Our Way of Full Life

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to review our application of the “Way” in which we proclaim Truth and Life for all in our world.

Shepherd of Full Life

The Reading from the Book of Exodus presents the Arrival at Sinai of the Israelites.

* [19:2] Apparently from a different source (P) than v. 1, which notes the date, v. 2 from the J source includes a second notice of the arrival in the wilderness of Sinai. The Israelites now will be camped at Sinai from this point on all the way to Nm 10:10. This is a striking indication of the centrality and importance of the Sinai narrative in the overall composition of the Pentateuch.

* [19:5] Covenant: while covenants between individuals and between nations are ubiquitous in the ancient Near East, the adaptation of this concept to express the relationship that will henceforth characterize God’s relationship to Israel represents an important innovation of biblical faith. Other gods might “choose” nations to fulfill a special destiny or role in the world; but only Israel’s God is bound to a people by covenant. Thereby Israel’s identity as a people is put upon a foundation that does not depend upon the vicissitudes of Israelite statehood or the normal trappings of national existence. Israel will be a covenant people.

* [19:6] Kingdom of priests: inasmuch as this phrase is parallel to “holy nation,” it most likely means that the whole Israelite nation is set apart from other nations and so consecrated to God, or holy, in the way priests are among the people (cf. Is 61:6; 1 Pt 2:5, 9). (Exodus, CHAPTER 19 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 100 invites the people to enter the Temple courts with thank offerings.

* [Psalm 100] A hymn inviting the people to enter the Temple courts with thank offerings for the God who created them.

* [100:3] Although the people call on all the nations of the world to join in their hymn, they are conscious of being the chosen people of God. (Psalms, CHAPTER 100 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans proclaims Christian Faith, Hope, and Love.

* [5:1–11] Popular piety frequently construed reverses and troubles as punishment for sin; cf. Jn 9:2. Paul therefore assures believers that God’s justifying action in Jesus Christ is a declaration of peace. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ displays God’s initiative in certifying humanity for unimpeded access into the divine presence. Reconciliation is God’s gift of pardon to the entire human race. Through faith one benefits personally from this pardon or, in Paul’s term, is justified. The ultimate aim of God is to liberate believers from the pre-Christian self as described in Rom 1–3. Since this liberation will first find completion in the believer’s resurrection, salvation is described as future in Rom 5:10. Because this fullness of salvation belongs to the future it is called the Christian hope. Paul’s Greek term for hope does not, however, suggest a note of uncertainty, to the effect: “I wonder whether God really means it.” Rather, God’s promise in the gospel fills believers with expectation and anticipation for the climactic gift of unalloyed commitment in the holy Spirit to the performance of the will of God. The persecutions that attend Christian commitment are to teach believers patience and to strengthen this hope, which will not disappoint them because the holy Spirit dwells in their hearts and imbues them with God’s love (Rom 5:5).

* [5:1] We have peace: a number of manuscripts, versions, and church Fathers read “Let us have peace”; cf. Rom 14:19.

* [5:7] In the world of Paul’s time the good person is especially one who is magnanimous to others. (Romans, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Matthew declares the Mission of the Twelve and Commissioning of the Twelve.

* [9:36] See Mk 6:34; Nm 27:17; 1 Kgs 22:17.

* [9:37–38] This Q saying (see Lk 10:2) is only imperfectly related to this context. It presupposes that only God (the master of the harvest) can take the initiative in sending out preachers of the gospel, whereas in Matthew’s setting it leads into Mt 10 where Jesus does so.

* [10:1] His twelve disciples: although, unlike Mark (Mk 3:13–14) and Luke (Lk 6:12–16), Matthew has no story of Jesus’ choosing the Twelve, he assumes that the group is known to the reader. The earliest New Testament text to speak of it is 1 Cor 15:5. The number probably is meant to recall the twelve tribes of Israel and implies Jesus’ authority to call all Israel into the kingdom. While Luke (Lk 6:13) and probably Mark (Mk 4:10, 34) distinguish between the Twelve and a larger group also termed disciples, Matthew tends to identify the disciples and the Twelve. Authority…every illness: activities the same as those of Jesus; see Mt 4:23; Mt 9:35; 10:8. The Twelve also share in his proclamation of the kingdom (Mt 10:7). But although he teaches (Mt 4:23; 7:28; 9:35), they do not. Their commission to teach comes only after Jesus’ resurrection, after they have been fully instructed by him (Mt 28:20). (Matthew, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB, n.d.)

