Today is the thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
In today’s Gospel we hear Jesus say that we have to put Him first, above everyone else. That can sound counter intuitive in a world where family means so much, and should. It’s just that God is the greatest good. He is our creator, our Heavenly Father, and His Son, who is God Himself, is our king. If we are Christians we are to put Him first.
Throughout our lives many of us put something else first in our lives above not only God but above families sometimes. It is frequently our work that gets prioritized, though most of us, in time, realize work is a fickle mistress. For some it’s one of the idols Aquinas gave: wealth, power, pleasure, and honor. Regardless what we’ve prioritized at one point or another we typically make our way back to where we should be, with the help of the Holy Spirit I suspect, knowing we have prioritized wrongly and understanding the need to put God first. Bishop Barron likes to say that putting God first helps order other things rightly. That feels right.
What does it mean to put God first in our lives? I think we all know that answer, even when we ignore it. Attending Mass when we should, giving God thanks and praise, praying regularly, following the commandments, etc.
Sometimes I think many of us think to put God first means giving up everything else but, of course, that’s not the case. The challenge is to include God in every bit of our lives, and not just the overtly religious part. Including God in every bit of our lives acknowledges His priority and helps us to live out our discipleship 24/7/365. I think that’s the practical point of today’s Gospel.
Saturday is not just July 4th but Independence Day for our country. I hope you find a way to celebrate and that, in this time of such division, you will reflect on what kind of country you want. I also hope you include God in your celebration. He has blessed us and our country but, it’s clear, we’re a work in progress. That’s true for us individually and as a nation.
Also, as we are up against the beginning of July this is my last post for the summer. If anything big happens that I feel I need to comment on I’ll jump back in but, barring that, I will, as the old song goes, see you in September.
That’s it for now. Thanks for reading.
I hope you have a great Independence Day and a great summer.
Peace, Bob
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