Living United For The Praise Of God's Glory

Fifteenth Sunday in Course 2024

Ask yourself whether these words of the psalmist remind you of your daily life in the United States: “his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.” Probably not. But they sure sound wonderful, don’t they? They sound like the fulfilled kingdom of God to us, and they did to the Israelites seven centuries before Christ.

That was the time of some of the prophets we call “minor,” like Hosea. Now this fellow Amaziah was a priest in Bethel, in central Israel, right close to the capital of the breakaway kingdom that worshiped an idol they pretended had led them out of Egypt, centuries earlier. He tried to scare Hosea away, calling him names and threatening him, because he was speaking the true word of the Lord. We’ve been reading from Hosea’s prophecy during recent weekdays. He speaks for God and calls these rebels back to true worship and righteous living, very much as a loving husband would beckon a faithless spouse. That’s our God. Even when we rebel, commit serious sin, He does not stop loving us. He’ll always accept our repentance in His merciful love.

St. Paul writes to his church at Ephesus in much the same vein. “[God] destined us in love to be his [children] through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” He wants to unite us whom Satan divided from the beginning of time. And what does He want us to do here, in preparation for our eternal life and as celebration of His grace? Three times Paul says our purpose and practice: to “live for the praise of God’s glory.” There is something both uplifting and liberating when we simply praise God for who He is, and for His love for us. When hundreds or thousands come together for that purpose, we get a glimpse of how it will be after the Resurrection of the dead, with Christ as our head.

Mark, in our Gospel, chronicles the beginning of that mass movement we call today Christianity. “So they went out and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them.” The kingdom of God began, and continues, with the call to acknowledge our sins, admit our guilt, and turn to the Lord for His generous, all-fulfilling mercy. Then we can reach out to those who are sick–physically, emotionally or spiritually, and through faith and sacrament bring healing to the whole world. Be alert to the opportunity. We are all missionaries to this wounded, dying world. That’s not an optional, extra-credit opportunity. It’s a critical facet of the precious jewel of our discipleship.