* [10:2–4] Here, for the only time in Matthew, the Twelve are designated apostles. The word “apostle” means “one who is sent,” and therefore fits the situation here described. In the Pauline letters, the place where the term occurs most frequently in the New Testament, it means primarily one who has seen the risen Lord and has been commissioned to proclaim the resurrection. With slight variants in Luke and Acts, the names of those who belong to this group are the same in the four lists given in the New Testament (see note on Mt 9:9). Cananean: this represents an Aramaic word meaning “zealot.” The meaning of that designation is unclear (see note on Lk 6:15).

* [10:5–6] Like Jesus (Mt 15:24), the Twelve are sent only to Israel. This saying may reflect an original Jewish Christian refusal of the mission to the Gentiles, but for Matthew it expresses rather the limitation that Jesus himself observed during his ministry. (Matthew, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB, n.d.)

Eileen Wirth comments that for years Catholics have focused on the need for more priests. But this is too narrow. Jesus is calling ALL women and men to participate in the Church’s mission and ministry in significant ways including leadership. In Elise Allen’s inspiring new biography of Pope Leo, she describes how he has long embraced this idea. In Peru, he appointed lay people including numerous women to positions of authority. In his parishes and diocese. Will this become his model for the whole Church? Let’s hope so for the good of the Church.

Leadership studies have shown that organizations do best with a mixture of male and female administrators and that surely includes the Church. At St. John’s, I’ve seen the positive impact that our female pastoral minister has made. By the time Pope Leo’s successor is elected, will lay women and men be running numerous departments in the Vatican and dioceses worldwide? There are no theological barriers to this.

Today when we “ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for the harvest,” we need to ask God to inspire “laborers” of all states of life to give their best talents to the Church and for ordained “laborers” to maximize the use of those gifts. (Wirth, 2026)

Don Schwager quotes “Jesus empowers his disciples to act in his name,” by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD).

"If the Spirit had not yet been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified, how then did the disciples cast out the unclean spirits? They did this by his own command, by the Son's authority.2 Note the careful timing of their mission. They were not sent out at the beginning of their walk with him. They were not sent out until they had sufficiently benefited by following him daily. It was only after they had seen the dead raised, the sea rebuked, devils expelled, the legs of a paralytic brought to life, sins remitted, lepers cleansed, and had received a sufficient proof of his power both by deeds and words - only then did he send them out. And he did not send them out unprepared to do dangerous deeds, for as yet there was no danger in Palestine. They had only to stand against verbal abuse. However, Jesus still warned them of larger perils to come, preparing them for what was future." (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 32.3) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Romans 5:6-11 comments that Paul goes on to describe the confidence this love can give us. And he does it by stacking one rhetorical question on top of another: if Jesus has rescued us by his death, how much more will he protect us from “the wrath” that sin produces in the world (Romans 5:9)? How much more “will we be saved” from every evil in this world (5:10)? How much more indeed! There’s no limit to his love.

So every time you catch yourself wondering whether you are “good enough” for Jesus to love you, remember those three words: how much more! Remember the cross. Remember the love that moved him to give himself up to death—for you. Gaze upon the cross and let Jesus tell you how valuable and how precious you are to him. Then stand tall and joyfully “boast” to yourself about the love that God has for you. (Romans 5:11). Rejoice in the love that redeems and reconciles and saves and heals. The love that does so much more.

“Jesus, I am amazed by your love for me!” (Meditation on Romans 5:6-11, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that, in Exodus, the Lord speaks and reminds the Israelites of their exodus out of Egypt and slavery. He wants to make a kingdom of the rag tag group and have them aspire to be what God has for them.  Paul proclaims that while we were sinners, the just suffered for the unjust. Jesus died for us, we are justified by His death and we appreciate the tremendous glory to which we are called. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus presents the people as sheep without shepherds who the priests and kings have failed. The twelve are commissioned to proclaim the love of God in word and action. In The Kingdom, people will surrender to the love and law of God. Friar Jude comments that Matthew, writing for Jewish Christians, focuses on the mission to the Nation of Israel.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, reflects on the origin of the Christian church as “the Way”.

