GOD WALKS WITH US!
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Reflection
Responsoral:
"You, O LORD, are good and forgiving, abounding in kindness to all who call upon you."
It was nearly one month ago that we celebrated Juneteenth, a commemorative event marking the end of chattel slavery in the United States. Since the celebration of Juneteenth, the new student loan rules went into effect, potentially limiting the prospects of Black students to finish college, the death of Mr. Nolan Wells hit the news bringing up the concerns about the safety of Black people in non-Black spaces; and Black communities across the country are continuing to deal with the aftermath of the Supreme Court gutting the remains of the Voting Rights Act. It is within this context that we enter the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Entering the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, we have the first reading from the Book of Wisdom. When the Book of Wisdom was written, around the first century BC, the Jewish people were living in Alexandria, Egypt. While living as a minority group in a foreign land, there were people within the Jewish community who were abandoning their religious tradition and the teachings of their culture. The Book of Wisdom was written in this context to encourage the Jewish people to continue maintaining their religious practices. At the same time, they endured suffering and afflictions living in a foreign land. In the first reading, the author of the text shows the multiple facets of God. While God is omnipotent and omniscient, he is also merciful and kind. Thus, God reminds the readers of the text that there is always a pathway to repent for going astray from the teachings of their ancestors and an ability to return to the traditions of their ancestors. "...you are master of might, you judge with clemency, and with much lenience you govern us; for power, whenever you will, attends you. And you taught your people, by these deeds, that those who are just must be kind; and you gave your children good ground for hope that you would permit repentance for their sins" (Wis. 12:18-19).
As many reports illustrate the adverse mental, emotional, and physical health effects Black Americans incur from systemic oppression and discrimination in the United States, it is easy to lose hope and faith in God’s power and mercy. It is easy to fall into despair and abandon hope that we can overcome the present conditions that our group faces. Losing hope and faith can lead to rejecting the traditions, institutions, and structures that have sustained Black Americans over successive generations from enslavement. While there were times that many of our ancestors were tempted to turn away and fearful of what was on the horizon, the scripture reminds us that God is never too far removed that we cannot call out to him for aid. In the Responsorial Psalm and the Second Reading both the psalmist and St. Paul encourages the reader to call out to God and ask for aid in spoken language and unspoken groanings, "The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings" (Rom. 8:26). By leaning on the everlasting arm of God, we can know that the Lord walks with us while we are on our earthly journey.
Author: Patrick Rogers, Ph.D.
Ph.D. Chemistry, University of California-Davis
B.S. Chemistry, Howard University
Church: St. Augustine Catholic Church, Washington, DC
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