TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Year A

Readings

First Reading
Jer 20:10–13

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 69:8–10, 14, 17, 33–35

Second Reading
Rom 5:12–15

Gospel
Mt 10:26–33

Meditation on Today’s Readings

Taken from the Vatican II Sunday and Weekday Missal
Written by Celia Sirois

The themes of mission and suffering converge in today’s readings from Jeremiah and from Matthew’s Gospel. The confession of Jeremiah exposes the depth of his suffering in the service of God’s word, but also the depth of his trust that God is with him. This trust is based on his knowledge of God as the mighty champion of the powerless and poor. The so-called “mission discourse” in Matthew 10 assumes that some suffering is inevitable for those who share the mission of Jesus. In these few verses Jesus repeats the phrase “do not be afraid” no less than three times, and he encourages the disciples to place their trust in God on the basis of their knowledge of God’s care for all creation, even for the smallest sparrow.

Such trust in God can only be bolstered by reflection on Paul’s instruction to the Christians in Rome. For “the gift is not like the transgression,” which is to say that in and through the gift of Christ comes the overflow of God’s grace that sweeps away transgression. For us who place our trust in God, eternal life, not death, prevails.

The copyright for the Sunday Missal Introductions is:
Copyright (c) 2001, Daughters of St. Paul
The copyright for the Weekday Missal Introduction is:
Copyright (c) 2002, Daughters of St. Paul