Monday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
In this Year of Mercy it is easy to look back through our days and identify where we have not met our own expectations of how we should have been a better disciple of Jesus. This can be a good thing if it encourages us to surrender in a deeper way to God. The danger is that we can inadvertently be led into discouragement when we expect to accomplish this ourselves. The portrait of discipleship outlined by Jesus in today's Gospel is in fact impossible to accomplish by a human being--no matter how holy we see ourselves. In fact, that may be the entire point!
Today's passage, the beginning of Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount, is the Beatitudes. How beloved are these verses we find so comforting in their familiarity. As well, many of us have come to realize how utterly demanding these ‘standards’ are that Jesus reveals to his disciples. In his book,”The Church of Mercy”, Pope Francis says “Following and accompanying Christ, staying with him, demands “coming out of ourselves,” requires us to be outgoing; to come out of a dreary way of living faith that has become a habit, out of the temptation to withdraw into our own plans, which end by shutting out God’s creative action. God came out of himself.” This is the very point. Even the best of personal intentions cannot make up for a lack of dependence on God. The ‘coming out’ that Francis is talking about requires we give up on ourselves, our plans, our ideas, and depend upon God. In today's first reading, Elijah ‘came out of himself’ as God commanded him. Elijah had no more of a guaranteed outcome than we do at any given moment, but his living faith in God brought him through any uncertainty and God’s creative action enjoyed free reign in the prophet.
So it is that we are asked each day to ‘come out of ourselves. No person wants to see their life of faith as ‘dreary’ or as a ‘habit’, yet there is always a temptation to stay secure and comfortable where we are and fall back, yet again, on our own impotent plans. This is exactly how we shut down the creative action of God. This day, may each of us find a new way of extending ourselves, coming out of ourselves and trusting that God will act in and through us and bring the Beatitudes of God’s Kingdom to life in a deeper way.
- Gail Lyman