for ourselves we trust in God, knowing that whatever people may do to us and the Church now, it is small potatoes, for our future is a love union with Jesus in glory.

So lived the martyrs and so may we live. Thanks be to God.