Christianity first emerged not as a new religion, but as a reform and sect of Judaism within Judea and the Mediterranean. Wherever Paul, Peter, and other early missionaries traveled, they formed small communities of believers in “the Way,” a movement that emphasized Jesus’s teachings, death, and resurrection as the path to transformation. Gradually the movement grew and took on a life of its own, welcoming non-Jews as well as Jews, becoming more inclusive and grace-oriented, until it eventually called itself “catholic” or universal. By 80 CE, there were Christians as far away as India and France. 

Historian Diana Butler Bass writes, “For all the complexity of primitive Christianity, a startling idea runs through early records of faith: Christianity seems to have succeeded because it transformed the lives of people in a chaotic world.” [1] During this time, Christianity was not so much about doctrines or eternal salvation, but about how to live a better life here and now, within the “reign of God.”

Much of what Jesus taught seems to have been followed closely during the first several hundred years after his death and resurrection. As long as Jesus’s followers were on the bottom and the edge of empire, as long as they shared the rejected and betrayed status of Jesus, they could grasp his teaching more readily. Values like nonparticipation in war, simple living, inclusivity, and love of enemies could be more easily understood when Christians were gathering secretly in the catacombs.

Several writings illustrate this early commitment to Jesus’s teachings on simplicity and generosity. For example, the Didache, compiled around 90 CE, says: “Share all things with your brother, and do not say that they are your own. For if you are sharers in what is imperishable, how much more in things which perish!” [3] At the time, Christianity was still pure, simple, and loving, relatively untouched by empire, rationalization, and compromise. [4] (Rohr, n.d.)

We celebrate the inspiration of the Spirit that fills the hearts of the faithful and enkindles in us the fire of love as we are commissioned to renew the face of the earth.

References

Exodus, CHAPTER 19 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Reflections. Retrieved June 14, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/exodus/19?2 

Matthew, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 14, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10? 

Matthew, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 14, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/9? 

Meditation on Romans 5:6-11. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved June 14, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/06/14/1591735/ 

Psalms, CHAPTER 100 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Reflections. Retrieved June 14, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/100?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). A New Way of Living. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 14, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-new-way-of-living/ 

Romans, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved June 14, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/5?6 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Jesus Gives His Disciples  to Heal and Set Free. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 14, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Wirth, E. (2026, June 13). Daily Reflection June 14, 2026 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved June 14, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-june-14-2026 

Theophany and Parables

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today (and the Psalm from Daniel) resonate with the response we have to moments of awe and Spirit assisted clarity about the reality of our journey.

Gratitude and Contemplation

In the reading from the Book of Exodus, the Israelites reach Mount Sinai and the people are consecrated.

* [19:2] Apparently from a different source (P) than v. 1, which notes the date, v. 2 from the J source includes a second notice of the arrival in the wilderness of Sinai. The Israelites now will be camped at Sinai from this point on all the way to Nm 10:10. This is a striking indication of the centrality and importance of the Sinai narrative in the overall composition of the Pentateuch. (Exodus, CHAPTER 19 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Book of Daniel offers Glory and praise for ever!

* [3:24–90] These verses are additions to the Aramaic text of Daniel, translated from the Greek form of the book. They were probably first composed in Hebrew or Aramaic, but are no longer extant in the original language. The Roman Catholic Church has always regarded them as part of the canonical Scriptures. (Daniel, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus explains the purpose of the Parables.

* [13:11] Since a parable is figurative speech that demands reflection for understanding, only those who are prepared to explore its meaning can come to know it. To understand is a gift of God, granted to the disciples but not to the crowds. In Semitic fashion, both the disciples’ understanding and the crowd’s obtuseness are attributed to God. The question of human responsibility for the obtuseness is not dealt with, although it is asserted in Mt 13:13. The mysteries: as in Lk 8:10; Mk 4:11 has “the mystery.” The word is used in Dn 2:18, 19, 27 and in the Qumran literature (1QpHab 7:8; 1QS 3:23; 1QM 3:9) to designate a divine plan or decree affecting the course of history that can be known only when revealed. Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven means recognition that the kingdom has become present in the ministry of Jesus.

* [13:12] In the New Testament use of this axiom of practical “wisdom” (see Mt 25:29; Mk 4:25; Lk 8:18; 19:26), the reference transcends the original level. God gives further understanding to one who accepts the revealed mystery; from the one who does not, he will take it away (note the “theological passive,” more will be given, what he has will be taken away).

