Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 94
Lectionary: 94
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!"
"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!"
Responsorial
PsalmPS 69:8-10, 14, 17, 33-35
R. (14c) Lord,
in your great love, answer me.
For your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers,
a stranger to my children,
Because zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
I pray to you, O LORD,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
with your constant help.
Answer me, O LORD, for bounteous is your kindness;
in your great mercy turn toward me.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
"See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.
Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
the seas and whatever moves in them!''
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
For your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers,
a stranger to my children,
Because zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
I pray to you, O LORD,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
with your constant help.
Answer me, O LORD, for bounteous is your kindness;
in your great mercy turn toward me.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
"See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.
Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
the seas and whatever moves in them!''
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Reading 2ROM 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.
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.
AlleluiaJN 15:26B, 27A
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
The Spirit of truth will testify to me, says the Lord;
and you also will testify.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Spirit of truth will testify to me, says the Lord;
and you also will testify.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 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."
"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."
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A
Note: Where a Scripture text is underlined in the body of this discussion, it is recommended that the reader look up and read that passage.
1st Reading - Jeremiah 20:10-13
Jeremiah’s prophetic career extended from his youth in 626 B.C. to a date considerably later than the ruin of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Thus he witnessed the brief renewal of the covenant people under Josiah; the latter’s death in 609 at Megiddo; the obstinate, weak, and futile resistance of Josiah’s successors to Babylon; and the continued intrigues by those left behind in the land after the mass deportations in 605, 597, and 586, these intrigues culminating in the murder of Gedaliah, Babylon’s representative. After this episode the assassins forced Jeremiah to accompany them on their flight to Egypt.
More than any other prophet, Jeremiah not merely preached his inspired message but lived it too; incurring the hatred and persecution of the anti-Babylonian party throughout his life, and suffering intense personal anguish and conflicts from the part he was forced by Yahweh to play in these events.
Jeremiah’s message as a whole is dominated by a four-fold opposition: First, between Yahweh as true God and the false gods; Second, between Jeremiah as the true prophet and the false prophets; Third, between the transforming power of the true religion of mind and heart and the ineffective externalism of the official cult; and Fourth, between Babylon, designated by Yahweh to be his “servant” and Egypt, the beguiler and deceiver. Yahweh is consistently thought of as dwelling not in the Temple at Zion (as He is in Isaiah) but transcendently in heaven, looking down upon the world and presiding over all that it contains from the vast cosmic forces to the most interior thoughts and dispositions of its inhabitants.
Today we hear Jeremiah despairing about his situation.
10 I hear the whisperings of many: “Terror on every side!
This was the cry of Jeremiah to the officer in charge of the Temple in Jeremiah 20:4. This cry resulted in Jeremiah being flogged and set in the stocks. The cry is now turned against the prophet in derision and mockery.
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. 11 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.
This confidence has its foundation in Yahweh’s promise (Jeremiah 1:8, 19), which the prophet often recalled. In the midst of strong contradictions he keeps his faith in Yahweh’s loyalty.
12 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. 13 Sing to the LORD, praise the LORD, For he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!
This verse has often been rejected by scholars as a late doxology but the closing words “from the power of the wicked” is found only in Jeremiah’s writings (Jeremiah 15:21; 21:12; 23:14). The Hebrew word ebyôn , translated here as “the poor” has meaning other than sociological; it refers to a pious man, the one who does Yahweh’s bidding.
2nd Reading - Romans 5:12-15
Our reading continues from where we left off last week. Recall that Saint Paul approaches his discussions from the perspective of family covenant, not the legal courtroom. To gain a better understanding of the context of this reading, we will continue on through Romans 6:1.
12 [T]hrough one person
This refers to Adam. As a result of original sin we are born spiritually dead which leads to sin.
sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, inasmuch as all sinned 13 for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world, though sin is not accounted when there is no law.
See Romans 4:14-15.
14 But death reigned from Adam to Moses,
Saint Paul now begins to discusses three ages: Adam to Moses is the natural period which is represented by the fallen, unhappy family; Moses to Christ is the legal period in which one nation is the example; and from Christ onward is the period of international blessing where all nations are blessed and freed from the Law through the grace of Christ
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.
