From Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time to Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, on Cycle A, Sunday Gospel Readings are taken from Jesus’ words to his twelve disciples in sending them on mission (Matthew 10:5-42), as these Gospel Readings are: Matthew 9:36-10:8 (11th Sunday); 10:26-33 (12th Sunday); 10:37-42 (13th Sunday).
What prompted Jesus to send his twelve disciples on
mission was his compassion for those who were troubled and abandoned, the
crowds that loo ked like lost sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36). At the same time, he also recognized the
enormous pastoral needs to care for them, by saying to the disciples:
The
harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest (Matthew 9:37-38).
Thus, Jesus gave his authority over unclean spirits to
drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness to his twelve
disciples in order to send them on their mission (Matthew 10:1). In sending the
twelve disciples, he instructed to care for their fellow Israelites in need to
proclaim the imminence of the Kingdom of Heaven and to exorcise and to heal the
sick, without cost because they received the authority to do these from him free
of cost (Matthew 10:5-8).
In the portion for the Twelfth Sunday (Matthew 10:26-33),
Jesus’ instruction to the disciples zooms in on dealing with fears.
The disciples were not fearless because they did not
yet receive the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, for which Jesus had to suffer, die,
resurrect, and ascend (John 13:31-16:11). But to send them on mission before
Pentecost, Jesus was keenly aware of the disciples’ fear even with a prospect
of being sent out. So, Jesus made it clear to them about the grave risk of
being sent on mission, saying:
Behold,
I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shred as serpents and
simple as doves (Matthew 10:16).
The disciples are sent without their body guards, thus
sent out as vulnerably as sheep to places that can be as hostile as wolves are.
Nevertheless, Jesus commands them not to make their tasks complicated with
those who are hostile, “the wolves”, by saying to be as simple as doves.
However, in order not to be devoured by the wolves, Jesus calls them to be as
shrewd as serpents so that they will not let not only the wolves but their fear
prevent them from accomplishing the mission.
So what does Jesus have to say about being as
vulnerable as sheep, as simple as doves, and as wise as serpents in facing the
wolves?
First, Jesus calls the disciples to remain vigilant
against those who are like “wolves under sheep skin” – those who may appear
friendly to them but ready to hand them to the slaughterer (Matthew 10:17-18).
Being aware of dangerous traps on mission is part of
being as smart as serpents for survival. But Jesus warns on our tendency for
bodily survival over spiritual survival by speaking on two types of fear: fear
of those who can kill the body but not the soul and fear of the one who can kill
both the body and the soul. So Jesus first says, not to be afraid of those who
persecute us, because their evil’s darkness that tries to hide the truth we
speak on mission will be revealed – even though they can kill us to silence us,
as nobody will be exempted from God’s judgement (Matthew 10:26; cf. Ecclesiastes
12:14). Therefore, without fear of those who try to silence us, we can proclaim
the truth boldly (Matthew 10:27; cf. Matthew 5:14-16).
Then Jesus says:
And 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 (Matthew 10:28).
Namely, persecutors, those who try to silence you by
killing you, or the wolves, are not the ones whom we should be afraid of,
because they really cannot kill our souls. But the one whom we should be afraid
of is the one who can destroy both our souls and bodies in Gehenna.
What does Jesus mean by saying, “the one who can
destroy both soul and body in Gehenna” the one who can destroy both soul and
body in Gehenna?
First, Gehenna means a place of the wicked are condemned
by God – where God destroys both their bodies and souls for their sinful acts (i.e.
Jeremiah 19:3-6). Therefore, the one whom we are to be afraid of is God, and
what we should be afraid of is to make God destroy both our bodies and souls
where all the wicked have been condemned – Gehenna. And another thing we need
to fear is the enemy within, which is the fear that leads to apostasy. Usually,
the fear resulting in denouncing the faith is fear of persecutors destroying
our bodily lives. But, as Jesus has already said, they are not the ones whom we
are to be afraid of, because they cannot destroy our souls. But we can choose
to destroy our souls by simply apostatizing. Thus, apostasy is a spiritual
suicide. So, it is either we let God destroy our souls by committing mortal
sins and not repenting or committing spiritual suicide of apostasy.
At any cost, we must safeguard the health of our souls, because the soul is the seat of life, where we are connected to God – where we are grafted to Christ the vine (John 15:1-7) – where we are in him and him in us, as he is in the Father and He in him (John 14:20; 17:21). If our souls are cut off from God, who is the source of life (i.e. Genesis 2:7) – detached from Christ, who gives life abundantly (John 10:10) and is the life (John 14:6), our souls will die. And this is what those who commit mortal sins and never repent will end up with, because they have no fear of God.
In order to help us overcome our tendency to be afraid
of persecutors, Jesus now turns our attention to God’s merciful providence,
calling us to trust in his care (Matthew 10:29-31). Remember, no evil can win
God. So, why don’t we focus on God and trust in His providential care? After
all, it is what faith is about.
So, Jesus reminds us who our priority should be,
especially when persecution can stir up our fears:
Everyone who acknowledges me before others
I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before
others, I will deny before my heavenly Father (Matthew
10:32-33).
Jesus sure wants us not to cut ourselves from him
before persecutors. Otherwise, Jesus warms that our souls may be cut off from
him, and it also means being cut off from the Father, the source of life.
Note that Jesus repeatedly says “not to be afraid” (Matthew
10:26,28, 31) in this Gospel Reading for Twelfth Sunday (Matthew 10:26-33) to
emphasize not to fear the wolves (v16), who are persecutors to kill our bodies
because they cannot kill our souls, because they cannot cut us from God, and
because they cannot keep God’s truth hidden as everything will be revealed by
God. Rather, as Jesus reminds us to fear God, who can destroy our bodies and
souls in Gehenna if we let Him condemn us for committing mortal sins and never
repenting. Also, we need to let our fear of God keep us from apostatizing, even
though being surrounded by wolves in all corners (i.e. Matthew 10:16; Jeremiah 20:10).
The First Reading (Jeremiah 20:10-13), which is taken
from Jeremiah’s sixth confession (20:7-18) gives a good realistic psychospiritual
dynamics in dealing with fears within Jeremiah, about 600 years before Jesus.
As he was sent on mission by God and spoke for God against the wicked
Israelites to avert God’s wrath on them, Jeremiah made himself completely
surrounded by persecutors. So, he honestly expressed his fears (v.10) but also spoke
boldly of his confidence in God and His providence, with singing his praise to
Him (vv.11-13). Jeremiah struggled to keep his soul in touch with God in order
to survive.
In the Second Reading (Romans 5:12-15), Paul tells why
we have this problem of evil, and it is because of what Adam brought into humanity
by his sin. But, the good news is, as Paul also says, Jesus, through his suffering,
death, and resurrection, has brought grace to counter this problem. And he is
calling us, as he has done to the twelve disciples of his, to fight against
evil as we are sent on mission. In order to accomplish our mission, however, we
cannot let our fear of persecutors keep us from forging ourselves on mission.
And for this, of course, we need to be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as
doves, as Jesus says (Matthew 10:16b).
The Gospel Reading of Thirteenth Sunday (Matthew
10:37-42) is the last segments of Jesus’ instruction to the disciples when he
commissioned (vv. 5-42). It is about what it takes to be his disciple and a reward
of being a faithful disciple. Not to mention, a faithful disciple will never
let his or her fear of persecutor stop him or her from doing apostolic mission
work. And such disciples will be rewarded by God accordingly.
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