Mother Church invites us to celebrate Sunday, June 25, 2023 as the twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A. The Entrance Antiphon of today’s Mass says: “God is the strength of his people. In him, we his chosen, live in safety. Save us, lord, who share in your life, and give us your blessing; be our shepherd forever. Amen.”
In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah reassures us that God delivers the souls of the needy from the hands of evil men. Ours is a compassionate God, who always stands up for those who turn to him for shelter. In the second reading, Saint Paul tells the Romans that even though sin came into the world through Adam, man’s ancestor, God sent a second Adam, Jesus Christ, to wipe away that sin that led to damnation. Jesus asks us, in Matthew’s Gospel, not to be afraid but to put our trust in God who alone can save us from eternal damnation.
First Reading of Jeremiah 20: 10-13..
Jeremiah said: "I hear the whisperings of many: 'Terror on every side! Denounce! Let us denounce him!' All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. 'Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail, and take our vengeance on him.' But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion. O Lord of hosts, you who test the just, who probe mind and heart, let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause. Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!"
Comment
Let me start by taking a brief historical look at Jeremiah’s time. That may help us to better understand the passage the Church has selected for our meditation this day. Jeremiah was born into a priestly family in a little village a few miles outside Jerusalem. He received his prophetic mission from God around 625 BC, while still a young man. During the forty years of his ministry, he never tired of reminding his people of their covenant obligations. He continually warned the kings of Israel, one after another, that their infidelity was about to bring down God’s punishment on the whole nation.
After the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BC, the Jewish nation was taken into exile. Some Jews fled to Egypt, and it is thought that they took Jeremiah with them by force. According to this tradition, Jeremiah spent the rest of his life in Egypt, where he was eventually assassinated by his fellow Jews, and so his body is thought to lie buried on the African continent.
Coming back to the passage the Church has asked us to meditate on this day, we have one example of the interior conflicts that trouble Jeremiah under the strain of his prophetic mission. This passage comes from the final section of what is usually referred to as Jeremiah’s confessions. He has been sent out “to root up and to tear down”. In the midst of strong contradictions and opposition, Jeremiah keeps faith in God’s loyalty and compassion. These confessions are seen as the prophet’s intimate relationship with God. Whatever problems he has, whatever pains he feels, he takes them to God, as we all should.
What lesson am I taking home from this reading? Jeremiah tells me that when I accept to carry out God’s mission to my brothers and sisters, sufferings and persecutions are inevitable. It is the same message Christ gives his Apostles in Matthew’s Gospel of this day as he prepares to send them out to take his message to the four corners of the world. What is the solution? Do as Jeremiah, by committing your cause to God and following Christ’s advice to not let men intimidate you, do not be afraid. For this, we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Let us pray. We sing praises to you, Lord, because you have delivered the souls of those of us who are needy from the clutches of the Evil One. Continue to protect us this day through the power of your Holy Spirit. We make our supplication through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Second Reading: Romans 5:12-15
Brothers and sisters: Through one man sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned — for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world, though sin is not accounted when there is no law. But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin after the pattern of the trespass of Adam, who is the type of the one who was to come. But the gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many.
Comment
As we said last Sunday, the Letter to the Romans is the longest, most influential and rewarding of all of Saint Peter’s undisputed letters. It is thought that he wrote it in Corinth (in what is today modern Greece) round about the year 57 AD.
In the passage the Church has selected for our meditation, four important teachings appear: first of all, Adam’s sin has as consequence death, secondly, there is the contrast between the effects of original sin and those of the redemption brought by Christ, thirdly, the role played by Moses’ Law is brought out in relation to sin, and fourthly, the final victory of the reign of grace, which only those who believe in Christ as Saviour can enjoy.
Paul contrasts Christ’s obedience and submission to his Father’s will with Adam’s rebellion and disobedience. Christ’s obedience restores the happiness and eternal life we had lost through the sin of our first parents. The first Adam, our original father, brings sin to the world and the second Adam, Jesus Christ, redeems the world from the sin brought by Adam. Christ destroys the power of sin over us. In Christ, sin and death are conquered and grace and life abound. Grace is reconciliation and forgiveness, life is resurrection and eternal salvation.
Let us pray. Lord Jesus, grant us the grace to forgive each other’s trespasses so that God, who sent you to forgive and redeem us from Adam’s sin, can also forgive us. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gospel acclamation: “Alleluia, alleluia. The Spirit of truth will testify to me, says the Lord; and you will also testify. Alleluia.”
Gospel: Matthew 10-26-33.
Jesus said to the Twelve: "Fear no one. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father."
Comment
Today’s gospel is the continuation of last Sunday’s where we heard Jesus giving last minute instructions to his Apostles as he was preparing them for their mission to the world. He was sending them to go out and proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God to all of creation. The values of the Kingdom are different from the values of the world. That is why people tend to reject the message and even turn against the messengers, the prophets.
Tradition has it that almost all the apostles died the violent death of martyrdom. Some of them ended up being crucified on the cross, like Peter and his brother Andrew; some were beheaded, like James and Paul; some were burnt alive, like Bartholomew; or thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil, like John.
It was natural, therefore, for the apostles to fear as Jesus was sending them out to evangelise a hostile world. They were being sent out like sheep in the midst of wolves. So Jesus instructs them in today’s gospel on how to overcome the crippling fear that is gripping them.
The gospel identifies two fears that the apostles had: fear of false accusations and conviction, and fear of bodily harm and death. In either case, Jesus teaches them that the way to overcome fear is by keeping one’s mind focused not on things of the world, but on the coming kingdom of God. “So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known” (v 26).
The authorities who persecuted Jesus and his followers had their strategies for covering up the truth. They knew how to tamper with evidence, they knew how to produce false witnesses and through them convict the innocent. They covered up the truth and celebrated a lie. Many of the apostles, like their Master, would be falsely accused and unjustly condemned to shameful treatment and death. The way to overcome such fear is to look up to Jesus who has demonstrated by his rising from the dead that in the end every lie will be exposed, the truth will come to light and justice will again be just. “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both the soul and body in hell” (v 28).
Persecution was a daily reality for the early Christians as it was for Jesus himself. Stephen was stoned to death on the spot when he tried to proclaim the message of Jesus. No wonder Jesus tells the apostles that he is sending them out “like sheep into the midst of wolves”. The violent wolves may kill the peace-loving sheep, but they cannot kill the soul. This is again demonstrated in Jesus’ resurrection.
Let us pray. Lord Jesus, send us the Holy Spirit to fortify our faith, as he fortified the faith of the apostles at Pentecost, so that we too should not fear to speak the truth and proclaim your word with boldness even from rooftops. May we have the courage to proclaim loud and clear what we hear whispered in our ears. We make our supplication through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Comments