Readings:
Exodus 19:2-6a
Psalm 100:1-2, 3, 5
Romans 5:6-11
Matthew 9:36—10:8

Today is the eleventh Sunday in ordinary time. Ordinary time, yet the readings are a profound reminder that there is nothing ordinary about God’s love for us. Each reading in their own time shows how God’s love is abundant. In the first reading, the Israelites are encamped in the desert, and Moses goes up the mountain to speak with the Lord. Here God asks Moses to remind the people “How I bore you up on eagle wings and brought you here to myself.” Telling them if they hearken to his voice they will be “dearer to me than all other people.”

In the letter to the Romans, Paul is moved by the immense love that God has for God’s people stating, “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” And in the Gospel, we see this immense love played out in Jesus’ own heart which was “moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.” Each of the readings emphasize the depth of God’s love which when we stop to really soak that in, there is nothing “ordinary” about that!

In Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, he also drives home the reality that God’s love is unconditional and profound. “Human dignity does not depend on a person’s abilities, wealth or position in life, nor on the right or wrong choices made; instead, it is a gift that precedes and transcends each person, endowed by God as an expression of his unfailing love.” (para. 50).

There is nothing we do to earn this love. God loves you, me, each of us, all of us with a depth of love we can barely glimpse in our lives. Perhaps we might experience some of its depth when we think of our children or grandchildren, of how we are moved with love at the sound of their laughter or wipe away their tears. We might even catch a glimpse of the depth of God’s love in our friendships, for our students, or through our ministry. But the profound love that is God’s love is humbling…it fills you with awe when you pause long enough to contemplate it. For we know that no matter how deeply we love another person, there is no comparison to the love that overflows from God.

Although we do nothing to earn this love, if we allow ourselves to be transformed by it we recognize that we must respond in kind. In the first reading, God invites the Israelites to “Harken to my voice and keep my covenant” which is a way of entering into this loving relationship as an equal partner. And in the Gospel, Jesus tells the twelve, “Gather the lost sheep… cure the sick, raise the dead… without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” If we truly understand how much we are loved, we are moved to love in turn. As St. Ignatius says, “to give and not to count the cost.”

As we consider how God’s love moves us to action, the signs of the times give us plenty to consider. Injustice and war spill over in our communities and all over the world. There are many who are lost, or hungry, or scared and others will only begin to perceive God’s love through the work of our hands. Pope Leo XIV reminds us of Saint Paul VI’s call for a “civilization of love” which is a full community response to the broader issues of our day. “Today, we must resolutely recover this vision, for the civilization of love is no naïve utopia, but a demanding project, which consists in translating charity into structures of justice, giving institutional form to fraternity and regarding others — whether individuals or peoples — as allies necessary for building the common good.” (para 186).

In discussing the signs of the times, Pope Leo XIV reminds us, “We do not consider the present as a predetermined fate, but an opportunity for personal and collective conversion.” (para 210). Continuing with that invitation to step forward together to build for the common good, he notes, “The memory of the saints, righteous people and the oft-forgotten peacemakers, show us that grace does not magically eliminate conflict, but instead it inspires active resistance to evil and an astonishing creativity in doing good. Christians see the darkness and acknowledge it for what it is, yet they do not merely gaze upon it passively, for they know the light and understand that the darkness has not overcome it and cannot defeat it (cf. Jn 1:5).” (para 211).

He ends his encyclical with encouragement for how we might participate in the love of God. “The civilization of love will not arise from a single or spectacular gesture, but from the sum total of small and steadfast acts of fidelity that serve as a bulwark against dehumanization. (para 213). He then goes on to detail five paths toward daily and public responsibility which are important for each of us as we take up this mission. (Magnifica Humanitas)

Pope Leo XIV’s Magnifica Humanitas encyclical lays out a new understanding of the way to keep God’s covenant or gather the lost sheep in today’s world. This is the ongoing revelation of our tradition, but the underlying message remains the same: We are deeply loved by God, and because of that we are asked to shine that love into the world. There is nothing ordinary about God’s love, but on this eleventh Sunday in ordinary time, may we take ordinary and steadfast steps together to serve as a bulwark of Good News in our world today.

Christina Zaker, D.Min.,
Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Director of Field Education.