ELEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Although I don’t have a good singing voice, I often find myself singing in the shower or in the car when I am alone.  And I love to hear all of you singing in church along with our choir.  My preferred hymns are those based on scripture.  One of my favorite hymns is “On Eagles Wings,” which is based on Exodus 19:4 from today’s first reading and on Psalm 91.

I like the melody and the words.   “On Eagles Wings” was the song my dad wanted sung when we buried my Ma, and the song that Pa requested for his own funeral. 

Exodus 19:4 reads, “You have seen for yourselves how I treated the Egyptians and how I bore you up on eagle wings and brought you here to myself.”

This imagery of an eagle beautifully describes the love of God for His people.  Have you ever watched an eagle soar through the sky?  Their power and grace are awesome, much like God’s unconditional love.

It is also amazing to watch an eagle teach its young how to fly.  The parent rousts the eaglet from the safety of their nest and forces that first solo flight. 

The parent eagle gently nudges and then firmly pushes the little one into the sky, watching carefully from a distance, ready to swoop down and carry the eaglet back to safety if necessary.

So, it is also with God’s love for us.  God gently nudges us and sometimes pushes us. As today’s gospel reminds us, “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.”  God gently nudges us to be laborers.  He pushes us out of our comfort zones because He needs us to work in the harvest.  Like flying for the first time, laboring in the harvest or sharing our faith and ministry can be scary.

We are not always successful, but like the eagle, God is always ready to swoop down and protect us from failing.  God is with us as we try and try again.  And in the end, God is ever ready to carry us safely through our short journey of life on earth to eternal life with Him.

Today’s readings are all about the relationship and love God desires to have with us.  Theologians and teachers, parents and spiritual directors, often remind us that God’s love, unlike human love, is unconditional.  They tell us it is freely given and not something we earn.

I believe that.  But I know that God does have some “if” statements.  Directly following Exodus 19:4, we read, “Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession …”

That sounds like a condition to me.  What about you?  If I don’t listen to God’s voice or keep the commandments, am I in trouble with God?

What we need to remember is that even when I sin, even when I fail to keep the commandments, God still loves me.  God’s relationship with me never changes, even though my relationship with Him can be like a yo-yo, constantly going up and down.  God’s love is forever.  It always was and always will be.  Whether we respond or not, God continues to love us.

This is what Paul tells us in our second reading from Romans.  Christ died for us because of our weakness, and it is through the cross that we have been saved.  It is God’s grace that saves us.

Perhaps it is today’s gospel that most clearly defines how we are called to respond to that love, and the demands placed upon us if we are to be God’s treasured possession.  We are called to be shepherds and laborers.  Like Jesus, we are to be moved with empathy and compassion for those who are troubled and abandoned.

God freely gives us His love.  In turn, He commands us to do the same.

God gives us the authority and power to:

• Proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven:  Share the message of God’s love, forgiveness and presence wherever we are, through words and actions.  This includes conversations about faith, as well as living the values of God’s kingdom: justice, mercy, peace, humility and hope.
• Heal the Sick:  Pray for those who are ill or suffering, knowing that God heals in many ways.  Support healing in practical ways:  visit the sick, serve in a homebound ministry, help the marginalized, and comfort the lonely. Healing includes emotional, mental and spiritual restoration.
• Cleanse the Lepers:  Or in today’s words, love the outcast.  Embrace those whom society rejects: the homeless and others who are judged, stigmatized or forgotten. Offer friendship, dignity and tangible help without prejudice.  When you give a dollar to the man on the corner holding a sign, ask him his name.
• Drive Out Demons:  Confront evil and injustice.  This may involve prayer and spiritual discernment, but it also means standing against oppression, unjust imprisonment, addiction, bullying or anything that destroys human dignity. Be a light in dark places.
• Freely You Have Received; Freely Give:  Live generously.  All of us, at some point, have received grace, forgiveness or blessings.  Share those gifts without expecting anything in return. Generosity, service and compassion are powerful signs of God’s kingdom in our world today.

Be a messenger of hope, a healer, a giver of grace.  Hearken to God’s voice and keep His Covenant.  And one day He will bear you up on eagle’s wings to be with Him.