Twelfth Sunday of the Year (Year A)

Twelfth Sunday of the Year June 25, 2023

Jeremiah 20:10-13; Romans 5:12-15; Matthew 10:26-33

(image courtesy: Google)

Some years ago, a Christian minister and a group of students from Canada went to Kenya for a summer field study program. They had a jeep to enable them travel deep into the rugged hinterland. On one of their travels the vehicle broke down and they had to employ the services of the village mechanic. The mechanic saw the problem, travelled to the city and bought spare parts, came back and fixed the car. He spent three full days working on the car. The clergyman, who told this story himself, said that he was afraid that the mechanic’s service charges would be too high. In order to force the mechanic to settle for less, he went into the washroom, removed much of the money from his wallet and hid it in his socks. The idea was that when the mechanic tells him the cost he would open his wallet and say “Look, this is all I have.” So he comes out of the washroom and they are ready to leave. He says to the mechanic, “So now, what do you charge for your workmanship?” The mechanic looks at him and says, “You are a man of God. I do it for God. God will pay me. For you it is free of charge.” The clergyman concluded his story with the observation that the mechanic, through his faith in God, has overcome the fear of poverty and attachment to money, which he in his relative affluence was not able to do.

In today’s first reading Jeremiah initially gives vent to his despair, he makes a desperate statement of how he is being persecuted with terrors all around. But immediately he also makes a confident statement of his trust in the Lord to deliver him. Perhaps many people could identify with Jeremiah’s situation. In their despair they are overwhelmed by those seeking to destroy them, yet they also trust in God as their caring deliverer. Jeremiah refused to be intimidated by attacks upon his character, and so he was unafraid to speak out in the name of the Lord. Jeremiah accused the people of sin and warned of God’s judgement upon them. He condemned reliance on military pacts rather than on God. Jeremiah was forced into exile but refused to be silenced.

The reading from the Gospel of Matthew advises us not to afraid of human persons.  Jesus repeatedly asks the twelve disciples not to be afraid. As disciples we stand with Jesus entrusting ourselves to him. Jesus reassures us of our value in God’s eyes and promises us that he will protect us as he does with the birds of the air and entire creation. Jesus asks his followers to preach boldly, fearing no shame from their peers in this world. The flat housetops provided easier places of preaching than the streets themselves.  He tells them that they should be “shouting from the housetops” that underlines the boldness with which disciples must make God's message known.  Ultimately, they have to fear God alone because God is judge in the end; we should not fear even persecutors who threaten death. Mortals can destroy only our body, while God can resurrect the body at any time. 

Today’s gospel is a continuation of the instructions that Jesus gave to the twelve apostles as he sent them out to go and proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God. The values of the Kingdom are different from the values of the world, so much so that people tend to reject the message and turn against the messengers. 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. It was natural, therefore, for the apostles to fear as Jesus sends them out to evangelize a hostile world. Yielding to this fear would make them abandon the dangerous mission in order to save their skin. So Jesus instructs them in today’s gospel on how to overcome this crippling fear. The key is to look unto Jesus as their hero and model.

It is pertinent to note that 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” (verse 10). The violent wolves may kill the peace-loving sheep, but they cannot kill the soul. This is again demonstrated in the resurrection of Jesus.

By looking to Jesus we see that the trials and sufferings of this life, especially those that we face as we try to live out and share our faith with others are short-lived. We should, therefore, not give in to fear of contradiction, knowing that in the end truth with triumph over untruth, justice over injustice, and eternal life over death, as we see already in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Nothing can give us more trust and courage than to know that someone loves us deeply. Faith is really the trust and conviction that God loves us, and loves us deeply. When we are aware of this love there is no more room for fear. People with deep faith are not afraid of professing that faith and of speaking out and committing themselves to all that this faith and love implies. We ask Jesus in this Eucharist to fill us with faith and love and so to take all fear away from us.

Happy Sunday