July 4, 2021: Twefth Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Father, Son, Spirit: Existing without Weakness”

Ezekiel 2: 1-7

Psalm 48: 8-14

2 Corinthians 12: 2-10

Mark 6: 1-6

All of us are proclaimers of the truth. There is truth; there is compliment. Truth is proclaiming God’s message. Compliment is sometimes saying something good even if it is not.

Ezekiel was told by God to proclaim the truth. He finds himself in the midst of a rebellious people of God. In the readings today, Ezekiel and Jesus have the same experience. They are proclaiming the truth to a people who reject it. God warned Ezekiel, “I am going to send you to My people, proclaim My message and they will reject you.” Ezekiel was going to be sent to God’s people – those who have already heard the gospel and God tells him, “Stand on your feet, stand at attention, incline your ear, so that I may speak to you.” As proclaimers of the truth, we must remember that we are messengers not the one who gives our own message. We must be careful to understand that is it God’s message, His Word, not ours.

In the CEC, we believe in consensus government – any committee or council in the CEC has no agenda except what God says even in how to address a situation. It is fully what God is saying. We determine that prayerfully and by inclining our ears to His message, His plan, His will, and His mission. The Patriarch told us that the word “submit” comes from two words: sub – to mean under; missa – to mean mission. When we submit to God, we put ourselves under His authority and we are to follow His plan and His mission. St. Paul said in his letters, “I am an apostle sent by God.” He is not asserting his authority as an apostle, but he is making it clear that what he is saying is not his own message, but the message of Him who sent him as an apostle. In 1Corinthians 11:23, St. Paul said, “For I received from Lord that which I also deliver to you.”

As altar ministers, we have vestments on. This is not to impress people. The clergy have a black cassock underneath their white surplice. The black cassock symbolizes that the ministers, as sinful people, are given the grace of God, symbolized by the white surplice. They are made worthy to stand before God and proclaim His message. It is not the clergy’s worthiness, but His calling upon them. It is not arrogance, but humility – an acknowledgment of God’s sending them.

God told Ezekiel to proclaim His word to rebellious people, Israel, the church. In Vatican, they started with this new direction called new evangelization. It is to evangelize and to preach not to non-believers, not to those who have not heard the gospel, but now, to preach to those who already heard them but have ignored them. In the United States, I read that the Roman Catholic Church is still the biggest denomination but how much of a percentage go to Church every Sunday– even during the pre-pandemic times? Less than 30%. The 70% is the object of the new evangelization. Many times, the people who need to hear the gospel again and again are those who have heard it but they reject it, take it for granted and ignore it. They say, “Been there, done that; heard it before. Who is this guy preaching the gospel anyway? I already know. I am wiser than he is. I know better than he.” A lot more listen and are teachable; but there are those who have bowed their knee to Baal, to the pop culture, to the idols of the world; and we need to reach out to them. Preaching the gospel, proclaiming the truth to jaded Christians is more challenging than preaching to non-Christians.

Ezekiel and Jesus found themselves in this position. Jesus came back home and wasn’t welcome. He said, “The prophet is without honor except in his own hometown.” The Nazarenes were familiar to Him, but they asked, “Who do You think You are?” Yet, this was Jesus, the perfect, sinless Jesus. What about us, sinful people, who are sent to be the messengers or the proclaimers of the gospel? If Jesus was persecuted, how much more we? Understand that God knows our weaknesses, our sins, our idiosyncrasies and yet, He still chose to use us. It is not our ability, but His power. God still chose weak people because He is not intimidated or nor limited by our weakness. St. Paul said that His power is perfected in them.

St. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:10 (NASB) says, “I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” In the Message Translation, it says, “Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size - abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so, the weaker I get, the stronger I become.” It is not about us and it is not dependent on us. St. Paul says in Romans 9:16, “So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.” Things are not dependent on human desire or effort but on God who shows kindness.

What do we do? We fulfill our calling. We plant; we water; but it is God who causes the growth. In 1 Corinthians 3:6, St Paul says that the one who water and plant have nothing to brag about. God who causes the growth is the only One Who matters. Let us not belittle the power of God’s message. Just because we see a negative reaction doesn’t mean that it is more powerful than God’s Word. Some may ignore, sneer, disrespect while we proclaim the gospel to them, why we proclaim the truth to them in love; still, sow the seed of God’s eternal Word. It is not we who causes the growth. If we don’t cause growth, those who reject don’t cause the hindrance of the Word to grow and to prosper. Eventually, it will fulfill its purpose. God’s power is greater than the weakness of the messenger and the rejection of the hearer.

Even if people reject or rebel against God’s message and truth, and then find ourselves complaining to God, “Why, I just did what You told me to do; and yet people treat me badly?” remember that Jesus said, “In the world, you will have tribulation. If they persecute Me, they will persecute you.” But, God’s grace is sufficient for us to be able to overcome and to eventually, in His time, to cause an effect in the lives of the people.

Rebellious people are our brothers; we continue to love and to pray that they would open their hearts and their lives and accept, embrace, and live out what God wants them to do. They are not enemies; so, don’t give up hope.

Philippians 3:15, “And if on some point you think differently, that too, God will make clear to you.” St. Paul’s attitude and confidence is that even if people don’t agree with the truth of God, God is more powerful and not limited or intimidated by this. There will come a time when their eyes will be open. St. Paul says, “I should know because I persecuted Christians because I thought that that was the will of God, and then my eyes were opened. If this happened to me, this can happen to anyone.” No weakness of man would stop the power of God.

I really believe that Stephen’s life had a very strong impact on St. Paul, Saul of Tarsus at that time. When Stephen was being stoned and Saul was giving his hearty approval, I am thinking, “What is going on in Saul’s heart and mind? Could he be thinking, “What is this guy? Who are these Christians? People stone them; people kill them; and yet they pray, “God forgive them for they do not know what they are doing?” Saul had a Damascus experience, was blind for three days, and here comes another Christian who was not afraid of him and prayed for him, and fills him with the Holy Spirit, and calls him “brother.” The killer of his fellow Christians called him brother.

Seeds were being planted in the life of Saul, watered and it produced fruit in the life of Paul. The Word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword. What God says goes and His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and to obey. Nothing and no one can resist God’s word. We cannot get away from it no matter what. As for us, we obey God’s command and leave the rest to Him.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta said: we are called to be faithful, not successful. I post my Daily Reflections every day on Facebook. I stopped counting the likes. I don’t post not for the likes but to proclaim what God wants me to proclaim. I leave the growth to Him. I am here not to be popular but to deliver the message of God.

Ezekiel was told by God in Ezekiel 2:6-7, “Don’t be afraid of them or anything they say, even if living among them is like stepping on thorns or finding scorpions in your bed; don’t be afraid of their mean words or their hard looks; your job is to speak to them; whether they listen is not your concern.” Ezekiel 2:5, “Whether they listen or not, they’ll certainly know a prophet has spoken.”

Trust God with forbearance, with commitment. Don’t grow weary because there will be a harvest. God’s Word is like the rain and snow from heaven that comes down and water the earth; and it doesn’t come back to Him without fulfilling what it was sent for – to produce food for eating and seed for sowing. This is God’s work. It doesn’t return to Him empty. Let us continue to plant and to water and acknowledge and find our rest in the truth that God causes the growth.

My brothers and sisters, proclaimers of the truth: do not grow weary. Fulfil your calling and let God do the rest because His Word is powerful for this is the way it is in the kingdom of our God.