Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary time
Jeremiah 20: 10-13;
Romans 5: 12-15;
Matthew 10: 26-33;
No individual, no group, no nation likes being pushed around. We all like to arrive at our decisions without feeling intimidated to agree by a stronger force. Even if the decision we make turns out to be a blunder, a huge mistake, we tend to prefer the freedom to make our own mistakes rather than be forced to do what others judge to be right.
Having called the ones He had chosen, in today’s Gospel, Jesus begins the process of instructing them. He wants to prepare them for their mission, and He doesn't pull any punches. Three times He warns them not to be afraid - whatever happens. He’ll be with them and eventually all will be well, all will be made clear and they’ll finally understand what it's all about.
For the present, He simply urges them to be men of hope, men who can step boldly out into the future with complete confidence, despite opposition, persecution, imprisonment or heart break. Because nothing will happen to them which His Father doesn't know about, so there's nothing to be afraid of. He wants them to be bold in preaching the word: what they had spoken - whispered about - among themselves was now to be shouted from the rooftops!
We too are called to be a people of hope and trust. That's no guarantee that life will be a bed of roses - Jeremiah was faced with ridicule and derision from his friends, while Paul ponders on the whole problem of sin. Nevertheless, Christ's promise remains: even in those darkest times, He'll walk alongside us, no fair-weather friend who disappears at the first hint of trouble, or when we're totally stressed out. And sometimes, we're so stressed that we feel the need to escape from reality.
You might be thinking, "that's all very well, but at the present moment I'm faced with a situation which I just can't cope with." And on a broader scale, think of the international situation between Ukraine and Russia, Sudan with its earthquakes and floods, its starving millions, the pointless deaths of millions of children because of disease or famine, the fact that over 4500 girls - children! - under sixteen had an abortion last year.
So where is God in those lives? That's the very point we have to try and grasp: the mystery of God's loving plan, when we have to be reassured with His words, "Do not be afraid, everything now hidden will be made clear."
Spoken by a politician, those words might give us some very slight comfort. Not! Spoken by God, they give us courage for the present, and absolutely certain hope for the future, however apparently bleak it may seem. Because in each and every circumstance, God will continue to take care of us in His own way until that final day when He answers our why’s face to face. Our real sense of worth can overcome our real fear. The Father offers us His everlasting love. And when we keep that offer in mind, all the other offers will begin to look very tacky indeed!
Intercessions
God knows and cares for each of us as individuals - our joys and sorrows, our hopes, our aspirations and fears. In complete trust then, we come before Him to offer these petitions for ourselves, our community and for our broken world:
1. For ourselves. God’s holy people, entrusted with spreading the Good News. May we not only profess Christ with our words, but rather live as His disciples who profess our faith every day by what we say and do - Lord. hear us.
2. For our world. May those who know only poverty and sickness become more aware of Your love for them through our prayers and practical help - Lord. hear us.
3. For those who feel alone, unloved or or isolated. Touch and heal them with Your comforting presence, and help them achies'e a sense of their own self-worth - Lord. hear us.
4. For ourselves and our parish. Free us from the things ss hich hurt us and prevent us from sharing fully in the joys You u ant us to hax’e - Lord, hear us.
5. May Owen McBride and Mary Kelly, whose anniversaries we commemorate now come to the eternal rest promised in their Baptism - Lord, hear us.
Gracious Father, we place all these our prayers before You, and we ask You to give us patience and hope, as we await for them to be answered in accordance with Your will.