July 1, 2012 – Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24; Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13; 2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15; Mk 5:21-43
In today’s readings, we contemplate death. This is a subject most of us would rather not think about.
Yet, the readings for today remind us that even though it can seem scary with all of its unknowns and its permanence, death is a wonderful and beautiful event in the life of a Christian. It is the point of departure for our complete glorification, for that which we were made, perfect unity with God. And so we see that, while the nature of death is not of God, “God did not make death, nor does He rejoice in the destruction of the living. For He fashioned all things that they might have being …” (first reading); God transformed it. Through His own death and resurrection, He opened the doors to eternal glory, and He invites us to unite ourselves with Him.
Today’s readings teach us that God, in His infinite goodness, can (and does) take something bad and turn it into something amazingly wonderful. Such is the case not only with death, but with so many things we experience in our lives. How much more, then, can God make us – made in His image and likeness – into the creatures He intended us to be? We live in a world wrought with sin, but God’s plans for our lives are ones of greatness. We simply must surrender to Him as His creatures, as His servants, and He will transform our lives. When we offer ourselves to the Lord, we are sure to be astounded by the work He will do in and through us.
