Word to the Wise
Sunday, June 25, 2023 - 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time - A [Trinity 2011]
[Jer 20:10-13; Rom 5:12-15; Matt 10:26-33]But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin after the pattern of the trespass of Adam, who is the type of the one who was to come. But the gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many. [Romans]
The second scripture for this Sunday comes from St. Paul's Letter to the Romans, which represents some of St. Paul's most mature and developed theology of God's plan of salvation. The passage today paints a "big picture" of this plan from Adam to Jesus. Adam becomes more than an individual person. He represents all of humankind from creation to the time of Moses. His disobedience becomes the root of our Catholic tradition of "Original Sin," which brought "death and sin" into God's creation. The Law of Moses served as a kind of preliminary guide or pedagogue (cf. Galatians 3:24) bringing some order, but could not, in itself, justify a person. Only faith that accepts the gift of Jesus' obedience on the cross and his resurrection can bring about righteousness. This gift overflows to all of humanity in one way or another.
This Pauline vision is not all that can be said on the subject and, like all "big picture" thinking, there was much to be worked out in other parts of the New Testament. Paul wrote before most of the four gospels were composed. And many of the New Testament letters were written after the gospels. Nevertheless, the comparison of Adam and Jesus can help us to avoid getting mired down in the minute concerns of daily observance and recognize how great God's love is for us. Just before the words in today's passage from Romans, Paul writes: "But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us." [Romans 5:8] The "new Adam" faces us from the crucifix. AMEN
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