Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week of Ordinary Time

In Romans 1: 1-7, Paul makes it clear that he is not just preaching because he feels inclined to do so. His message is “the gospel [good news] of God,” and he has been called, “set apart” to proclaim it. And those to whom he is preaching are not just an ordinary audience. They are the “beloved of God” who have been “called to belong to Jesus Christ,” “called to holiness.” He is describing us. 

Paul’s preaching is not merely a new human insight into truth. His message was “promised long ago through the prophets,” and it concerns the person of Jesus Christ, Son of David and Son of God — as verified by his resurrection from the dead. This is an event: “The Lord has made known his salvation.” God is at work in the world. 

We need to remember this when the Church seems to be going nowhere or going backward. We are not just a human enterprise whose chances of success are judged by human standards. The ultimate victory of Christ is assured, already won. It is just a matter of when and where it will be realized in our time. And yes, that does depend a great deal on what we do.  

Luke 11: 29-32 shows us where to look for signs that the Church is doing God’s work. Jesus tells the crowds, “This is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus doesn’t promise that miracles will be evident in the Church, even miracles of conversion. He doesn’t promise any of the ordinary signs of success: numbers, visible results, popularity in the polls. He promises the “sign of Jonah.” And what is that? 

The “sign of Jonah” is Jesus himself, risen out of the grave as Jonah emerged from the belly of the fish after three days. And how is the risen Jesus visible? In the Church, his risen body on earth! What we need to look for is signs that the members of Christ’s body are living by his divine life: the witness of actions that could only be empowered by grace; signs that we have indeed been “called to belong to Jesus Christ,” “called to holiness.” It is up to each one of us to live in a way that reveals this. That is how today, “The Lord makes known his salvation.” 

Initiative: Be Christ’s steward. Reveal Christ’s life in you through actions that could only be inspired by your faith, your hope, your love. 

— Fr. David M. Knight

View today’s Mass readings, Lectionary #467, on the USCCB website here

Fr. David M. Knight (1931-2021) was a priest of the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee, a prolific writer, and a highly sought after confessor, spiritual director, and retreat master. He authored more than 40 books and hundreds of articles that focus primarily on lay spirituality and life-long spiritual growth.