Typology plays an important role in the writings of Saint Paul. Here, he talks about how Christ, the “last Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45), was prefigured by Adam.
“Although through one man’s sin death has passed to all men, Him whom we do not refuse to acknowledge as the father of the human race we cannot refuse to acknowledge as also the author of death. ... In Adam I fell, in Adam I was cast out of paradise, in Adam I died. How shall God call me back, except He find me in Adam? For just as in Adam I am guilty of sin and owe a debt to death, so in Christ I am justified.” [Saint Ambrose of Milan (A.D. 378), On The Death Of His Brother Satyrus 2,6]
15 But the gift is not like the transgression.
Lest the comparison with Adam should seem like an affront to Christ, Saint Paul stresses the surpassing quality of Christ’s influence on humanity. The first mode of expressing that superabundance is the manifestation of God’s favor far in excess of any mercy that sin might have otherwise evoked.
For if by that one person’s transgression the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one person Jesus Christ overflow for the many.
“These words clearly teach that original sin is common to all men, regardless of the personal sins of each one.” [Saint Augustine of Hippo (ca. A.D. 421), Against Julian, Defender of the Pelagian Heresy 20,63]
“As infants cannot help being descended from Adam, so they cannot help being touched by the same sin, unless they are set free from its guilt by the baptism of Christ.” [Saint Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 414) Letter to the Sicilian Layman Hilary 157]
16 And the gift is not like the result of the one person’s sinning. For after one sin there was the judgment that brought condemnation; but the gift, after many transgressions, brought acquittal. 17 For if, by the transgression of one person, death came to reign through that one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of justification come to reign in life through the one person Jesus Christ. 18 In conclusion, just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so through one righteous act acquittal and life came to all. 19 For just as through the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one the many will be made righteous.
From Adam we get a sinful nature, but from Christ we gain a righteous nature.
20 The law entered in so that transgression might increase but, where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through justification for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 6:1 What then shall we say? Shall we persist in sin that grace may abound? Of course not!
Gospel - Matthew 10:26-33
We rejoin Jesus this week during the first year of His public ministry. He has just commissioned the twelve and is instructing them as they are sent out.
[Jesus said to the Twelve:] 26 “Fear no one.
The ministry of preaching is intrinsically frightening. Only faith in a revealing and judging God can overcome that fear.
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. 27 What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 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.
Gehenna is the term which Jesus uses to refer to the place of eternal destruction. It is also the valley which runs along the southern edge of Jerusalem at the time of Christ. The Hebrew word ge-hinnom means “valley of the son of Hinnom.” The name is probably that of the original Jebusite owner of the property. It became a cultic shrine where human sacrifice was offered (2 Kings 23:10; 2 Chronicles 28:3; 33:6; Jeremiah 7:31; 19:2ff; 32:35). Because of this cult Jeremiah cursed the place and predicted that it would be a place of death and corruption.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.
The cheapest life in the market is cited; yet God’s providential care extends to it. God knows even when a small bird dies, He is aware of the death of one of His own and He will save the life that endures forever.
30 Even all the hairs of your head are counted. 31 So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
A rabbinic argument technique which compares a light matter to a heavy one. It is used here to overcome fear and encourage the disciples to trust God.
32 Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. 33 But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.
With the assurance of confidence that God knows and cares what happens, the disciples are urged to confess “in Jesus.” The confession would be the typical confession of the primitive Church that “Jesus is Messiah and Lord.” The reward of confession or denial is that Jesus will accept or disown according to one’s fidelity.
Note: Where a Scripture text is underlined in the body of this discussion, it is recommended that the reader look up and read that passage.
1st Reading - Jeremiah 20:10-13
Jeremiah’s prophetic career extended from his youth in 626 B.C. to a date considerably later than the ruin of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Thus he witnessed the brief renewal of the covenant people under Josiah; the latter’s death in 609 at Megiddo; the obstinate, weak, and futile resistance of Josiah’s successors to Babylon; and the continued intrigues by those left behind in the land after the mass deportations in 605, 597, and 586, these intrigues culminating in the murder of Gedaliah, Babylon’s representative. After this episode the assassins forced Jeremiah to accompany them on their flight to Egypt.
