Homily for 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 2020
JER 20:10-13 · MT 10:26-33
Introduction
I was in the third grade when I first wanted to become a priest. I saw the priest up there at the altar in those nice garments, and I heard everybody calling him "Father," but most of all he could talk in the homily even for twenty minutes with nobody talking back to him. And so I told my mum: I want some of that; I want to be that guy.
Of course I had to wait a few more years before I formally applied to join the seminary and when the time came, I did. Very soon, however, I began to realize that the idealistic life of the priest that I had imagined was not always the case. Studying for the priesthood had its challenges, and the priesthood had even greater challenges. Being a minister of Jesus Christ is no walk in the park.
Scripture and Theology
Part of what helped me to overcome my childlike naivete was studying scripture, like the readings of today that speak about the persecution of God’s ministers.
Our first reading told us about the fate of the Prophet Jeremiah. He was sent by God to preach to the people of Judah at a very critical time of their history. They were very wicked. And despite attempted reforms by King Josiah, they continued to be wicked. The prophet reminded them that they had to repent; otherwise they would be overrun by foreign powers. Jerusalem and the Temple would be destroyed. God would use these foreign powers, like the Babylonian empire, to teach them a lesson. And so Jeremiah urged them to reform.
How do they react to this message? They react like we would have done. Of course they did not like to hear this challenging message; this message did not make him win the "Mr. Popularity award." They decided to shoot the messenger, as it were. They reject him, prosecute him and sentence him to death. He only escapes execution thanks to the intervention of a few remaining friends.
Now imagine being Jeremiah; how would you feel? Our first reading today gave us a glimpse of how Jeremiah felt. He cried out:
I hear the whisperings of many:
‘Terror on every side! Denounce! let us denounce him!’
All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine.
Jeremiah feels hopeless, abandoned by everybody.
Earlier Jeremiah had felt abandoned even by the Lord. You are probably familiar with his lament to the Lord:
You seduced me, LORD, and I let myself be seduced;
you were too strong for me, and you prevailed.
All day long I am an object of laughter; everyone mocks me.
Jeremiah understands that the calling of the prophet is difficult, one in which those who proclaim the truth are likely to be derided, rejected, even persecuted.
That is probably towards the end of our reading he also acknowledges that his suffering is not in vain. The Lord will come to his aid. He says:
But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion:
my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.
In their failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion.
And trusting in the Lord he concludes: "Sing to the LORD, praise the LORD, for he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!"
That is why Jesus too in the gospel prepares his disciples, as he is about to send them out on mission. Three times in this short gospel he assures them:
- Fear no one.
- 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.
- So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Jesus is urging them not be afraid of physical persecution which only takes this life but instead to put their trust in God who gives the reward of eternal life. The God who cares for little sparrows will certainly care for and give an eternal reward to his servants who remain steadfast and preach his word faithfully.
Christian Life
We too need to hear this message today. And here I am not just talking about deacons, priests and bishops, but really all of members of the body of Christ; for we are all called upon to preach God’s word, as clergy and as laity.
There are parts of the world where this message is experienced exactly as happened to Jeremiah. Christians are being killed for their faith. These modern day martyrs are choosing to remain steadfast in the faith and lose this life, rather than give in and protect this life. Like Jesus said, they are not afraid of losing their life, because God will give them the other life in exchange.
But even in this country, where it is not likely that you or I are going to face the fate of these martyrs, we can still face rejection and derision like Jeremiah did.
Of course there is the rejection and derision from outside the Church. Just turn on television to see how much disdain is poured on being a follower of Christ. There is hardly any show that portrays being a Church-going, commandment-following Christian as a good thing. Even worse are the comedians for whom it is open season to attack the Church and Christians. The news is not better, since they focus only on the bad eggs in the priesthood and say very little about the faithful priests who day in day out care for their parishioners, baptising and wedding them, anointing and burying them. And yet we must continue.
But what concern me most are the attacks on the clergy that come from within our own household. Remember what I said about being impressed as a kid that the priest would preach for about 20 minutes and nobody would talk back? Well, I have since realized that happens only during Mass. As soon as Mass is over, the floodgates of disdain and vitriol are opened, certainly by nobody from this parish. If you just dip your toe into the muddy waters of social media, and hear the things Catholics say, you often want to wash your eyes and ears with bleach after what you see and hear.
In 1961 Pope John XXIII wrote a document called in Latin Mater et Magistra, which translate to Mother and Teacher, that the Church is both a Mother and Teacher. Unfortunately then as today, many Catholics like teenagers responded: “I will accept the Church as my mother, but not as my teacher.” It is one thing to struggle with understanding, living by Church teaching on any subject, as we all do. It is another thing to reject it out of hand and to do so with contempt. A particularly difficult time to preach and teach is election time, when it seems for some people their political allegiance trumps their religious one. Often, after giving the same homily, I have been accosted by people from two different parties accusing me of being partisan; all from the same homily.
Let us not forget your own witness in your own homes and workplace as lay people. You too are called upon to stand up for the truth and be ready for the consequences: whether it is upholding the value of life from natural conception to natural death with a family member who thinks otherwise, or calling out a colleague who makes racist jokes. Mostly you must not abdicate your duty as parents, especially fathers, even if your kids call you all manner of names.
Conclusion
As we pray for fathers today in a special way to carry out their paternal role, don’t forget to pray for your fathers in the faith, your priests and bishops. Pray for all priests and for me in a special way, 40 years since I first wanted to be a priest, and 22 years a priest this week, that nothing, nothing will stop us from heeding the words of St. Paul to Timothy his protégé: to "preach the word,. . . convince, rebuke, and exhort . . .," in season and out of season (2 Tim. 4:2).
