13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Our God is a God of life: He creates life and He upholds life. "God did not make death," our first reading says...and yet death is all around us. The reading continues, "but by the envy of the devil, death entered the world." We believe in the supernatural - we believe in angels. Angels are amazing immaterial creations of God! They are smarter, stronger and more powerful than humans, and they aren't limited by bodies like we are. Yet, God chose to make us in His image and likeness, not them. Out of pride and jealousy, some angels chose to turn away from God, becoming envious of the destiny that God has laid out for humanity. Through their envy and temptation of our first parents, death entered the world. Yet, God still calls us to an amazing destiny: made in His image and likeness, becoming a member of His family in baptism, God's plan is to raise humanity above all the choirs of angels and all other creation, to be seated at the right hand of the Father! We have an amazing destiny, and not even death can stop God from fulfilling it!
