Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Often we are so enmeshed in our lives here and now that we forget “the hope God gives of being raised up by him.” Such hope sustained our forebears in offering their lives for God. Like the faithful brothers tormented by the evil king in today’s readings, Christians in many parts of the world face similar harrowing dangers. We ought to pray for them, but our situations are usually less dramatic. We nevertheless need what St. Paul calls “the endurance of Christ” as we feel the particular pressures, anxieties, pains, and frustrations that confront us. Life can often seem heartless or senseless, yet before God we can affirm, “I in justice will behold your face.”
As God’s sons and daughters, Jesus tells us that we are “the ones who will rise.” This hope in our Resurrection can put even the most vexing situations in perspective. As glorious as certain aspects of our lives are now, God has something far greater in store for us. Let us give him thanks and pray that we may always live with the hope of salvation in Christ.