12th SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME
Jer 20: 10-13; Rom 5: 12-15; Mt 10: 26-33BE NOT AFRAID TO LIVE THE GOSPEL
Jeremiah was a prophet during the time of the Babylonian’s domination over the land of Judah. In the year 605 B.C., king Nebuchadnezzar expanded the Chaldean nation all the way to Palestine. By the year 597 B.C., the king laid siege over Jerusalem and forced a large number of Israelites into exile in the land of Babylon. This marked their first exile. In the year 587 B.C., because the people of Jerusalem revolted, the Chaldean troops came to attack and destroyed the temple. So began the second exile.
It was during this dark, desolate time of the Judean history that Jeremiah was called by God to deliver His messages to the people of Israel. Through his visions, Jeremiah foretold about the disasters that would fall upon those who betray Yahweh, and the city would be destroyed under foreign invaders. He also warned about the abuse and misuse of places of worship for personal gain and he called for a change in the way people worship God.
However, no one listened to Jeremiah, instead, they accused him of being the cause for all the calamities, a trouble maker and a traitor to his own people. In the end, he was imprisoned. The leaders of the Israelites wanted to kill him. They threw him down the pit of mud, but an Ethiopian official, a eunuch who worked under the king saved him. After some times later, some Israelites assassinated Gedaliah, the governor of Judah, and in fear of retaliation from the Chaldean, the Israelites took Jeremiah with them and fled to Egypt. It was in this strange land that Jeremiah was killed.
Although having to bear much suffering, be rejected and persecuted, Jeremiah remained faithful to his role as Yahweh’s messenger. Jeremiah, in his lonesome self, endured much insults and maltreatment so that God’s Words may be proclaimed. Jeremiah was named the ‘suffering servant’. His life was filled with bitterness because his people were unfaithful. Yet he was not afraid. Hardship and death can not silence him nor destroy the prophetic spirit within him. As a result, God’s Words continued to be proclaimed; the message continued to be announced.
“What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops” (Mt 10:27). The Good News of Jesus Christ must be proclaimed to every body. Saint Paul often declared: “By the truth of Christ within me I will let no one stop this boasting of mine” (2 Cor 11:10).
However, the road to proclaiming the truth and spreading the good news of life, is not without threats and opposition from the enemies. Trouble, hardship, suffering and death await the footsteps of the messenger. But the Lord Jesus once again reminds us: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul”.
Physical trials and suffering do not matter much when compare to a life whose spirit possess the Lord Jesus Christ – the Way, the Truth and the Life. Saint Paul did not cease to write about his conviction: “Everything seems to me as nothing compared with the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake, I have let everything fall away and I now consider all as garbage, if instead I may gain Christ” (Phil 3:8). To have Christ is to have every thing. To loose Christ is to loose everything.
The closer we are to God, and the more we embrace the truth of the Gospel, the easier it will be for us to recognize the value of each person’s soul; so that even if we face suffering, we will still realize God’s loving providence in our life. Those who firmly trust in Jesus will discover that: “In everything, God works for the good of those who love him” (Rm 8:28).
Not long before his martyrdom, Saint Thomas More consoled his daughter: “Nothing happens without God’s wanting to allow it so. And so all the things He wants for us, no matter how terrible they may seem, are actually for our best interest” (Gl 313). Convinced of this, Thomas More was never fearful of the king’s power, nor of death; on the contrary, he was ready to give up his life to defend the truth of “monogamy” which Jesus had taught.
Oscar Romero became another shining example of courage for this present generation when he fearlessly refused to give in to the power of the enemies of the Gospel. In the beginning, when he was first chosen to become Bishop of San Salvador in 1977, Father Oscar was a conservative and quiet person. But eventually, his attitude changed when he witnessed the events that were happening in his homeland. His homilies exposed all the cruel and sinful actions of the ruling government and caused agitation to all parties involved. Even though his own life was often threatened, and he himself also witnessed the assassination of friends and acquaintances, Bishop Romero was not afraid. He firmly declared: “In the face of danger, the shepherd can not run away and hide, nor can he abandon his flock to secure personal safety for himself. Therefore, I will remain with my flock until the end”. As a result, he was shot by the enemy while celebrating the Holy Mass one morning in March of 1980.
Those who killed Bishop Romero thought that they could silence the voice of truth, but the more they tried to silence it, the more they fell into despair and fear. As for Bishop Romero, although his body was killed because of hatred, cruelty and injustice, his spirit remains alive in God forever.
“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna”. These words are not just reminders for Jesus’ disciples before they began preaching the Good News, but these words are also meant for you and I today, when the Truth is being torn apart and crucified every second.
In this present time, so many people only consider the most important thing in life is physical enjoyment; so many people think that morality slows down human progress; so many people are ready to cause harm to others for personal gain; so many others are immersed in adultery, abortion, divorces, greed, and injustice…yet their hearts remain unmoved. Living in a world that is paralyzing the human conscience, you and I are invited to: “Be not afraid to live righteous and holy lives. Be not afraid to love genuinely. Be not afraid of hardship and pain in living the values of the Gospel”.
It is only when we are not afraid that we will become a testimony to the faith and the abundant spiritual life in which mankind are searching for.
C.T.