Having concluded 50-day celebration of
the Resurrection of the Lord on Pentecost, following Ascension of the Lord on
the 40th day from the Resurrection, we have made a strong
post-Paschaltide Ordinary Time kick-off, through the recent trifecta of Sunday feasts:
Pentecost, Trinity, and Corpus Christi. It means that we are fully born by the
Pentecost Holy Spirit and therefore born into the living Church, the one living
Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13), as we are partaking the Body of Christ
with the Blood of Christ in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist (1 Corinthians
10:16-17). Because the Church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, as defined
in the Nicene Creed, we are, indeed, apostolic. It means that we must be sent
out by the power of the Pentecost Holy Spirit. Therefore, we have been sent
into the world to carry out and expand the works of our Lord on our respective
missions. That is why, at the end of Mass, it is said: Ite, Missa Est (Go now, as it is dismissed) with the spirit of
these commissioning words of Jesus before his Ascension: Euntes ergo docete omnes gentes: baptizantes eos in nomine Patris, et
Filii, et Spiritus Sancti, docentes eos servare omnia quaecumque mandavi vobis:
et ecce ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus, usque ad consummationem saeculi
(Matthew 28:19-20).
As we are sent on our mission, by the
power of the Holy Spirit, we must address our God as Triune (Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti),
and we must be fed with Sanctissima
Eucaristia as our esca viatorum
and nourished with Dei Verbum at
Mass. In fact, the trifecta of Sunday feasts: Pentecost, Trinity, and Corpus
Christi, for the post-Paschaltide Ordinary Time reflect the spirit of our Mass
and our apostolic nature. And, the Scripture readings for the 12th
Sunday in Ordinary Time on Cycle A need to be reflected in this apostolic
missionary spirit, empowered by the Holy Spirit, nourished by the Word of God
and the Holy Eucharist, at Mass.
The Scripture readings for the 12th
Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)(Jeremiah 20:10-13; Psalm 69:8-10, 14, 17, 33-35;
Romans 5;12-15; Matthew 10:26-33) are all relevant to our mission. The First
Reading and the Gospel Reading reflect fear and anxiety that may arise as we go
on mission, facing challenges and persecution. At the same time, these readings
also remind us that faith in the one who has sent us, God the Father for
Jeremiah in the First Reading and Christ our Lord in the Gospel Reading, is the
powerful antidote to overcome fear and anxiety, thus, not letting these factor
discourage us. The Responsorial Psalm sings our confidence in God’s providence,
which we trust and enables us to carry out our mission, so that we are not
distracted and discouraged from our mission. The Second Reading reminds us of
the meaning of Christ being sent to us and his grace given to us, because it is
what we model after for our mission and what we need to explain on our mission.
We are sent for our mission to bring Christ’s Good News and to explain why the
Father has sent him and why he has sent us by the power of the Pentecost Holy
Spirit, upon nourishing us with his living Word and with his living Body with
Blood. It is, indeed, to counter and reverse the evolving effects of what Adam
and Eve had brought into the humanity through the Original Sin. Sickness and
death, which Jesus reversed with his miracles, are consequences of the Original
Sin. Jesus gave his disciples the authority to heal the sick and to raise the
dead (Matthew 10:1), to let them experience his salvific mission firsthand, as
he was sending the twelve (Matthew 10:1- 11:1).
What we need to take into our heart
from the 12th Sunday Scripture readings is that we have been called
for our missions, just as the twelve, whom Jesus sent to practice salvific
mission on his behalf, and just as Jeremiah, whom the Father commissioned to
prophesize His Word. And, we also need to recognize, reflect, and overcome with
firm resolution, what can distract and discourage us from carrying out our
mission, especially fear and anxiety, as these are major obstacles. Remember,
fear of persecution made the disciples abandon Jesus in the hands of
persecutors, upon his arrest, on the night before his death (Mark 14:50). Fear
can make us betray Christ’s trust in us – if we let the fear abandon our
mission, commissioned by him. And, the First Reading tells us how Jeremiah
overcame his fear, which led him to despair through depression, while the
Gospel Reading reminds how Jesus prepared the disciples not to let fear become
a stumbling block to their mission.
The Gospel text (Matthew 10:26-33) is taken from Jesus’ instruction to
his disciples before sending them on mission (Matthew 10:5-42), after saying, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are
few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his
harvest field”(Matthew 9:37-38). This statement of Jesus tells why he
recruited his disciples and why he had to train them. He needs trusted and
capable collaborators for his salvific mission – the mission to proclaim the
Kingdom of Heavens through his Good News and to bring back life in fullness.
Jesus was fully aware of danger that comes with mission. So, as he was to
send the disciples, he let them know of danger in this hyperbolical statement:
Behold, I am sending
you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as
doves (Matthew 10:16).
Jesus told them to be aware of danger and be smart in dealing with it.
The wolves are those who persecute. And, he further advised the disciples, in
case they have to confront the “wolves”.
When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you (Matthew 10:19-20).
