TWELFTH ORDINARY
SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
Jer 20:10-13, Rom
5: 12-15, Mt 10:26-33
Bro. Subhash O.C.D
The
readings of the day invites us to be a testimony to the truth. Also the
readingspotray to us that God never leaves his faithful servents in their struggles.
The
first reading is takenfrom Jeremiah. It
is called as psalm of lamentation or poem of lametation, when he was
rejected by his own people. Jeremiah was active as a prophet from the
thirteenth year of Josiah, king of Judah 626 BC, until after the fall of
Jerusalem and the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in 587 BC. This period
spanned the reigns of five kings of Judah: Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim,
Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah.
Jeremiah
proclaimed the word of God to these kings of judah and the preist and the
disobedient people of God. That they have forgotten the God who brought and
saved them from the land of slavary, they have forgotten the God who stood by
them in their struggles and misfortunes.
Jeremiah
confronted them for their idolatry, unfairbusiness, for rejecting the poor and
weak and for forgetting the commands and
responsibilities of the Lord.
For
this reason jeremiah was rejected, persecuted by his own people. Pashur one of
the priests of the Judea tries to kill
the prophet jeremiah for his heroic confrontation during the time of king
Jehoiakim.
So
the first reading is taken from this context, where jeremiah feels he is
abandoned and the lord left him to the enimies to destroy Jeremiah. Now
jeremiah makes a poem of lamentation to God that
l 7.You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived;
you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks
me. 8.Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the
word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. 9. But if I
say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,”his word is in
my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones I am weary of holding it in;
indeed, I cannot. 10. I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side! Denounce
him! Let’s denounce him!”All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying,
“Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our
revenge on him.”
At the
end Jeremiah realizes God does not leave him but rather God is with him like a
warrior to take venegence against evil. He never lets down his faithful servent
Jeremiah.
Jeremiah
preached conversion to the people of Judah; but they did not obey or listen to
the prophet then the destruction took place. The theology of the book of Jeremiah
teaches us that, the obedience to God brings blessings and dissobedience brings
curses and destruction
So,
the first reading tells us to understand that, God never leaves his faithful
servant and if obey him, we receive blessings.
Second
Reading:
In
the second reading Paul presents to us two figures. Adam and Jesus.
Through
Adam’s dissobedience and sin the humanity inherited the sin and death.
But
through Jesus (the New Adam0 and his obedience and sacrifice the humanity inherited the newlife, an eternal
life in christ and he made us children of God.
So
now what do Paul wants to teach us, comparing Adam and Jesus?
He
wants to tell us that, if we live like disobedient children like Adam we
inherit sin and death. But if we live like like Christ and accept and believe
him, we become obedient children like christ and we receive blessing of newlife
in christ.
Gospel:
The
Gospel is an account of Jesus instructions to his disciple, that how they must
be brave and firm in faith like jesus in their ministry. Because while they preach the kindom of God they may
be rejected by men, torture or try to kill them.
In the
Gospel we come across two important things. That are;
Firstly
God receives who ever receives Christ. And God rejects whoever rejects Christ and
Christ also rejects them.
Secondly
Jesus assures them that he will not leave
them. Saying do not fear for those will kill your body but fear God has
power to give you life, who has power even to kill body and soul. Do not be
frightend on your mission for those persecute you, reject you, trouble you. But never turn back, be
firm in your fiath, stand for truth. For I am with you he says.
Jesus
is asking his disciples to live in the light that means so far, the truth was
tought in darkness and they were living in hiding, therefore, now bravely and
boldly come to the light to proclaim the Good News of the Lord.
Before
that we should remember that Mathew
writtes this Gospel to the Jewish people, because the Jewes reject Jesus
so also they may reject his disciples and torture them to death.
Prov
9:10 says, fear of the lord is the beggininng of the wisdome.
Psalm
130:2 says, for fear and devotion to you saves us from your wrath.
Jesus
also says to his disciples “do not fear” for several times, like, when the
disciples were tossed by the waves, when the disciples were scared to preach
about Jesus after the death of jesus, they feared that they would die but Jesus
says to them fear not for I am with you.
When
we analyse the readings of the day, we understand that,
Jeremiah
stood for truth, he was targeted, Jesus came to proclaim the truth, but his own
people rejected him and crusified him. Example like John the baptist confronted
the evil done by king Herod and his head was taken away from his neck. Like
wise apostles and the holy men and women were thretend and even some died for
truth.
So also
in the journy of our family life or in our ministry, religious life, or
consecrated life, in any feiled we also enocouter the same kind of faith tests or struggles but we should not lose our
faith like prophet Jeremiah like Jesus.
