Don’t Judge by the Scoreboard

July 15: Tuesday of Week 15 of Ordinary Time, Year A-II:

Isaiah 7:1-9; Psalm 48:2-3, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8; Matthew 11:20-24

Thoughts to help us surrender to Jesus expressing himself through us in ministry.

Don’t Judge by the Scoreboard

Unless your faith is firm, you shall not be firm!” Isaiah 7:9

Ministry is discouraging. Today’s Gospel lists three cities where Jesus himself preached in vain—at least in terms of the fruit he expected. Should we wonder when we fail to achieve what we work for?

Ministry is not like any other work. The goal is spiritual conversion (any change that increases faith, hope and love: not conversion “to the Church”). It is conditional on two things we have no control over: grace and free will. So the ordinary rules of cause and effect don’t apply. We might do what we do perfectly; but that does not guarantee any spiritual result.

Furthermore, no ministry to many is “perfect.” Words perfect for some might be pointless for others. We win some and lose some. Even Jesus did. So we just keep trying.

But we are intentional about results. We don’t just keep doing robotically what we always have. Pope Francis wrote:

An evangelizing community is always concerned with fruit, because the Lord wants her to be fruitful… The sower who sees weeds sprouting among the grain does not grumble or overreact, but finds a way to let the word take flesh in a particular situation and bear fruits of new life, however imperfect or incomplete these may appear (Joy of the Gospel 24).

PRAY: “Lord, work with me, in me and through me.”

PRACTICE: Do your best and trust in God. Eventually, he wins.