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Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass Readings
First Reading: Jeremiah 20:10-13
Responsorial: Psalm 69
Second Reading: Romans 5:12-15
Gospel: Matthew 10:26-33
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/062120.cfm
https://www.deaconrudysnotes.org/
Happy Father’s Day! Today is not Father’s Day all over the world, so the readings we have today were not curated for this occasion. Nonetheless, the readings Holy Mother Church gives us which guide our discipleship are an excellent reflection about Christian fatherhood.
Secular culture tries to tell us that the role of dads is irrelevant. We see this in shows that depict the dad – if there’s even one on the show – as a clumsy goof. We also see this in extremist feminism and gender-neutral activism. Add the word “Christian” in front of “dad” and the attack on fatherhood becomes even stronger. Christian fathers are considered to be a dying breed, superstitious guardians of a gloom-and-doom mythology. Nothing can be further from the truth.
That’s probably how Jeremiah felt on the eve the Babylonian captivity. His nickname was “terror on every side”, kind of like “Johnny raincloud” today, (Jer 20:10). Indeed, our psalmist talks about bearing insults for God, (Ps 69:8). Even Jesus in today’s Gospel warns that the path of the disciple can lead to death, (Mt 10:28)! And let’s not forget our second reading from Romans where Paul introduces the idea of Original Sin that enters the world thanks to Adam’s temptation, the father of us all, (Rom 5:12)!
Whew! What a collection of messages, right? We hear a message that we will suffer when we choose grace over sin – when we choose goodness over evil. If we stop here, we’d leave discouraged and maybe a little depressed. What the heck are we getting ourselves into?
But here’s the rest of the story.
Matthew’s Gospel account tells us to hang in there! “Fear no one,” we hear in the Gospel, (Mt 10:26). Jesus tells us, “Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father,” (Mt 10:32).
All disciples have this message to live a life of grace – to choose the good over the temptation of the sin. But fathers have a special role in acknowledging Jesus before others. Let’s call this Christian leadership. And the example of how we live our lives can be a more powerful form of evangelization than anything we could say to our spouses, our children and to everyone we encounter. Despite what some in our culture suggest, people look to their fathers or father-figures as an example.
What dads do can be more impactful than what we say. So, even if dads lack the vocabulary to share Jesus with others, authentically Christian fathers need to show their families what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
Dads demonstrate Christian leadership when they bring their families to church. Dads demonstrate Christian leadership when they lead their families in prayer before meals – even in restaurants. Dads demonstrate Christian leadership when they make time to pray at home before they leave for work and before they go to bed.
But there are other ways that dads demonstrate Christian leadership, like actively participating in the political process – voting, writing elected officials, peacefully protesting injustice. Christian leaders aren’t political tribesman, but rather are follow the path of Christ Jesus. Sometimes that path might veer right, and sometimes it might veer left. What God asks is that we build a just society – a society that promotes the common good.
Dads who advocate for human dignity, for justice, and for the common good bear witness to Christ Jesus. These dads walk the path of the discipleship and are an example to their families and friends. Dads who walk in the light acknowledge Jesus by their actions, and as Jesus tells us in the Gospel today, He will acknowledge them to His Father. That is so reassuring when we think about the dads in our lives – those living and those who’ve graduated to fulness with the Father. Happy Fathers Day!
Homework! Nourished by the Word of God and the Eucharist, I encourage you to reflect on the following questions.
- Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. How and why do I hide my true self from others? What secret parts of my life do I need to bring to God for healing?
- What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light. How have I shared my faith in recent weeks? How does my ways of living reflect what I believe?
- So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. How do my interactions with others in person and on social media reflect their dignity and worth? What people or groups in my community are not treated as valued children of God?
I think doing our homework will help us exercise the discipleship of Christian fatherhood. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! Now go make disciples! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!
Image Credit: Unknown. JPEG file.
References:
1. Lectio Divina Of The Gospels. Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2019.
2. Hahn, Scott W. and Curtis Mitch. Romans. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academics, 2017.
3. Marchionda, James, OP. “Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time.” Know Before You Go. 19 June 2020. Accessed 20 June 2020. https://www.opcentral.org/node/3103.
4. Mitch, Curtis and Edward Sri. The Gospel of Matthew. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2010.
5. The Bible: A Study Bible freshly translated by Nicholas King. Buxhall, Suffolk UK: Kevin Mayhew, 2013.
Catechism References http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm:
1. Adam, Original Sin, Christ the New Adam, 359, 402-11, 615
2. The Spirit of Christ sustains the Christian mission, 852
3. Evangelizing by the Example of Life, 905
4. 1808, 1816, courageous witness of faith overcomes fear and death
5. 2471-74, bear witness to the truth
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mass Readings http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/062120.cfm
Lectionary: 94
Reading 1
Jeremiah 20:10-13
Jeremiah said:
“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.
‘Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail,
and take our vengeance on him.’
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.
O LORD of hosts, you who test the just,
who probe mind and heart,
let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause.
Sing to the LORD,
praise the LORD,
for he has rescued the life of the poor
from the power of the wicked!”
Responsorial
Psalm 69:8-10, 14, 17, 33-35
R. (14c) Lord, in your great love, answer me.
For your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers,
a stranger to my mother’s children,
Because zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
I pray to you, O LORD,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
with your constant help.
Answer me, O LORD, for bounteous is your kindness;
in your great mercy turn toward me.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
“See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.
Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
the seas and whatever moves in them!’‘
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Reading 2
Romans 5:12-15
Brothers and sisters:
Through one man sin entered the world,
and through sin, death,
and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned—
for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world,
though sin is not accounted when there is no law.
But death reigned from Adam to Moses,
even over those who did not sin
after the pattern of the trespass of Adam,
who is the type of the one who was to come.
But the gift is not like the transgression.
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.
Alleluia
John 15:26B, 27A
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Spirit of truth will testify to me, says the Lord;
and you also will testify.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Matthew 10:26-33
Jesus said to the Twelve:
“Fear no one.
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;
what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
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.
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.
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.”