Word to the Wise
Sunday, July 2, 2023 - 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time - A [Corpus Christi 2011]
[2 Kgs 4:8-11, 14-16a; Rom 6:3-4, 8-11; Matt 10:37-42]Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. [Romans] "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.." [Matthew]
One of the most important features of the teaching of the Second Vatican Council is its emphasis on the sacrament of baptism as the foundation of all Christian life. St. Paul's Letter to the Romans, in the second scripture for today, points this out to us. The implications of this baptismal status are pointed out to us in the gospel scripture today from the Gospel According to Matthew when Jesus is instructing the disciples about their mission. But these instructions were not just for those disciples "back then." They are our instructions as well. St. Paul, later on in Romans in chapter 12, echoes the duties of a disciple: Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect. [Romans 12:2 et seq.]
Because most of us are baptized as infants, we can easily regard baptism as something that happened in the past, for which we have a "certificate," much like a diploma. But baptism is not a thing of our past. It is very much a present power and challenge. The Sermon on the Mount [Matt. 5-7], the missionary instruction [Matt. 10] and the parable of the Last Judgment [Matt. 25:31-45] all put us on notice about what is required to "put skin on" our baptismal commitment. Here I am only mentioning the Gospel According to Matthew. The other gospels as well as letters in the New Testament will challenge us as well. Nor is this simply a matter of individual commitment. We are challenged collectively as a Church, the Body of Christ, so that we cannot allow ourselves to make our faith as simply an individual "option." All political, social and economic life is the forum for living out our faith in our parishes and communities.
Back in the 1970's, I remember a movement among many young Christians which prompted them to wear a bracelet with the letters, WWJD, which stood for "What would Jesus do?" That is still a valid question. AMEN