More than any other prophet, Jeremiah not merely preached his inspired message but lived it too; incurring the hatred and persecution of the anti-Babylonian party throughout his life, and suffering intense personal anguish and conflicts from the part he was forced by Yahweh to play in these events.
Jeremiah’s message as a whole is dominated by a four-fold opposition: First, between Yahweh as true God and the false gods; Second, between Jeremiah as the true prophet and the false prophets; Third, between the transforming power of the true religion of mind and heart and the ineffective externalism of the official cult; and Fourth, between Babylon, designated by Yahweh to be his “servant” and Egypt, the beguiler and deceiver. Yahweh is consistently thought of as dwelling not in the Temple at Zion (as He is in Isaiah) but transcendently in heaven, looking down upon the world and presiding over all that it contains from the vast cosmic forces to the most interior thoughts and dispositions of its inhabitants.
Today we hear Jeremiah despairing about his situation.
10 I hear the whisperings of many: “Terror on every side!
This was the cry of Jeremiah to the officer in charge of the Temple in Jeremiah 20:4. This cry resulted in Jeremiah being flogged and set in the stocks. The cry is now turned against the prophet in derision and mockery.
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. 11 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.
This confidence has its foundation in Yahweh’s promise (Jeremiah 1:8, 19), which the prophet often recalled. In the midst of strong contradictions he keeps his faith in Yahweh’s loyalty.
12 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. 13 Sing to the LORD, praise the LORD, For he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!
This verse has often been rejected by scholars as a late doxology but the closing words “from the power of the wicked” is found only in Jeremiah’s writings (Jeremiah 15:21; 21:12; 23:14). The Hebrew word ebyôn , translated here as “the poor” has meaning other than sociological; it refers to a pious man, the one who does Yahweh’s bidding.
2nd Reading - Romans 5:12-15
Our reading continues from where we left off last week. Recall that Saint Paul approaches his discussions from the perspective of family covenant, not the legal courtroom. To gain a better understanding of the context of this reading, we will continue on through Romans 6:1.
12 [T]hrough one person
This refers to Adam. As a result of original sin we are born spiritually dead which leads to sin.
sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, inasmuch as all sinned 13 for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world, though sin is not accounted when there is no law.
See Romans 4:14-15.
14 But death reigned from Adam to Moses,
Saint Paul now begins to discusses three ages: Adam to Moses is the natural period which is represented by the fallen, unhappy family; Moses to Christ is the legal period in which one nation is the example; and from Christ onward is the period of international blessing where all nations are blessed and freed from the Law through the grace of Christ
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.
Typology plays an important role in the writings of Saint Paul. Here, he talks about how Christ, the “last Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45), was prefigured by Adam.
“Although through one man’s sin death has passed to all men, Him whom we do not refuse to acknowledge as the father of the human race we cannot refuse to acknowledge as also the author of death. ... In Adam I fell, in Adam I was cast out of paradise, in Adam I died. How shall God call me back, except He find me in Adam? For just as in Adam I am guilty of sin and owe a debt to death, so in Christ I am justified.” [Saint Ambrose of Milan (A.D. 378), On The Death Of His Brother Satyrus 2,6]
15 But the gift is not like the transgression.
Lest the comparison with Adam should seem like an affront to Christ, Saint Paul stresses the surpassing quality of Christ’s influence on humanity. The first mode of expressing that superabundance is the manifestation of God’s favor far in excess of any mercy that sin might have otherwise evoked.
For if by that one person’s transgression the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one person Jesus Christ overflow for the many.
“These words clearly teach that original sin is common to all men, regardless of the personal sins of each one.” [Saint Augustine of Hippo (ca. A.D. 421), Against Julian, Defender of the Pelagian Heresy 20,63]
“As infants cannot help being descended from Adam, so they cannot help being touched by the same sin, unless they are set free from its guilt by the baptism of Christ.” [Saint Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 414) Letter to the Sicilian Layman Hilary 157]
16 And the gift is not like the result of the one person’s sinning. For after one sin there was the judgment that brought condemnation; but the gift, after many transgressions, brought acquittal. 17 For if, by the transgression of one person, death came to reign through that one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of justification come to reign in life through the one person Jesus Christ. 18 In conclusion, just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so through one righteous act acquittal and life came to all. 19 For just as through the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one the many will be made righteous.
