Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time—Romans 9:1-5

Our second reading this week continues St. Paul’s letter to the Romans. The Church gives us just the first five verses of a prolonged and dense argument in which Saint Paul wrestles with the Jewish people’s simultaneous election as God’s people and seemingly widespread rejection of Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promises. Responding to only part of God's revelation has never ended well in the Old Testament (see the major prophets and the Babylonian Exile). The New Testament is also clear that the Jewish people still hold a special place in God's plan of salvation. You can see the struggle here, right?

Romans chapters 9-11 contains almost a third of all the references to the Old Testament in all Saint Paul’s writings. Our second reading today begins his deep dive into scripture to make sense of the incomprehensible. And therein lies an important lesson for us today.

When faced with a difficult reality, Saint Paul went to the scriptures to help make sense of it. The scriptures reveal to us the mind and heart of God, the very Word of God in the words of men. When we read scripture out loud in the liturgy, we always conclude with “The Word of the Lord.” In other words, the Lord has just spoken through the voice of the lector. The Lord can also speak directly to you in private through the scriptures.

I’m reminded of Saint Paul’s first Christian converts in Beroea who “received the word with all eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11). The Holy Spirit is challenging each of us to examine the scriptures daily to help make sense of what God is doing in our lives and in our world. That is what Saint Paul begins to model for us in Romans 9:1-5.

Not sure where to start? Read the daily Mass readings to hear what God is saying to his Church today. Pick a Gospel to hear Jesus speak on a range of topics (fair warning: he’ll challenge your use of money a lot). Read the Psalms to see the full range of human emotions poured out in prayer to the Lord. Read the Wisdom Literature (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Wisdom, and Sirach) for God’s advice on practical living (fair warning: he says a lot about money here too). Read Job to hear God talk about why bad things sometimes happen to good people. Read any New Testament epistle to see how to live as a Christian in a thoroughly pagan world.

Saint Jerome famously said, “Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ.” Today, the Holy Spirit is telling us to stop being so ignorant. Examine the scriptures daily to begin making sense of what God is up to. You might surprised what God has to say.