🙏 SUNDAY INSIGHTS - THE TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 🙏

First Reading - Jeremiah 20:10-13 

Second Reading - Romans 5:12-15 

Gospel - Matthew 10:26-33

An elderly woman named Maude had a window seat on a big 747 jetliner that had just taken off for Rome from New York. She had been saving for years to fulfill her dream to visit the Eternal City. But it was her first flight, and she was terrified. Even the stately presence of four bishops seated behind her didn’t help. With fear and trembling she finally opened her eyes and peered out the window, just in time to see one of the plane’s four engines break loose from the wing and disappear into the clouds. “We’re going to die!” she cried out. “We’re going to die!” The stewardess consulted with the pilot who announced to the passengers that everything was under control that they could fly back to New York and land safely with three engines. But Maude continued to cry out, “We’re going to die!” The stewardess went to her and said, “Don’t worry, my dear, God is with us. We have only three engines, but look, we have four bishops to pray for us.” To which Maude replied, “I’d rather have four engines and three bishops!” — The readings of the day challenge us to preach Christ through our words and lives without fear.

The first reading, taken from the prophecy of Jeremiah, reflects on the sufferings of the believer. The passage from Jeremiah contains three voices and three addressees. There is the overall narrator, there is Jeremiah himself, and there are his enemies. Jeremiah (ca 650 BC to 580 BC) experienced the dangers posed by his friends because he spoke the words given him by Yahweh. Most of his work was in Judah’s capital, Jerusalem. Jeremiah tried to keep the people and the kings faithful to God in a world of political intrigue. He met active hostility. Nevertheless, Jeremiah was confident that God would not let his enemies overcome him. He declared, “But the Lord is with me, like a mighty Champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.” He praised God for salvation before he actually experienced it. “Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!”

Paul assures the faithful followers of Jesus that they need not be afraid of opposition because they share in the death of Jesus and in His Resurrection. With words of encouragement, Paul explains why, in spite of their bitter experience of opposition, their work will succeed. Since Jesus, by His death and Resurrection, has conquered sin, Jesus’ followers will ultimately succeed in carrying out his work, despite the opposition they encounter. Paul describes Jesus as the new Adam. Where the first Adam brought sin and death into the world, the second Adam brings grace and life. The passage tells us that we have died with Christ to the law, to sin, to self, and to the world. We need not be afraid of those who oppose us, for we are united with Christ in his Resurrection. In the end, those who oppose Christ will be dishonored, and those who have remained faithful will be redeemed and blessed with eternal life.

In the gospe, Jesus suggests that his disciples should move from fear to courage through trust and reliance in God. He gives three reasons why neither his apostles nor we, should be frightened. The first reason is that their opponents will not be able to prevent Jesus’ followers from succeeding in their mission because God will expose the opponents’ evil plans and deeds: “nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered.” The Lord “will bring to light the hidden things of darkness” (1 Cor 4:5) and will vindicate the faithful. That God will not permit evil to win is the promise of v. 26.

The second reason not to be afraid is the limited power of our opponents. They can kill the body, which dies all too soon anyway, but have no power over the soul. Only God has power over eternity. The Gospel identifies two fears that the apostles had: fear of false accusation and conviction, and fear of bodily harm and death. 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 Andrew; beheaded, like James and Paul; flayed alive, like Bartholomew; or thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil, like John (who survived without a blister, suffered exile, was then freed, and dsied of old age, the last of the original apostles). When the Old Testament mentions fear of God (Pss 2:11; 15:4; etc.) “fear” generally means loving reverence and awe of God which gives the respect due Him as God. Respect is an attitude proper to a free person. God does not threaten to throw us into Hell; rather He reminds us that to lose Him by sin is to lose ourselves also–and that is Hell. There is no reason to fear God because He does not wish that anyone should perish. He has sent Christ to provide salvation for all. Reverent, loving, obedient Fear of God overcomes human fear: “Perfect Love casts out fear” (1 Jn 4:18).

The third reason we should not be afraid is God’s compassionate love. We are more important to God than sparrows. Matthew speaks of two sparrows sold for one penny. The God who cares for a trivial bird like the sparrow also cares about our smallest problems – even the hairs on our heads are counted. While this is an encouraging assurance, it may be difficult to believe in the midst of persecution. But God knows everything that we go through – nothing that happens to us escapes Him. When we feel lonely and abandoned, when it seems that our prayers are unanswered, God knows and cares. Jesus concludes by saying, “So do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows.” In other words, the perfect antidote for fear is trust in God. God is our shelter and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So, we need not be afraid… (Ps 45:1, 2).

Dear friends, sometimes we are afraid that we will make a wrong decision. At other times, we are afraid of what others will think when we speak up for Jesus. We are afraid of what the future will bring our children. We are also afraid of growing old. Sometimes we are afraid of what declining health will bring us. At the root of these fears is the fear of loss. Every fear we have is grounded in the knowledge that we have something or someone to lose. I can lose my job, family, house, money, reputation, health and even life itself. Rejection and loss are the basis of our fears. But we forget one thing: whatever trouble or crisis affects us, we know that God understands it better than we ourselves do. Our Heavenly Father knows exactly what is happening. What a release from fear it is to know that God is on our side; that our life is in the hands of a loving God! The next time fear grips our life we need to remember that being faithful to Christ wherever we meet him in this life is much more important than our fear of rejection and loss. Also, let us take a moment to recall some of the great promises of God. Let us remind ourselves that God cares – we are each a dear child of His, and He cares for each of us. “Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” The last verse of Ps 27 sums it up nicely: “Trust in the Lord. Have Faith; do not despair. Trust in the Lord.”