2024/07/28 SCRIPTURE REFLECTION

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

- Erika Wenson, Communications Associate

There is a plethora of great lessons within this week’s readings that it has been difficult for me to narrow down what to discuss with you all. Through much procrastinating — I mean praying!! — I have come to realize that life itself is as multi-faceted as the teachings we have this week. My prayer is to aim this scripture reflection as a message of hope and renewal of faith to those who have grown weary this past season of their lives.

Let’s begin with the first point that stood out to me. One aspect I particularly love about the connection between the first reading and the Gospel reading is that both were miracles of the multiplication of food, with similar circumstances, but where God is present in different forms. In the 1st Kings reading, God is speaking through Elisha the prophet to his servant while the Gospel reading is of the Miracle of the Fish & Loaves that Jesus performed in front of His Disciples and a crowd of nearly 5,000 people. Both prove that though hundreds of years apart, God still moves and provides in the lives of His people.

The one part of the Gospel reading I want to focus on is how Jesus posed the question to the Apostle Phillip, “‘Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?’” the Gospel continues to explain, “He said this to test him, because He Himself knew what He was going to do.”

I find this sentence fascinating. Not only because Jesus was physically standing next to Phillip to present this question to him, but also because the Gospel reveals to us that Jesus Himself knew how Phillip was going to answer, and, ultimately, what Jesus was going to do (perform the miracle), regardless of the answer Phillip gave to him. Jesus must have had a good poker face to not give away the miracle He was about to perform — oh to have been present during this interaction! Although our relationship with Jesus is different today because He is physically in Heaven, I realized that many “tests” Jesus presents us with in life come in the form of questions we ask ourselves. I believe that many of those BIG questions we have are prompted to us by the Holy Spirit. Let me explain:

How many times have you perhaps asked yourself “Is this really going to be my job forever?” or maybe you’re asking yourself how long your journey to keep trying to have a child is going to last, or when you can finally buy that house you or your husband want. Or you might be wondering how much longer you have to work until your retirement. While some of those questions might have tangible answers, these questions we pose ourselves ultimately remind us of our need for faith. For many of those questions, we can come up with goals, striving for what we think our next move should be, but what is most important amid those questions is the hope and trust the Holy Spirit gives us when we have faith that Jesus will provide us with what we need in exactly the right time He has prepared for us. This is exactly what we practice doing every Sunday when we say the Lords’ Prayer: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done.” We must continue to have faith that the things we wish for in this life will happen exactly as God intends.

You might be thinking to yourself at this point, “OK yeah Erika, we know we have to trust, have faith, and not lose hope — but how actually can we do that when life brings so much pain, trials, and suffering?!” And I hear you! It’s not easy to hang on to these platitudes I present to you. Here’s where the second reading comes in.

This week, Paul writes:

“I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.”

This passage is quite like a John Henry Newman quote I have pinned to my corkboard in my office. I often look to it when I’m experiencing restlessness in life, not knowing what the point is of my personal suffering, or what to do next. It reads, “God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it if I do but keep His commandments. Therefore, I will trust Him, whatever I am, I can never be thrown away, If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him, in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him. If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me. Still, He knows what He is about.”

What strikes me within both passages is the overarching theme of living out our Christian lives as Jesus calls us to do. Both Paul and John encourage us to love one another, spread peace, and continue the mission — of which we might not specifically be able to identify in this life other than to share the Gospel with others. Personally, I am thankful for the reminders of these wise men who have gone before us and given us a roadmap on how to handle life’s hard questions and difficult seasons. I’m also grateful to have found such a place as Saint Clement and to have met so many people who serve as a reminder to keep charging forward in this life, despite not knowing the answers to some of the questions we ask ourselves. I assume that, for you as well, if you’re reading this article, you have also found a haven at this beautiful parish. My prayer for you is that you continue to enter our building, to find community here, and be surrounded by people who also can remind you of the faith, hope, and trust you have in our Savior, just as I have found, so we can continue our mission for the world and remind those that Jesus is still a miracle worker in our lives today, despite not having everything in life figured out.