From Adam we get a sinful nature, but from Christ we gain a righteous nature.
20 The law entered in so that transgression might increase but, where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through justification for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 6:1 What then shall we say? Shall we persist in sin that grace may abound? Of course not!
Gospel - Matthew 10:26-33
We rejoin Jesus this week during the first year of His public ministry. He has just commissioned the twelve and is instructing them as they are sent out.
[Jesus said to the Twelve:] 26 “Fear no one.
The ministry of preaching is intrinsically frightening. Only faith in a revealing and judging God can overcome that fear.
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. 27 What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 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.
Gehenna is the term which Jesus uses to refer to the place of eternal destruction. It is also the valley which runs along the southern edge of Jerusalem at the time of Christ. The Hebrew word ge-hinnom means “valley of the son of Hinnom.” The name is probably that of the original Jebusite owner of the property. It became a cultic shrine where human sacrifice was offered (2 Kings 23:10; 2 Chronicles 28:3; 33:6; Jeremiah 7:31; 19:2ff; 32:35). Because of this cult Jeremiah cursed the place and predicted that it would be a place of death and corruption.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.
The cheapest life in the market is cited; yet God’s providential care extends to it. God knows even when a small bird dies, He is aware of the death of one of His own and He will save the life that endures forever.
30 Even all the hairs of your head are counted. 31 So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
A rabbinic argument technique which compares a light matter to a heavy one. It is used here to overcome fear and encourage the disciples to trust God.
32 Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. 33 But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.
With the assurance of confidence that God knows and cares what happens, the disciples are urged to confess “in Jesus.” The confession would be the typical confession of the primitive Church that “Jesus is Messiah and Lord.” The reward of confession or denial is that Jesus will accept or disown according to one’s fidelity.
St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church,
Picayune, MS http://www.scborromeo.org
Meditation: "Fear not - you are of more value
than many sparrows"
What does fear have to do
with the kingdom of God? Fear is a powerful force. It can lead us to panic and
flight or it can spur us to faith and action. The fear of God is the antidote
to the fear of losing one's life. I
sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.O fear
the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no want! Come, O sons, listen to me, I will teach you the fear
of the Lord.(Psalm 34:4,9,11)
What is godly fear? It is reverence for the One who made us in love and who sustains us in mercy and kindness. The greatest injury or loss which we can experience is not physical but spiritual - the loss of one's soul to the power of hell. A healthy fear of God leads to spiritual maturity, wisdom and right judgment and it frees us from the tyranny of sinful pride, cowardice - especially in the face of evil, and spiritual deception. Do you trust in God's grace and mercy and submit to his word?
What is godly fear? It is reverence for the One who made us in love and who sustains us in mercy and kindness. The greatest injury or loss which we can experience is not physical but spiritual - the loss of one's soul to the power of hell. A healthy fear of God leads to spiritual maturity, wisdom and right judgment and it frees us from the tyranny of sinful pride, cowardice - especially in the face of evil, and spiritual deception. Do you trust in God's grace and mercy and submit to his word?
When Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God he met
opposition and hostility. He tells his disciples that they must expect
the same treatment if they are to live and to proclaim the reign of God. There
is both a warning and a privilege in his statement. Just as Jesus had to carry
his cross, so the disciples must carry their cross and not try to evade it. To
suffer for the faith is to share in the work of Christ. As one hymn states: Lift
high the Cross of Christ! Tread where his feet have trod. The
Holy Spirit gives us power and grace to live as disciples of Jesus Christ. Do
you trust in God’s grace to carry your cross for Jesus' sake?
"Lord Jesus, it is
my joy and privilege to your disciple. Give me strength and courage to bear any
hardship and suffering which may come my way in your service. May I witness to
others the joy of the Gospel."
A Daily Quote for the early church fathers: Fear not, you are of more value than many
sparrows, by John Chrysostom, 344-407
A.D.
