Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s first reading from the prophet Micah represents what is a common theme throughout the Old Testament and especially throughout the prophets: God addresses the people and accuses them of infidelity. God reminds the people of his loyalty to them, particularly in the exodus, when he rescued them from slavery in Egypt. The response to this is one of questions from the people—then how should we repay the Lord? What God requests is also a common theme throughout the Old Testament and especially the prophets. He does not seek sacrifice of grain, animals, or children, rather: “Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Mi. 6:8). Of course, we know that sacrifices of grain and animals were an important part of the tradition, just as the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross continues this tradition as a crucial element of the Christian faith.
The point then, is not that sacrifices are bad, but that they don’t mean as much when the people who perform them are living badly. The same applies to our Masses now. To perform the Mass well, we must also live well; those communities that are holy will worship the best. Part of this is because the truly holy community will not praise God only in the one hour a week they spend in church; rather they will praise God in all they do, and all of their actions will be glorifying to God because they are in accord with God’s will.
In the gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus reminds the people of the prophet Jonah in Nineveh. He says that the people of Nineveh will condemn this evil generation because they actually repented at the preaching of Jonah. Jesus is more important than Jonah, and yet the people are not repenting; they fail to recognize in Jesus what the people of Nineveh appreciated in Jonah. This theme of repentance matches nicely with the message in today’s reading from Micah. The people must recognize their own sin and repent accordingly. So also we must recognize our sin and repent accordingly, so that we may “do the right and love goodness, and walk humbly with our God” (cf. Mi. 6:8). This line takes on new meaning given the person of Jesus; walking humbly with God is not some abstract idea. Rather, we are to walk with Jesus. We know this walk because we have a witness to it in the gospels that detail the good news of his life, death, and resurrection.
As you go through your day today, ask yourself what might be preventing you from walking with Jesus. Is there something from which you need to repent? If so, pray that God might remove this obstacle for you, enabling you to worship him and walk with him better each day.
- Maria Morrow