TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

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

(Rev. Dr. Francis Perry Azah)

In today’s readings, the issue of fear, specifically the fear of those called by God to preach his word, is put before us as both our consolation and our challenge. Jeremiah’s complaint that those to whom he preached and ministered had turned against him was valid. Yet for all his grousing, the prophet believed in God’s abiding presence (“But the Lord is with me”). Therefore, he willingly embraced his ministry, offering himself, albeit grudgingly at times, as a guide to fearful people and mobilizing them toward liberation from their sin.

He trusted that he would continue to be sustained and, in the end, rescued by God. In today’s gospel, Jesus counsels his apostles not to exercise their ministry in fear, assuring them of the Father’s constant and careful attention to their well-being. Paul, in the second reading, celebrates the fact of salvation as a gift that forever liberates humankind from the only things deserving of fear, namely, sin, death, and separation from God.

Today’s gospel continues the instructions Jesus gave the twelve apostles as he sent them out to 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 violent deaths as martyrs. 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 sent them out to evangelize a hostile world.

Yielding to this fear would lead them to abandon the dangerous mission to save their lives. 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. As Jesus said earlier in this discourse: “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master” (Matthew 10:24). The gospel identifies two fears that the apostles had: fear of false accusation and conviction, and fear of bodily harm and death. In either case, Jesus teaches them that the way to overcome fear is to keep one’s mind focused not on the here and now but on the coming kingdom of God. “So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known”.

Jesus counseled his apostles not to fear those who could deprive them of physical life (kings, rulers, enemies) but only those who could destroy the soul. Since the sole prerogative of judgment concerning the human soul rested with their loving Father (the King of kings), they should be fearless. In affirming the constancy of the Father’s care for his own, Jesus assured his apostles that all the hairs of their head had been counted (vs. 30). Since, as scientists tell us, the average person loses about one hundred hairs each day, keeping count of the rest would require painstakingly careful attentiveness; it was in this realization that Jesus wanted his apostles to rest secure, namely, in the daily continual and personal care of the Father for each of them.

Whereas he had earlier charged them to be both salt and light for the world (Matthew 5:13-16), here he reminds them of their special character as he sends them forth to their ministry in his name. The way today’s gospel concludes, appealing to the apostles to be faithful in their confession and preaching of Jesus, and warning of the final judgment. But there is great encouragement in the promise that Jesus made, and that promise is that he will acknowledge, before his Father, all those who remain fearless and faithful in their service to him.

What our Lord Jesus said to his apostles applies to all Christians in the practice of their faith. By the very fact of living our faith openly and fully, we are apostles by example. If we are always truthful and faithful to our baptismal promises, if we are honest in all our dealings, if as employers we pay a just wage and treat those working for us not as “just hands” but as whole men and women made in the image and likeness of God, if as employees we give an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay, if we live chaste lives whether in single or in marriage, we are true Christians. Above all, if we have true love of God and show our appreciation of all that he has done for us, and if we prove that love by helping his other children, our neighbors, we are a light shining in the darkness, because we are helping others to see the true meaning of the Christian religion. Let us remember our Lord’s promise: “Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven.” Therefore, trust in him and do not be afraid!!!