"What do you see in creation of less value than a
tiny sparrow? But even the sparrow will not fall without God's knowledge. Jesus
does not mean that the sparrow falls by God’s direct will because it is
unworthy but that nothing that occurs is hidden from God. If then God is not
ignorant of anything that happens in creation, and if God loves us more truly
than the best human father, and if God loves us so as to have numbered our very
hairs, then we need not be afraid. Jesus said this not to indicate that God
literally has a number placed on the very hairs of our head but rather to show
that God has perfect knowledge of everything about us and providentially cares
for everything about us. Therefore, if God both knows all things that happen to
us and is able to save us and willing to do so, then whatever we may be
suffering, we need not think that God has forsaken us in our suffering. For it
is not God's will to keep us wholly separated from that which elicits dread but
rather to persuade us not to make an idol out of whatever we dread. It is this,
more than anything else, that constitutes deliverance from dread. 'Therefore,
don’t be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows.' Don’t you see that
God views your fear with more concern than the lives of many sparrows? He
already knows the secrets of your heart. Hence Jesus adds, 'Do not fear.' For
even if that which you dread prevails, it prevails only over your body; this is
the limited part of yourself, which nature will surely take in due time and
bring to an end." (excerpt from The
Gospel of Matthew, Homily 34, 2-3)
TWELFTH
SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
SUNDAY, JUNE 25, MATTHEW 10:26-33
(Jeremiah 20:10-13; Psalm 69; Romans 5:12-15)
SUNDAY, JUNE 25, MATTHEW 10:26-33
(Jeremiah 20:10-13; Psalm 69; Romans 5:12-15)
KEY VERSE: "And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul" (v 28).
TO KNOW: Jesus instructed his twelve apostles to be courageous as they shared his mission of announcing God's reign. Despite the coming darkness and opposition, they should be fearless in proclaiming the light and truth of the gospel. Fear of persecution and death should not deter them. They should be more afraid of the evil one who could lead them to eternal destruction. Jesus encouraged his followers by reminding them of their worth before God. He gives the example of the sparrow—a small bird that his audience deemed quite unimportant. If God, who is in absolute control of every event in the entire universe, cares for the lowly sparrows, then how much more were God's children valued? No ill-treatment on earth could compare with the ultimate fate of one who had been guilty of infidelity to God. If the apostles remained faithful to their witness, Jesus would testify to their fidelity at the final judgment.
TO LOVE: Lord Jesus, help me to recognize my worth in God's sight
TO SERVE: Do I defend the faith when I am opposed?
Sunday 25 June
2017
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Week
IV Psalter
Jeremiah 20:10-13. Psalms 68(69):8-10, 14, 17, 33-35. Romans 5:12-15. Matthew 10:26-33.
Jeremiah 20:10-13. Psalms 68(69):8-10, 14, 17, 33-35. Romans 5:12-15. Matthew 10:26-33.
Lord, in
your great love, answer me — Psalms 68(69):8-10, 14, 17, 33-35.
‘What you
hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.’
Jeremiah’s prophetic mission is
met with opposition on all sides. Imprisoned for speaking the word of God, his
lament soon turns to a beautiful proclamation of hope and trust in God, who
will help him stay faithful to his calling.
The Gospel today sees Jesus
implore us to follow Jeremiah’s example, and to proclaim the love of God ever
louder in the public sphere. He reminds us that it is not the might of this world
that should frighten us, but the invisible powers and principalities that
influence our lives and turn us away from God.
It is when we can
identify the dispositions and habits that erode our souls that we can ready
ourselves to listen to the whisper in our hearts urging us to love.
Allowing the presence of Christ to
grow within us frees us from our fears and makes us courageous witnesses to the
Good News.
ST. WILLIAM OF VERCELLI
William was born in 11th-century Italy to a noble family. He was
orphaned as an infant and raised by relatives. At the young age of 14, he made
a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, and decided to devote his life
to God as a hermit.
He
returned to Italy and lived as a hermit for two years at Monte Solicoli, where
he was credited with healing a blind man. At Monte Vergiliano, his reputation
for holiness attracted many disciples, and in 1119, he established a monastery
with a Rule based on the Benedictines.
