6th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Recently, I took my grandson to see The Best Ever Christmas Pageant, based on the 1971 book by Barbara Robinson. It tells the story of the Herdmans, six siblings with the reputation of being the worst kids imaginable. They show up at the local church on the promise that they will all be well-fed if they stop stealing lunches. They arrive at the church the night roles for the Christmas Pageant are to be assigned, and to the exasperation of the congregation, the Herdmans take over the pageant.
So, what does this movie have to do with today’s readings? You see, the Herdmans are the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the hated in today’s gospel. As I watched the movie, I found myself in the parishioners, the judgmental in me that creeps out occasionally. The gospel, referred to as the Sermon on the Plains, finds Jesus launching his mission of teaching to his eagerly appointed Apostles and a crowd from Judea and Jerusalem. The Blessed refers to those who put their trust in God. The Herdman siblings did just that by studying the story of Jesus’ birth. Shunning the elaborate costumes made for them, they came dressed in robes and rags. Hungry, they offered as a gift to Jesus, and the ham was given to them by the local food pantry. Hated and chastised, they modeled forgiveness and weeping; they brought laughter and tears of joy to the community.
In the first reading from the Prophet Jeremiah, we are assured: Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord. By placing our trust in the Lord, no matter what our circumstances, our reward will be in the kingdom of God.
Like the Herdmans, do you place your trust in God?
Let us Pray:
Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked, nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, but delights on the law of the Lord and meditates on his law, day and night. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. Amen.
