12th Sunday A

12^th Sunday of Ordinary Time A

Readings: Jeremiah 20:10‑13  Romans 5:12‑15  

Matthew 10:26‑33

            This Sunday's readings challenge us to acknowledge our commitment to Christ and the gospel, even in face of insult, betrayal, and persecution.  When we are near despair over the apparent failure of the gospel, let us have the faith to pray the words of the responsorial psalm: "Lord, in your great love, answer me" (Ps 69).

            The first reading is one of Jeremiah's laments in which he cries out to God for justice against his enemies who have denounced and persecuted him because of the horror of his message.  Jeremiah has just been imprisoned, beaten, and put in stocks for announcing that the city of Jerusalem is going to be destroyed for its crimes against God and neighbor.  His message to all has been "Terror on every side!"      

            In this lament we are taken into Jeremiah's own heart where he struggles with the unpopularity, isolation, and vulnerability that his mission has brought him.   He hears “the whisperings of many” who denounce him for his message and watch for any misstep on his part.  In his agony Jeremiah's only consolation is his faith in the Lord as a mighty champion who will rise up to vindicate him against his persecutors: “But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion:/ my persecutors will stumble; they will not triumph.”  By the end of the lament, Jeremiah is already praising the Lord for rescuing him.  “Sing to the Lord,/ praise the Lord,/ For he has rescued the life of the  poor/ from the power of the wicked!”

            In the Romans reading Paul continues to proclaim that the death and resurrection of Jesus has brought salvation for all humanity.  He uses a typological contrast between Adam, the type for sinful humanity, and Christ, the antitype for redeemed humanity.  Just as the disobedient act of the one man, Adam,  unleashed the demonic forces of Sin and Death into the world and brought condemnation in that all fell into sin, so the  obedient act of Christ, the new man, has brought the gifts of  righteousness and grace.  Paul's emphasis is on the confidence Christians should have in the gracious gift of God. “But the gift is not like the offense. For if by the offense of the one man all died, much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound for all.”

            The Gospel selection is linked to the Jeremiah reading by the theme of the persecution of God’s prophets.  It continues Matthew's missionary discourse in which Jesus is sending his disciples out to proclaim the arrival of the kingdom and to heal the sick.  In this section, Jesus has just warned them that they will be hated and persecuted for the sake of the gospel, just as he has been.  In the face of that hatred, they are not to be intimidated because the truth of the gospel will be triumphantly revealed. “Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, and nothing hidden that will not become known.  What I tell you in darkness, speak in the light. What you hear in private, proclaim from the housetops.”

            The disciples are also not to be afraid to acknowledge Jesus before the world because its threats can only deprive the body of life but cannot destroy the soul which is protected by the Father's loving care.  To assure his disciples of the Father's providential love Jesus uses a parable drawn from nature. “Are not two sparrows sold for next to nothing? Yet not a single sparrow falls to the ground without your Father's consent. As for you, every hair of your head has been counted; so do not be afraid of anything. You are worth more than an entire flock of sparrows.”

With this assurance we should have the courage to acknowledge Christ's kingdom before the world.  Jesus warns us that our judgment before the Father will be based on this.  “Whoever acknowledges me before men I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. Whoever disowns me before men I will disown before my Father in heaven.”