Five
other houses were formed during his lifetime, but only the original survives
today. He died June 25, 1142 of natural causes.
LECTIO DIVINA: 12TH SUNDAY OF
ORDINARY TIME (A)
Lectio Divina:
Sunday, June 25, 2017 - 14
Witness to the Gospel without fear
Matthew 10, 26-33
Matthew 10, 26-33
1. OPENING PRAYER
In the darkness of a starless night,
a night of no sense,
you, the Word of life,
like lightning in the storm of forgetfulness,
entered within the bounds of doubt
under cover of the limits of precariousness
to hide the light.
Words made of silence and of the ordinary,
your human words, heralds of the secrets of the Most High:
like hooks cast into the waters of death
to find man once more, immersed in his anxious follies,
and reclaim him, plundered,
through the attractive radiance of forgiveness.
To you, Ocean of Peace and shadow of eternal Glory,
I render thanks:
Calm waters on my shore that awaits the wave, I wish to seek you!
And may the friendship of the brothers protect me
when night falls on my desire for you. Amen.
In the darkness of a starless night,
a night of no sense,
you, the Word of life,
like lightning in the storm of forgetfulness,
entered within the bounds of doubt
under cover of the limits of precariousness
to hide the light.
Words made of silence and of the ordinary,
your human words, heralds of the secrets of the Most High:
like hooks cast into the waters of death
to find man once more, immersed in his anxious follies,
and reclaim him, plundered,
through the attractive radiance of forgiveness.
To you, Ocean of Peace and shadow of eternal Glory,
I render thanks:
Calm waters on my shore that awaits the wave, I wish to seek you!
And may the friendship of the brothers protect me
when night falls on my desire for you. Amen.
2. READING
a) The text:
26
'So do not be afraid of them. Everything now covered up will be uncovered, and
everything now hidden will be made clear. 27 What I say to you in the dark,
tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the housetops.
28 'Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear
him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. 29 Can you not buy two
sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father
knowing. 30 Why, every hair on your head has been counted. 31 So there is no
need to be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. 32 'So if anyone
declares himself for me in the presence of human beings, I will declare myself
for him in the presence of my Father in heaven. 33 But the one who disowns me
in the presence of human beings, I will disown in the presence of my Father in
heaven.
b) A moment of silence:
Let
us allow the voice of the Word to resonate within us.
3. MEDITATION
a) Questions for reflection:
There is nothing hidden which will not be revealed: the truth under the veil of
silence is spread more than if it is exposed in the avid or greedy hands of men
who are deaf to the breath of the Spirit. Where do you place the Word of God
that you listen to? In the power of your adventurous thoughts or in the
sacrarium of your profound acceptance?
That which I tell you in the dark, tell it in the daylight: Christ speaks in the dark, in the
secret of the heart. To offer his words to the light, these must go though your
thought, within your feelings, in your entrails before they come to your lips.
The words which you habitually say to others are they words said in the secret
of Him or rather syllables of thoughts which just come to mind?
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body: nothing nor nobody can do you harm
if God is with you. They can make you a prisoner, but they cannot take away
liberty and dignity from you because these are unseizable by anybody. Fears,
worry, suspicions, anxieties... can become a souvenir which is far away. When
will you leave all this aside, trusting that God will not abandon you ever and
will take care of you?
Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls
to the ground without your Father knowing. God’s Providence can be similar to
destiny, but it is something different. Sparrows which fall to the ground. It
is not God who throws them down, but when they fall the Father is there. It is
not God who sends sickness, but when man becomes ill, the Father is there with
him. Our things belong to him. Solitude, which frequently presses on us is not
abandonment. Will we look around to encounter the eyes of Christ who lives with
us in that moment of desolation?
If anyone declares himself to be for me in the presence of human
beings, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father: Give Christ the courage of our
faith in him... this is a requirement of life in which God is not an accessory,
but daily bread and the identity card of himself. Does this challenge you or
does it remain only a hidden desire? Even among the heads or leaders, says
John, many believed in him, but did not recognize him openly because of the
Pharisees, so as not to be expelled from the Synagogue. Would you risk your
name for him?
b) Key for the reading:
Do
not fear! This is a key word which, repeated three times, gives unity to the
passage.