It is important that we acknowledge that the one who speaks through our mouths
is God the Holy Spirit, not us. This also reminds us that God is always with us
on our mission, in the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus calls “another Parakletos”(John 14:16, 26), as he
himself is Parakletos (1 John 2:1).
And, the Holy Spirit, who has been with us since Pentecost, is the power (Acts
1:8) that comes like the tongues of fire (Acts 2:3). Therefore, we are always
with Christ, as he has promised (Matthew 28:20; John 14:18). That is why he is Parakletos, which literally means one
being called to be besides, to serve as a companion, in the flesh of Jesus, as
well as, in spirit, the Holy Spirit, another Parakletos, and also rhema
/dabah (spoken Word of God). So, why
do we have to worry, as we let God speak through our mouth – as we have God as
our companion on mission in the Holy Spirit, speaking His living Word?
There is a good example to illustrate the principle of Jesus’ advice on
not to worry about what to say (Matthew 10:19-10) in Acts 4:1-22. Upon becoming
Apostles on Pentecost, the disciples of Jesus were engaging on their missions. They
certainly utilized what they had learned from their “mission practice” (Matthew
10:1-42//Mark 6:7-13//Luke 9:1-9; Luke 10:1-24). Peter and John were
arrested and jailed by the priests and
the temple guard captain and the Sadducees for proclaiming in Jesus the
resurrection of the dead, and were brought to the Sanhedrin for questioning
(Acts 4:1-7). Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter spoke of their mission works
and of Jesus to the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:8-12). They were actually astonished by
the courage, speech, and deeds of Peter and John (Acts 4:13-14). And they were
not able to silence them but let them go with warning not to speak of Jesus any
more (Acts 4:18-22).
Peter was not afraid as he had been filled with the Holy Spirit since
Pentecost. He was no longer he who boasted to remain loyal to Jesus even to the
point of dying with him (Matthew 26:33,35) but denied him three times upon
deserting him out of fear (Matthew 26:69-75). Once he was filled with the Holy
Spirit on Pentecost, it was God the Holy Spirit speaking (Matthew 10:20)
through Peter’s mouth. And, Peter was bold and fearless.
With this above-described background, in the Gospel Reading text (Matthew
10:26-33) for the 12th Sunday, Jesus advises the twelve disciples
not to be afraid of demonic people of what he called the household of Beelzebub,
the prince of demons (12:24), and as he gave them the authority to drive out
evil spirits for healing (10:1) and was about to send them on mission to
proclaim to be ready for the Kingdom of heavens and to heal the sick and to
raise the dead (10:7-8). In a way, this is for the disciples to “test drive”
what it would be like to become the apostles and do the works of the Lord upon
Pentecost (John 14:12).
There is no body is as annoyed by Jesus and his act and teaching as
demons than anyone else. Thus, it is obvious that the disciples were likely to
face challenges by these demons, the members of Beelzebub’s household. Acknowledging this possibility, Jesus wants
to make sure that his disciples are not discouraged and defeated by the demonic
attacks. He wanted the disciples to remain bold in performing their missionary
works on his behalf: healing the sick, raising the dead, and proclaiming the
Kingdom, with the authority given by him. He also told them to embark on mission
with perseverance to be saved, even facing persecution (Matthew 10:23), and for
this, fear and anxiety must be overcome. For this reason, Jesus repeats, “not
to be afraid”, three times (Matthew 10:26, 28, 31) in this Gospel Reading.
Besides not being afraid of persecution (Matthew 10:26), persecutors, who
can kill our bodies but cannot kill our souls (Matthew 10:28), we need not to
be afraid of insufficiency of what we have to carry out the mission (Matthew
10:31). Jesus says that we need not to be afraid of any of these, because God
does not withhold or hide what needs to be revealed to us (Matthew 10:27).
Keeping ourselves free from fear, he wants us to proclaim the messianic secret
spoken by him to us in person boldly in public (Matthew 10:28). What matters most
to us is our loyalty to Christ (Matthew 10:32-33), who entrusts us to send on
his behalf, and whom we serve on our mission. Therefore, Jesus says that the
one whom we need to fear is God, who can destroy both our bodies and souls when
he judges, but not to be afraid of persecutors, who may destroy our bodies but
not our souls (Matthew 10:29). And, he further reminds that the Father’s
providence is given even to insignificant creatures, such as sparrows (Matthew
10:30). So, Jesus assures that His providence to us is far greater as He cares
us enough to have created in His image (Genesis 1:27) and dispels our fear of
not having enough to carry on mission (Matthew 10:31).
There are two things to help us overcome and keep our fears and anxieties
on our mission: trust and loyalty. First, our trust in Christ, who stays with
us on our mission, as another Parakletos,
who provides whatever we need (John 14:26), enabling us to be God’s agents to
let His Spirit speak through our mouths (Matthew 10:20). Second, our trust in
the providence of God – through Christ and the Holy Spirit. Finally, our trust
in Christ is strong enough to keep us steadfastly loyal to him.
