Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time / Msgr. Owen F. Campion
The Sunday Readings
The Book of Genesis is the source of the first reading for Mass this weekend. Genesis is the first book, chronologically and sequentially, in the modern translation of the Bible. It is among the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures, or Old Testament. These books altogether form the Pentateuch, a term taken from the Greek word for “five.”
For Judaism, these five books are the bedrock of God’s revelation to humanity.
It is more than a matter of chronology or antiquity. These books present the very basis for understanding the identity of Almighty God, for knowing ourselves, and for defining the purpose and the realities of life.
Given this virtually sublime importance to our knowledge of everything real, it is so very sad that study of Genesis so often merely skips along the surface and among trivial questions. For instance, it hardly is critical to know how many days the creation of the universe required. The universe is here. We are part of it. It did not just “happen.” God created everything.
God gave us life. Furthermore, he gave us the power to discern and to act. He gave us a free will. He destined us for union with him in eternity.
These are the magnificent facts provided by Genesis, not incidentals to tantalize our bewilderment as to where Eden, the garden of paradise, was located on a map.
The supreme message for us in this passage from Genesis is that if we dismiss God’s revelation and reject God, we reap the whirlwind. Look at Adam. He was not a figure totally unique. As the first human male, he represents all of us. Genesis urges us to be cautious of Adam’s plight.
St. Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians is the source of the second reading. It also provides a lesson about our identity. We are individuals experiencing opportunities and problems. As humans, just as in the case of Adam, we make mistakes.
We are not lost in the fog, however, blindly and inevitably stumbling toward the edge of a cliff from which we fall upon the rocks. The Holy Spirit empowers, inspires and guides us.
The Holy Spirit moved St. Paul. He was not unique, however, as he insists. Every earnest disciple can be confident of equal help from the Spirit.
St. Mark’s Gospel furnishes the Gospel reading. In this story, as was so often the case, Jesus was with the disciples. His familiarity with the disciples is important. Their memories of the Lord are reliable.
Also, Jesus is with other people. His relatives are there, along with bystanders.
The common thread running through the story is the lack of perception (or worse) on the part of the audience. They simply did not get it. Jesus had to turn to parables to make the lesson clear.
He spoke quite logically. No one can serve two different masters or serve competing purposes. It was as clear as it could be, but so many simply did not perceive the reality, regardless of how boldly it stood before them.
Reflection
One of God’s greatest gifts to us is the revelation of who and what we are. We are creatures of God, beloved adopted children of God.
Wonder and tragedy are in the fact that we squander this magnificent reality and literally dig our own graves. So, it was with Adam. So, it has been and is in the case of everyone who sins—and we all sin.
We are not meant to be hopeless victims of our own mistakes, hopeless, powerless, tempted and left to our doom.
We need God, but marvelously, if we verify our identity through our Christian commitment, the Holy Spirit is with us. †
The Criterion will not have an issue next week due to its summer schedule. The reflection of Msgr. Campion for Sunday, June 16, will be posted at www.archindy.org/campion.