The Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Second Reading – 07/26/2026

Paul explores some heavy theological musing, but with a nugget or two of joyful promises interspersed.

Transcript

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Howdy, and welcome to Bob the Lector. I'm Bob. The purpose of this podcast is to inspire Catholic lecturers to bring their proclamation of God's Word to life. This episode is for the July twenty sixth, Sunday Mass's second reading. It's the seventeenth Sunday in ordinary time, year A. A reading from the letter of Saint Paul to the Romans. Brothers and sisters, we know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose. For those he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters, and those He predestined, He also called, and those He called, He also justified, and those He justified, He also glorified the Word of the Lord. Welcome to the seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, y'all. Paul gives us a theologically complex message, which includes the often confusing concept of predestination, but take hope, there are also some nuggets of joyful promise. So let's get to it, shall we? I always start my own lecture practice with preparation, which is not the external proclamation, but the internal discernment of the message. What is God saying to us? What is his purpose? What is the meaning of this reading? Because if it doesn't mean anything to us, how can we as lectors make it mean anything to the congregation before us? Paul's writing from Corinth around 57 AD to a mixed community of Gentiles and Jews navigating persecution, including martyrdom. They are a small minority struggling to survive in the heart of the pagan Roman Empire. Okay, let's jump into predestination. The best place to start is to talk about what it is not. From a Catholic perspective, predestination is not the Calvinistic view, where God has a predestined plan that He positively wills some people to sin. Calvin wrongfully preached that there was an absolute divine decree from all eternity, irrevocably dooming part of humankind to sin and therefore to hell. In the Catholic sense, predestination refers to God's knowledge of his plan of salvation before creation, that our salvation would be effected through Jesus Christ. His grace and redemption is available to all who exercise their free will to accept the gift. Conversely, some may exercise their free will to reject it. For a deeper dive, go to the Catholic Answers website, search Predestination, and read the June 8, 2020 excerpt from the original Catholic Encyclopedia. I should warn you, the audio version is 42 minutes, so maybe pick a day where you don't have much to do. Another good treatise is the October 7th, 2024 piece on the golden chain of salvation. Whew, enough about that. What do you learn from this reading? We begin. Brothers and sisters, we know that all things work for good, for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. The salutation, brothers and sisters, tells us we should have a warm and inviting tone and demeanor for this reading. Interestingly, Paul had not yet traveled to Rome, yet he addresses the Christian community there with filial endearment. Consider two ways to kick off this reading and choose the one most authentic for you. Brothers and sisters with an upward lilt, or brothers and sisters with a downward one. When Paul says all things, he's recognizing for the Christian community in Rome and us that some prayers are answered and some are not. One day we may learn some of God's greatest gifts came wrapped in our disappointments. After you deliver the opening greeting, speak the balance of this sentence with conviction. Emphasize no, called, and purpose. Use a micro pause after good. Next we have, for those he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. This foreknowing tells us that God loves us before we even existed, before you took your first breath. God knew your name, knew your struggles, knew every failure and every victory. Use an instructional tone for the sentence. When you get to the last five words, use a warm tone of voice and demeanor, with eye contact and a smile as you read, Among many brothers and sisters, letting your congregation know you're talking about them. Stress for new, predestined, firstborn, and many. Insert micropauses after for new and firstborn. I want to draw your attention to some parallel construction in the second and third sentences. The first of these four gets lost because of Paul's tendency to use intervening clauses that obscure the parallelisms we're trying to highlight. To simplify. Some of our Protestant brothers and sisters call this the golden chain of salvation. If you're interested, see the Catholic answers piece referenced earlier to learn more about this. A device I occasionally use to add variety to a reading is to convert a declarative statement into a question. That would lend itself to this parallel structure. For example, you could say those he foreknew as a question, and then answer with he also predestined. You could do that for each of these four points, but I think that's too much. I personally like using it as a question for the first and last of these. But play around with your own delivery and see what's most authentic for you. We close with and those he predestined, he also called. And those he called, he also justified. And those he justified, he also glorified. I'll say one last thing about predestination. God wills the salvation of every human being, and that achieves fruition when our human free will cooperates with God's grace. As for being called, we are called through the gospel, the sacraments, circumstances, and inner promptings of grace given by the Holy Spirit. As for being justified, we are righteous through Christ, first through baptism, then with continued renewal through ongoing repentance and grace. Lastly, we are glorified. The final destiny for the souls before you is full participation in the glory of God for all eternity. I like how Paul uses the past tense in this sentence, because our salvation is already a done deal. Again, use an instructional tone for this last sentence. Apply a joyful tenor and demeanor with full eye contact and a smile when you close out with, He also glorified, making the souls before you know with certainty you're talking to and about them. Highlight predestined, the first and second called, the first and second justified, and glorified. Apply micro pauses after the first predestined, the second called, and the second justified. Well, that's all for now. Thanks for listening. My hope is these ideas will help you find your authentic voice so your proclamation of God's word will transform your listeners, whether they're in pain and broken or just going through the motions. Because the good news deserves great delivery. Visit us on the web at bobthelector.org and we'll see you at the Ambo. By the way, if you like what you hear and are so inclined, please give us five stars on Apple Podcasts and forward this podcast to your fellow lectures, your pastor, and your liturgy director. Thanks so much.