Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading  Jeremiah  The Lord is with Jeremiah

Second Reading Romans 5:12 - 15 As sin entered the world through one man, so through one man are we saved

Gospel Matthew 10: 26-33 Those who acknowledge Christ will be known to the Father

SCRIPTURE COMMENTARY by Dianne Bergant CSA

Jeremiah is the innocent victim of slander, entrapment and vengeance. Still he is confident, for God is on his side as a mighty champion who will fight for him. This military imagery calls to mind the cosmic war that God victoriously waged against evil (see Ps 24:9-11). Jeremiah believes that God will turn upside down the plans of his assailants. They watched for him to mis-step, but God will cause them to stumble; they hoped to prevail over him, but they will not triumph; they tried to take vengeance on Jeremiah, but God will take vengeance on them. They will be put to shame and confusion, a fate sometimes worse than death.

Elements of a lament can be detected in the psalm: the cry of lament (vv.14, 17); reasons for the lament (vv.8-10); expressions of confidence (vv.33-34); and praise for having been heard (v.35). We may not be accustomed to complain to God, but a lament is a statement of profound faith. Acknowledging that God has power over the circumstances of life, it is an expression of humble faith that God will come to the aid of those who cry out. This passage contains covenant vocabulary: lovingkindness; truth; salvation; and passionate love. The psalmist brings the strength and the personal dimension of the covenant to the plea for deliverance.

Paul proclaims the incomparable nature of God's salvific grace by contrasting the actions of Adam and Christ. Though the contrast appears to be between Adam and Christ, it is really between the epochs that each inaugurated. Adam brought in the era of sin and death; Christ established the eschatological era of acquittal and life. Paul points to the first offence (Gen 3:6) and the common experience of all people to explain the pervasive presence of sin and death in the world. All die, therefore all must have sinned. However, as death for all entered the world through the sin of one – Adam, so grace was won for all through the gift of one – Christ.

Jesus exhorts: Fear no one! Neither those who resist the gospel, nor those who might put you to death. Rather fear total destruction in Gehenna and rejection by God. It is now time for the gospel to be proclaimed openly and boldly. The doors have been flung open:

what was concealed, must be revealed;

what was secret, must be made known;

what was said in darkness, must be spoken in light;

what was whispered, must be shouted.

Jesus encourages the disciples to trust in God despite hardships. Suffering is not proof that God is disinterested. Rather, if God cares for the insignificant sparrows, how much more will God care for them? If God can count the hairs on their heads; how much more does God know their needs?