Through the Gospel Reading (Matthew 10:26-33), Jesus teaches us how
important our faith in him is for our successful mission works, as it also
enables us to keep our trust in God’s providence and leads to our steadfast
loyalty with him. And he reminds us that our faith is the antidote and
inoculation to our fear and anxiety. Therefore, we understand that our faith is
indispensable for us to go on mission.
The importance of faith for mission works, not only in countering demonic
forces but also our own fears and anxiety is also reflected in the First
Reading (Jeremiah 20:10-13) with a case study of prophet Jeremiah. The reading realistically
reminds us how difficult it is to carry out a mission work through Jeremiah’s
despair, as a result of constant persecution for serving God on his prophetic
mission. In fact, he was even thinking about giving up as it was becoming
difficult to bear all the suffering, incurring on his mission. He was in deep
spiritual crisis. The flame of passion to serve God and to speak His Word on
His behalf was growing weary in his heart, near extinction, as you can see in
vv. 7-10. Nevertheless, Jeremiah did not let his despair end his mission as he
was able to recover his confidence in God, who sent him (vv. 11-18). He
realized that all the suffering he had to bear, even it had led him to
depression and despair, was His way to test the just, and therefore, he
entrusted himself to Him (v. 12). Basically, Jeremiah was able to move forward
and go beyond his despair as he submit himself with his fear and anxiety
altogether to the care of God. It was because the fire of his faith was not
dead. It was in an amber-like state. But, with God’s providence, it began to
grow into a flame, again. And, as a result, Jeremiah began singing his praise
to God, reflecting his confidence in His care and power for justice, which he
is assisting on his prophetic mission (v.13).
So, in the Responsorial Psalm (Psalm
69:8-10, 14, 17, 33-35), we express our confidence in God’s love. We joyfully
sing our praise to God for his providence for us out of His love, echoing our
steadfast faith in Him. We know that God’s providence for us is far greater
than that for sparrows. Jeremiah knows from his own struggles on his mission.
And, Jesus reminds us to find confidence in His providence as it is His love.
The Second Reading (Romans 5:12-15)
reflects the meaning and significance of our mission as extensions of the works
of Jesus on earth. Though the humanity enjoyed being with God in Eden. But,
suffering and death were brought into the humanity, resulting in a distance
from God, symbolized with the eviction from Eden, through the Original Sin,
committed by Eve and Adam, tempted by Satan. The love of God the Father has not
left us as orphans upon losing Eden. He had already decided to save us and
defeat Satan (Genesis 3:15), who prompted Eve and Adam to commit the Original
Sin, bringing suffering and death, resulting in more and more sinful acts,
keeping distance of us from Him. So, in the fullness of time, through Mary the
Immaculate Virgin, by the power of the Holy Spirit, He sent His only begotten
Son, in the human flesh of Jesus to be with us. And, now, Jesus, the Son, has
sent us on mission to fight the evolving effects of the Original Sin, through
healing and teaching, on behalf of Christ, letting the Holy Spirit speak
through our mouths, for we have been filled with the Holy Spirit upon
Pentecost. And, we are confident in this God’s providence that comes through
the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we can overcome obstacles – external ones, such as
persecutions, and internal ones, such as fear, anxiety, and doubt, as Jeremiah
did. So, we bear these words of Paul as we embark on our missions.
“For
if by the transgression of the one the many died, how much more did the grace
of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many”
(Romans 5:15).
Though through Adam,
sin has infected the entire humanity, and death through sin, through Christ the
Son and the Holy Spirit, God the Father has been sending grace in its stream to
disinfect us from sin and to bring us back to full life. So, Jesus the Christ
began his salvific work in teaching and healing. Upon the completion of his
Paschal Mystery through his death, resurrection, and ascension, the Holy Spirit
has been poured upon us, first on the disciples, to be sent out on missions, as
apostles to carry out and extend the works of Christ.
We hang on to our
confidence in God’s providence through His overflowing grace. This strengthens
our faith, thus, making more resilient and immune to fear, anxiety, and doubt.
And, through grace, our fortified faith inoculates our fear and anxiety, so
that we do not let these distract and discourage our missions.
For us to come this
fear to be commissioned for our mission, we have gone through the “prep course”
by the “professor risen Jesus” for the first 40 days upon his Resurrection
until his Ascension. Then, for the next 9 days, as in a novena, we have prayed
and contemplated on all the things we had learned in these 40 days, waiting for
the Holy Spirit to empower and send us on Pentecost. This way, our faith must be
mature and strong enough to remain confident in God’s providence through the
stream of grace, out of His love, to keep fear, anxiety, and doubt from
distracting and discouraging us from our mission. Also, Christ makes himself
available for our esca viatorum
as we continue on our mission journey.
The one who is
sending us on mission has also said, “My
grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness” (2
Corinthians 12:9), as to reiterate these words of his to the disciples in
sending on mission:
“Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even
all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more
than many sparrows “(Matthew 10:29-31).
Let us go forward on
our missions with unshakable confidence in God’s grace and with the flame in
our hearts, filled with the Holy Spirit, to proclaim the Kingdom of God in
Christ’s Good News and to heal the brokenness of this world, without fear,
anxiety, and doubt.
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