14 June 2026 #sanctifydailylife
We made it. We’re finally back in ordinary time, when the most extraordinary events of life happen. In Evangelical Catholic we talk a lot about sanctifying-our-daily-lives, since the Lord hasn’t called most of us to a hermitage. The readings today remind us of some foundational concepts that help us get through the run-of-the-mill, day-to-day living that make this earthly journey worth the effort.
First, no matter our current drama and trauma, the Lord has our backs and tucks us under his wing. We apprentices to Jesus are near and dear to his heart… we hold a special place in his perveance. And if we hearken to his voice and hold up our end of the covenant, as the Lord advises the Israelites (and us) through Moses, all will work out just fine in the end.
That means, without any anxiety of the future, we are free to channel our inner psalmist. We get to sing to the Lord while serving with gladness, whether that service is sitting up all night with an inconsolable baby, holding the hands of a pain-driven and dying soul, or finding something for dinner for the umpteenth-thousandth time. Or maybe not retaliating with hurtful words, excusing oneself from a gossip-based conversation, or even praying for those who changed our life-course for the worse. Some service is harder than others here on earth, but God’s kindness and faithful blessings persist despite any hardship! Such joy! There is no one God can’t redeem.
Which brings us to Paul’s timely reminder. Jesus died for our enemies. For the people who hurt us. For the people who hurt our children and grandchildren. For the legislators who embrace full-term-abortion rights or same-sex-marriage agendas and for the doctors and judges who perform them. For people in power who abuse it and for those who profit from the ride. Yep. Jesus died for everyone. Sigh…. That’s a foundational concept worth revisiting every morning. It just might change the way our day-to-day life-conversations go. Because here’s the thing: I am a sinner. I am crabby on some days and unkind on others. I’ve hurt people and retaliated when injured. I get angry at people and say things I wish I wouldn’t have. I am sometimes an enemy… very un-apprentice-like, looking nothing like my Master.
And He is moved with pity for me in those times because I am in trouble and feel abandoned to the wiles of both my human interests and the world’s depravity. I am a sheep without a shepherd; his voice is silent and my covenant broken, like an Israelite at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Now we’ve come full-circle in the readings, back from whence we came.
And this is the cycle of our ordinary lives, is it not? We fail, we fall, the Lord picks up to sing and serve our Lord, our friends, and our enemies with gladness and joy! Until we lose sight of the Master, forget our apprenticeship, fall, and fail. And then Lord picks us up, casts out our demons, and sends us back out on our mission. Yet it’s not a vicious cycle, no, that’s not Our Lord’s style. Rather, it’s a hope-filled cycle, with more singing & serving and sowing & reaping and joy & gladness than anything else, like ordinary time on the liturgical calendar. #sanctifydailylife