Commentary of the Gospell for the 21st Sunday of the Ordinary Time

Dear brothers,

We might think that the Hebrews were very ungrateful. The Lord takes them out of Egypt, where the working conditions were not good at all – that’s what slavery is like, there are no bonuses or 30 days of vacation, or anything – and then, He guides them through the desert, wins all the battles with the peoples they encounter, tears down the walls of Jericho, feeds them with manna so they don’t starve… But, suddenly, they start to complain, they forget everything and even turn away from God. What people!

In reality, it’s something similar to what happens to each of us, when some time has passed since the last confession, the fervor has passed, and we fall back into the same mistakes, that is, sins. When in doubt, we don’t always choose God, we don’t rely on Him in moments of temptation. A shame.

It’s about, like everything in this life, choosing. Making decisions, sometimes less important (which shirt I wear, which book I read or which movie I’m going to see), sometimes very important (I go or don’t go to Mass, I take that thing that’s not mine, I cheat or don’t cheat on my husband…) We all must decide what to do with our lives, to a greater or lesser extent. And what we decide in the most serious moments will surely depend on the small decisions. This is what the lives of Christian martyrs have taught us throughout history. Death for the faith, dying for the cause of Jesus, is possible because they have been dying little by little to the «I», so that Christ may live in them.

Within the family, you also have to choose. Choose the lifestyle of Jesus. Who came not to be served, but to serve. That is why Saint Paul’s instructions, in the second reading, are for all members of the family – all – to care for all. A son of his time, Paul adds slaves, but always asking that the mutual treatment be in accordance with the dignity of every person. That reciprocal love is an image of Christ’s love for the Church. A very serious thing, since, out of love, Christ died for us. For everyone. So, all of us, children, parents, spouses, are called to care for one another, with respect and affection, knowing that we are building a domestic church. Even if it’s hard.

Because you hear comments about how complicated it is to live as believers today. And to be faithful in marriage, for example. It’s curious, because those who have preceded us in the faith have perhaps lived through harder situations than us, and yet they have been more faithful in the faith. One only has to remember the situation of Christians in the Soviet Union, for example. How they kept the flame of faith alive, without the support of the clergy or religious life.

On the other hand, it is inevitable that faith goes through moments of crisis. We grow, and faith has to grow with age, just as children’s clothes become too small when we are young: one becomes a teenager, and there are other interests in life and it is easy to forget that God in whom one has learned to believe and to whom one has learned to pray in the family and in the parish, in catechesis, or one protests against that omnipresent and controlling gaze of God; youth arrives, and it seems that you know everything, and it is not easy to find reasons to continue believing. It is difficult to see the Gospel as something fully serious and fully founded, as the Word of God that it is. Maturity arrives and we receive the blows that life gives us, or our eyes are opened more to the scandal of injustice in the world, or we complain about God’s apparent indifference to our supplications, and his silence becomes difficult for us to understand. How many of our brothers and sisters have turned away from God and the Church for this reason.

Today, we also find a very widespread phenomenon. This era, which does not seem so conducive to faith, is an era of remarkable credulity. Everywhere there are believers in tarot, in the horoscope, in card readers, astrologers, all kinds of seers and alleged fortune tellers. Perhaps there are people with unusual faculties, but that business that has been built on pure charlatanism is a sign of the great disorientation and enormous credulity of many people.

Faith is something more sober, more serious and more founded. Because, deep down, we do have reasons to believe: the deep feeling of knowing we are created and loved, the order in the universe, the wisdom of the Gospel, the immeasurable reality of Jesus’ surrender, all the fruits of holiness that the Gospel has produced in the Church. But the reasons to believe do not free us from the task of believing. Gift and task, at the same time, faith. That is why we are free to give assent or to ignore; but we cannot forget that we have to give some answer to the mystery of life. In each phase of it we are called to give our consent to God, that mysterious God who has given us signs of his existence, of his closeness, but who does not force our freedom.

The Lord, because he knows and understands our weakness very well, always has his doors open: sometimes to enter and enjoy his presence and, other times, equally open to leave when – for whatever reason – it is impossible for us to fulfill his commands. However, to remain with Him – the Spirit guarantees us – is to have the firm conviction that He will never leave us alone. That He will share our sorrows and sufferings, ideals and dreams, failures and triumphs. Because to trust in the Lord is to understand that there are no great inconveniences, but rather combat, good combat from faith. And Jesus accompanies us, teaches us and encourages us in that fight against evil and in favor of good. He himself went through all that.

It is time to answer Jesus’ question, personally: do you also want to leave? Giving a sincere answer can be a way to encourage our faith, if it is somewhat asleep. If we believe and serve the Lord, let us do so with courage, generosity and transparency, knowing that following him, although not easy, is always worthwhile. Thank God – never better said – there is usually no shortage of people at our side who have a mature faith, and who respond like Peter: «To whom shall we go? Only You have words of eternal life.» The company of these people is a support for our faith, which can sometimes feel small, fragile and tempted. Hopefully we can also be an example to others. It is the way to be happy. The way of the cross, traveled with Christ and with the brothers and sisters. It is the way to be holy.

Your brother in the faith, Alejandro, C.M.F.