* [13:13] Because ‘they look…or understand’: Matthew softens his Marcan source, which states that Jesus speaks in parables so that the crowds may not understand (Mk 4:12), and makes such speaking a punishment given because they have not accepted his previous clear teaching. However, his citation of Is 6:9–10 in Mt 13:14 supports the harsher Marcan view.

* [13:16–17] Unlike the unbelieving crowds, the disciples have seen that which the prophets and the righteous of the Old Testament longed to see without having their longing fulfilled. (Matthew, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB, n.d.)

Molly Mattingly suggests that we have at one point wished that God would be as clear to us as to the Israelites in today’s readings. “Give me a sign!” we say. “Tell me what you want me to do!”

And yet, even after preparing to hear God and see God, the people could not understand what God was saying to Moses. It sounded like thunder to them, but they knew it was God. They trusted Moses to interpret. In the Gospel reading, the people have God speaking directly to them in their language (like us, reading this scripture passage), and somehow find Jesus less clear than the cloud, thunder, lightning, and fire. What is going on here? The disciples certainly seem to think Jesus could be more direct. But then, the disciples believe that God is speaking to them in Jesus. They have been prepared with the foundation to receive what Jesus is saying, and even they don’t understand most of the parables on the first hearing. It seems likely to me that Jesus gives the truth in parables because a story or metaphor encourages us to wonder about the meaning, to reflect and interpret and discuss and pray about it in the context of our own lives. By that very process we can open our eyes, ears, and hearts to receive Jesus’ message and healing. It’s a collaborative process. (Mattingly, 2023)

Don Schwager quotes “Ears that refuse to hear,” by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD).

"Faith perceives the mysteries of the kingdom. A person will make progress in those things he has been immersed in and will abound with an increase in that progress. But in those things he has not been immersed in, even that which he has shall be taken away from him. In other words, he suffers the loss of the law from the loss of his faith. Lacking faith, the people of the law lost even the efficacy of the law. Therefore, gospel faith receives a perfect gift, because it enriches with new fruit those things that have been undertaken. But once it is rejected, even the help of one's former means of support is taken away. (excerpt from a commentary ON MATTHEW 13.2) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 13:10-17 invites us to consider the tremendous gift that life in the kingdom is. It’s the chance to hear and understand God’s word.

These are just some of the “mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 13:11). And they’re yours to receive in greater and greater amounts every time you come to him. “Blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear” (13:16)!

“Thank you, Lord, for bringing me into your kingdom! Help me share this gift with everyone I meet.” (Meditation on Matthew 13:10-17, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler describes the theophany experienced by Moses and the Israelites at Mt Sinai. God speaks to Elijah as a gentle breeze in contrast to the event at Mt. Sinai. Friar Jude reminds us of the blessing of our call and the gift of our mission to share Jesus' love.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, describes contemplation as a practice by which we come to more accurate “seeing”. Contemplation is a kind of seeing that is much more than mere looking because it also includes recognizing and thus appreciating. The contemplative mind does not tell us what to see but teaches us how to see what we behold. In her book on spirituality and parenting, Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg emphasizes the special awe that arises from paying attention to our ordinary lives.

The twentieth-century rabbi and theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel [1907–1972] wrote a lot about “radical amazement,” [2] that sense of “wow” about the world, which he claimed is the root of spirituality. It’s the kind of thing that people often experience in nature—at the proverbial mountaintop, when walking in the woods, seeing a gorgeous view of the ocean. But it’s also, I think, about bringing that sense of awe into the little things we often take for granted, or consider part of the background of our lives. This includes the flowers on the side of the road; the taste of ice cream in our mouths; … or to find a really, really good stick on the ground. And it also includes things we generally don’t even think of as pleasures, like the warm soapy water on our hands as we wash dishes. [3] (Rohr, 2023)

We are nudged by the Spirit to pause and take a contemplative breath and allow revelation of our blessedness to fill us with gratitude and praise.

References

Daniel, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 27, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/daniel/3?52 

Exodus, CHAPTER 19 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 27, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/exodus/19? 

Matthew, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 27, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/13? 

Mattingly, M. (2023, July 27). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved July 27, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/072723.html 

Meditation on Matthew 13:10-17. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved July 27, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/07/27/743633/ 

Rohr, R. (2023, July 27). Recognizing and Appreciating — Center for Action and Contemplation. CAC Daily Meditations 2023. Retrieved July 27, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/recognizing-and-appreciating-2023-07-27/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved July 27, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=jul27