Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time / Msgr. Owen F. Campion
The Sunday Readings
Jeremiah has traditionally been considered one of the “major,” or more important, prophets of the Old Testament. There considered in this way are Daniel, Ezekiel and Isaiah. The lengthy Book of Jeremia is significant because of the critical time in the history of the Hebrew people in which this prophecy was proclaimed and because its message so clearly reveals the very basis of the beliefs of the Hebrews, and later of the Christians as well.
In this passage, Jeremiah declares that, come what may, the justice of God will prevail. Note that especially mentioned as dear to God are the poor, helpless and mistreated.
St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans provides the second reading. For us today, admitting all the struggles that modern life may bring, it is difficult to imagine what the Christians of Rome experienced. Every value of the Gospel, which was so dear to them, stood utterly opposite the prevailing culture of the day and the popular opinions that swirled around them, especially in the great imperial capital.
Indeed, professing faith in Christ risked arrest, torture and death. But it was not just about violating the law of the empire. By accepting Gospel values, Christians were not in step with everyone else. Indeed, it made them odd and strange, putting them outside of Roman society.
In all times and places, those who are seen as outsiders and unconventional are feared and unwanted. Believers in Jesus faced scorn, rebuke and rejection, even by relatives and friends.
St. Paul admonished these Christians to be strong in faith, to relent in nothing. Christ is the only answer and the only reward. Nothing else matters.
St. Matthew’s Gospel supplies the final reading. It repeats the message from Romans. Be firm in faith.
Fortified by Christ, nothing is a threat. Stand with the Lord. Then the Gospel insists again on a tenet that utterly penetrates the Scriptures and is stated literally a thousand times in them. Every person is precious and unique, regardless of his her circumstances. Every hair on the head of every person is treasured by God and so must be treasured by any genuine believer.
Reflection
One year has passed since the election of Pope Leo XIV. He has done nothing in the least to set himself apart from his predecessors. But he has already made history simply by applying the ancient teachings of the Gospel, as transmitted faithfully for 2,000 years by the Church, to current events and attitudes.
Read this weekend's Scriptures for Mass with the Holy Father’s recent words and historic Church teachings in mind. In the first reading, note Jeremiah’s account of the resistance he met as he, a prophet, proclaimed what truly it meant to be a servant of God, a believer in our terms today.
The lesson is clear. Human fortune can be fickle and often is. People can be ignorant and cruel. Yet, as Jeremiah proclaimed, God is just and his justice will prevail.
Always a theme throughout the Bible, the poor and the needy, whatever their circumstances, are God’s most beloved. St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, the second reading, was written in a context with which modern believers can relate in many respects. The world around them, so intensified in the great imperial capital of Rome, followed and even glorified perspectives as opposite the Gospel as they could be.
Discipleship was serious business. Today’s committed Christians are not always understood or appreciated.
In St. Matthew’s Gospel, the Lord reassures the Apostles. They, as would the Christians living in Rome to whom St. Paul wrote, had their critics and even bitter enemies. All but John (and Judas) would die violently in the hands of enemies. Jesus tells them to be strong in their fight. And he reminds them that each person is precious and unique in the sight of God.
Any who deny respect to anyone for whatever reason, the Lord is fearfully blunt, will suffer on the day of judgment. †