Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
1 Cor 16:13-24
Matt 21:33-42
In Exodus, at the foot of Mount Sinai, God said to Moses, “You will be to me a kingdom of Priests”. Peter wrote in his first epistle, “But you are ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises’ of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light”. And in Revelation, we read that Christ “has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever [and ever]. Amen”.
How does that work out, though? After all, we’re not offering the Sacrifice of the Eucharist with Father.
To understand, we have to look at God’s design. We read about Jesus going to the Temple, but that was Herod’s Temple, not the original design. Solomon’s Temple was built centuries earlier, and it was much simpler. Based on the Tabernacle in the Wilderness which God commanded Moses to make, that Temple had the Holy of Holies that the High Priest only entered on the Day of Atonement, and the outer section, the Holy Place, where the priests would offer sacrifice.
Isn’t that like our churches? The priest, representing Christ, stands in the Holy of Holies, presenting once again the Lamb of God, sacrificed before the foundation of the world, to the Father in heaven. And you - the royal priesthood - sit in the Holy Place - we call it the nave - offering up your sacrifice, the sacrifice of praise.
But, our ministry isn’t just a ministry of praise to God. Our ministry is to the people outside these walls, while the ministry of the ordained priesthood is to the Church. Father brings Christ’s Body and Blood to us, and we bring the love of Christ to the world.
But, here’s the catch. Satan doesn’t like us to bring Christ’s love to the world. Later in that same epistle, Peter writes, “Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith”.
And it’s not just Satan tempting us. When Paul wrote today’s epistle around the year 55, Roman persecution had already begun. In 49, Emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome because, it appears, there were internal conflicts between Jews and the early church. Prisca and Aquila, two of Paul’s traveling companions that he mentions here, left Rome because of that persecution.
In light of that, Paul’s opening words take on new meaning. Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. Your every act should be done with love.
Be on your guard. Satan is like a roaring lion. He wants you to fall flat on your face. He wants you to sin. Even if you don’t abandon the faith, he wants you to ruin any credibility you might have with the people you minister to.
Stand firm in the faith. We can take two ways this. The first is based on being on your guard. When under spiritual attack, we can imitate Christ in nurturing the fruit of the spirit and living the beatitudes. The second is knowing your faith, not being swayed by every new teaching. Even as Catholics it’s possible for that to happen to us.
Be courageous, be strong. The four Cardinal Virtues are fortitude, temperance, prudence, and justice. Again, Paul would have us strengthen our faith.
Your every act should be done with love. Earlier in this epistle, in the great love chapter (number 13), Paul speaks of the Theological Virtues, Faith, Hope, and Love. So, Paul is telling us to live the virtues.
Again, let me state, though, we will face opposition. And it won’t be just from Satan. Think of our Gospel reading.
The houseowner had developed his property beautifully. He rented it out to tenants, but when his representatives came to collect the rent, the tenants killed the representatives. Then he sent his son, and they killed the son!
The houseowner is God. The property is the Kingdom of God. and the tenants are the Jews. Not the Jewish race, of course. No, it was the Jewish leaders, the Pharisees and Sadducees - the same ones who would later kill Jesus. The representatives are the prophets, and, of course, the son is Jesus.
Throughout history, there have been bad popes, bad bishops, bad priests, and bad deacons. We can’t deny that. Whose job, though, is it to fix all that? God’s. The houseowner. Our job is to be faithful royal priests, offering the sacrifice of praise. The ordained priest’s job is to stand in for the High Priest and re-offer the sacrifice of the Eucharist, and my job as deacon is to assist him. And the job all of us share is to announce the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light.
So, my brothers and sisters, when you see problems in the Church, let God fix it. As He said to Solomon at the dedication of the Temple, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land”.
Be faithful to Christ. You are a royal priesthood.
Be on your guard,
Stand firm in the faith,
Be courageous
Be strong.
Your every act should be done with love.
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