Probably is it a literary unity which joins together four isolated sayings. Faith requires as a basic disposition, not to fear. The themes which emerge: public proclamation of the Gospel (vv. 26-27), the availability to face martyrdom sacrificing physical life to attain eternal life (v. 28), images of trust in Providence (vv. 29-31), the courageous profession of faith in Christ (vv. 32-33).
The counter-positions are of a remarkable efficacy: veiled/unveiled, or covered/uncovered, hidden/known, darkness/light, body/soul, acknowledge/deny... which make evident the shore of a life lived evangelically. The veils of knowledge open themselves in the light and on the roofs of the universe the word heard in secret goes forth. The whole man is present to the heart of God, and if the creatures of the earth arouse tenderness, how much more the life of a creature-son. Belonging makes the difference in the witness. One who lives the divine sonship of God cannot deny the paternal roots!
Probably is it a literary unity which joins together four isolated sayings. Faith requires as a basic disposition, not to fear. The themes which emerge: public proclamation of the Gospel (vv. 26-27), the availability to face martyrdom sacrificing physical life to attain eternal life (v. 28), images of trust in Providence (vv. 29-31), the courageous profession of faith in Christ (vv. 32-33).
The counter-positions are of a remarkable efficacy: veiled/unveiled, or covered/uncovered, hidden/known, darkness/light, body/soul, acknowledge/deny... which make evident the shore of a life lived evangelically. The veils of knowledge open themselves in the light and on the roofs of the universe the word heard in secret goes forth. The whole man is present to the heart of God, and if the creatures of the earth arouse tenderness, how much more the life of a creature-son. Belonging makes the difference in the witness. One who lives the divine sonship of God cannot deny the paternal roots!
v. 26. Do not be afraid of them, for everything now covered up
will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. That which is covered is not
reserved for few but it is simply kept waiting that it be manifested. There is
a time to keep hidden and a time to make manifest, as Qohelet would say... to
know how to keep the truth in the secret of the days that go by: this is what
forges the credibility of the manifestation. A seed cannot be thrown into the
air, it is put into the furrow of the heart, it is left to itself while it is
transformed in dying, and it is attentively followed until it germinates and
comes to light, until the spike will be ripe and ready to be harvested. Every
word of God requires that it passes through the furrow of one’s own history in
order to bear abundant fruit in due time.
v. 27. What I say to you in the dark, tell it in the daylight,
and what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the housetops. Jesus speaks in secret, we speak
in the light. God speaks, we listen and we become his mouth for others. The
darkness of the listening, of putting it in, of assimilation, precede the dawn
of every proclamation. And when from the housetops the good news will be heard,
men will be obliged to look up. A treasure of glory is enclosed in every moment
of listening, it is a moment of waiting which prepares to the birth of light.
v. 28. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot
kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. One can be afraid of those who can
strike that which is not man in fullness: to stop earthly life is not equal to
death. The only really fearful is God. But God also after death preserves the
life for man, that is why we should not fear. Whatever can happen, God is with
man. This is a certainty which permits us to sail on even in the midst of the
most devastating storms, because the treasures of man are taken care of in God,
and from the hands of God nobody can snatch the elect.
v. 29. Can you not buy two sparrow for a penny? And yet not one
falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Two sparrows, one penny. A minimum
value but which is in the thought of the Father. Where life beats, there God
is, completely. This attentive care enchants and consoles... and invites to
listen to all that vibrates and presents holy images of the Eternal splendour.
Two sparrows: two very small creatures, of a brief life. The value of things is
not given to them because of the greatness or the strength, but from that which
animates, that which is “body”. Therefore, every space where there is life
which accepts the print of the Creator is a place of encounter with Him, it
witnesses of his solicitude.
v. 30. Why every hair on your head has been counted. The solicitude or thoughtfulness
of God extends itself even to count the hair on our head. It is absurd, the way
the Lord loves! When desolation and abandonment become the word s of our today,
it will be enough to count some of our hair to remember the presence of God
with us. The protection of the Heavenly Father will not be lacking for the
disciples of Jesus. The Mystery which embraces all cannot be less towards those
who have chosen to follow His Son, leaving the earth of their human securities.
