2026/06/14 SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
- Dominic Reyes, Asst Mgr of Events & Ministry Engagement
Identity has been tricky in my life, especially growing up. Being a Catholic has been a crossroads with many other Christians. There are so many differences within each sect that it was nearly impossible for teenage/early 20’s me to relate with others. While, at first, I distinguished myself away from them, I must understand that we all have the same baseline identity: being Christian. But where does identity come from and how does it serve us? The readings directly tell us.
Within Exodus, we are reminded that while God owns all of creation, we are made special if we approach our faith with acts of mercy, love, and service. As Exodus says, “Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine. You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.” We are treasures of God, if we show our obedience. We are to continue to live a life of faith to receive God’s grace. Inevitably, God gave us this covenant, this identity. We are to be his blessed sheep to our shepherd. Within the Psalm, we are reminded of this connection, “know that the LORD is God; he made us, his we are; his people, the flock he tends.”
Within the Letter to Romans, we are reminded of where our identity stems from; God’s unwavering and unconditional love for us. As Paul writes, “…God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath.” Love is the core of Christianity. Love is the bloodline that connects all Christians. It is God’s love that allows us to be openly Christian. The act of the ultimate sacrifice is what gives us the strength and courage to come forth in a sea of strangers and proclaim the Gospel. By understanding and working through this love, we can fully grasp our self-identity as Christians, but what about as a community?
In the Gospel, Jesus gives a direct action, “Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ …Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” As Christians, we are to strengthen our bonds with each other without an expectation of cost. What does that mean? We should show camaraderie with others and model God’s love to them without expecting anything back. It is only through this that our identity as Christians evolve from an individual label to a world-wide community. We go past being Catholic, Episcopalian, Orthodox, Lutheran, what have you, and being a united front that exonerates God and his creation. Only then can we truly show that we are “one body, one spirit, one truth.”