Click below to read this Sunday's readings: http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/061508.shtml

The readings for this week point to God's unceasing care and love for his people. The first reading reminds us of God's saving deeds to his people Israel in Egypt. In addition, God reminds them of the covenant he has established with them. The term covenant cannot be overstressed. A covenant is not merely a contract that binds us to someone else in one aspect or instance of our lives. Rather, a covenant is a relationship that is forever. God will never be unfaithful to his people, even if we are unfaithful to him. The image of marriage, as we saw last week, is the preeminent one in finding an analogy. That is why in the Catholic tradition marriage is taken so seriously and divorce is so foreign to the concept of marriage. If we continually remind ourselves about the meaning of covenant, all our relationships and committments will take on a deeper meaning.


The responsorial psalm extends the idea of God caring for his people to the entire earth. God's love is for all people, as the image of the shepherd here indicates. The shepherd image is another appropriate analogy for the covenant. A shepherd could never leave his flock, nor could he entrust that flock to another, as he has trained the sheep to hear only his voice and to follow him alone. So, the psalmist uses the shepherd image to show how deeply God is committed to all people.


The reading from St. Paul's letter to the Romans continues the theme of God' love for all people in talking about the death of Jesus. Paul points out a valid point: we could understand a person who died for someone who is good or superior to us. The person who does such a thing desires to be like the one for whom he dies. Yet, Jesus showed the depth of love by dying for all of us - we who are inferior to him in every way. He did so that we might be more like him.


Finally, the Gospel reading indicates that this love God has for us is not merely to be appreciated and rememberd. No, God's care is now our care. He commissions and commands us to carry out his saving work in the world. The final line of the Gospel reading is key: "Without cost you have received; without cost are you to give." It is not enough to have received a gift. It must be used for the good of others, and without discrimination. St. John Chrysostom says, "For this reason Christ was sent to teach us that he came simply to do good. He did not wait for the sick to come to him. He himself hurried to them, bearing them a twofold blessing: the gospel of the reign of God and the healing of their diseases. And for this he went everywhere, not overlooking the slightest village." (Homily, 32.3 on Matthew's gospel).


Let us imitate Jesus by carrying out his work on earth to every single person and place.