v. 31. So there is no need to be afraid ; you are worth more
than many sparrows! If God
uses his thought for two sparrows how much more will he not think of us! Fear
disappears before this living image of human and religious sensibility of Christ. God is in favour of
man, not against him. And if he keeps silence it is not because of lack of
care, but because his thoughts on us have broader perspectives which go beyond
the horizons of earthly temporality.
v. 32. If anyone declares himself for me in the presence of
human beings, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in
Heaven. To
acknowledge oneself. When you find yourself in a square crowded to the full
among unknown faces, you have the experience of being a foreigner. But as soon
as you see a familiar face, your heart expands and you make your way until you
get close to him. This recognizing others allows to manifest oneself before
others and to expose oneself. Christ in the midst of the crowd is the familiar
face to recognize him as the Master and Lord of our life. And what fear can we
have if we think that he will declare us before his Father in Heaven?
v. 33. But the one who disowns me in the presence of human
beings, I will disown in the presence of my Father in Heaven. Could we think of a revengeful
God? this is not a discourse to “put wood into the fire”, but a discourse which
comes from an existential encounter. Christ will not be able to recognize as
his own the one who will have chosen everything outside of him, it is a discourse
of fidelity and of respect for the human liberty. God respects the creature to
the point of not interfering in the space of his error. The Gospel demands
belonging, not words and actions. The heart lives in heaven, when Christ is its
beating of life!
4. PRAYER (Psalm
22,22-31)
I
shall proclaim your name to my brothers,
praise you in full assembly:
'You who fear Yahweh, praise him!
All the race of Jacob,
honour him! Revere him,
all the race of Israel!'
praise you in full assembly:
'You who fear Yahweh, praise him!
All the race of Jacob,
honour him! Revere him,
all the race of Israel!'
For
he has not despised nor disregarded
the poverty of the poor,
has not turned away his face,
but has listened to the cry for help.
the poverty of the poor,
has not turned away his face,
but has listened to the cry for help.
Of
you is my praise in the thronged assembly,
I will perform my vows before all who fear him.
The poor will eat and be filled,
those who seek Yahweh will praise him,
'May your heart live for ever.'
I will perform my vows before all who fear him.
The poor will eat and be filled,
those who seek Yahweh will praise him,
'May your heart live for ever.'
The
whole wide world will remember
and return to Yahweh,
all the families of nations bow down before him.
For to Yahweh, ruler of the nations,
belongs kingly power!
All who prosper on earth will bow before him,
all who go down to the dust will do reverence before him.
and return to Yahweh,
all the families of nations bow down before him.
For to Yahweh, ruler of the nations,
belongs kingly power!
All who prosper on earth will bow before him,
all who go down to the dust will do reverence before him.
And
those who are dead,
their descendants will serve him,
will proclaim his name to generations
still to come;
and these will tell of his saving justice
to a people yet unborn:
he has fulfilled it.
their descendants will serve him,
will proclaim his name to generations
still to come;
and these will tell of his saving justice
to a people yet unborn:
he has fulfilled it.
5.
CONTEMPLATION
Lord,
among the veils of what I have received and have not given, may I be able to
meditate and to accept everything from you. Let not my proclamation be an
unconscious repeater, but rather a word possessed in so far as it has
indwelling and digested for a long time. May the beauty of your presence be
unveiled to my senses, and in the mystery of your unceasing giving may the veil
of the encounter descend bringing you closer. The treasure hidden for centuries
is now known, and from darkness to light, the dawn has raised for centuries, in
a day without sunset which, shining on that which love has created and the sin
being broken, it makes all things new. I will recognize you, my God, before my
brothers because it will be impossible for me to hide the lamp that you have
lit in my life. Who will give me the words which create me and make of my
limitations a marvellous definition of that which I am, I, in particular, like
nobody else? Only you, Lord have words of eternal life. And I will eat them and
will offer them, at the cost of being devoured with them. It will be sufficient
for me to feel that I am a sparrow to find again the hope when the tempest will
fall on me, because the pennies that you give for the sparrows are not counted
in your knapsack. Amen.
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