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| “Landscape with Christ and His Disciples” by Francisque Millet, c. 1660 |
Catechism Links[1]
CCC 852: The Spirit of Christ sustains the Christian mission
CCC 905: Evangelizing by the example of life
CCC 1808, 1816: Courageous witness of faith overcomes fear and death
CCC 2471-2474: Bear witness to the truth
CCC 359, 402-411, 615: Adam, Original Sin, Christ the New Adam
Commentary:
Reading 1: Jeremiah 20:10-13
Commentary on Jer 20:10-13
Jeremiah is near despair as the plots of his family and friends are fomented against him. We can clearly hear the fear in his voice (“All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine”). Yet, in spite of his dire situation, he trusts that God will support him. Indeed, he is hoping that God will not only save him but will punish those who plot against him.
This is a typical Old Testament understanding of the God of Justice, who visits his wrath on the enemies of the faithful. We see also an interesting observation about the path of the faithful: “O Lord of hosts, you who test the just, who probe mind and heart,” inferring that the path of faithfulness is always difficult.
CCC: Jer 20:7-18 2584
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 69:8-10, 14, 17, 33-35
R. (14c) Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Commentary on Ps 69:8-10, 14, 17, 33-35
Psalm 69 is an individual lament. The psalmist sings of great trials and perils, describing the singer’s dire situation. Faith and hope in the Lord, says the song, sustains those in need. It draws heavily on the image of the faithful servant who suffers but remains dedicated to God’s law and works. Even in the face of this intense social embarrassment, the psalmist must be faithful because “…zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.” The imagery in this song forces us to look forward to the passion, as Christ’s punishment is prophetically envisioned.
CCC: Ps 69:10 584
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Reading 2: Romans 5:12-15
Commentary on Rom 5:12-15
St. Paul has just concluded a description of the sin of Adam, the “original sin.” Through this action, says St. Paul, sin entered the world; although before the Law of Moses, sin was not defined and therefore “…sin is not accounted when there was no law.” Nevertheless, even though sin was not defined before Moses, “…death reigned from Adam to Moses” (sin is sin even when unnamed).
St. Paul continues describing how through one man, Adam, sin entered the world. But the mercy of God was even greater in providing Jesus, His Son, the “New Adam,” through whom all sins were forgiven in his one heroic sacrifice of atonement.
CCC: Rom 5:12-21 388; Rom 5:12 400, 402, 602, 612, 1008
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Gospel: Matthew 10:26-33
Commentary on Mt 10:26-33
Jesus concludes his instructions to the Apostles as he sends them out. Here he tells them that they go with his authority and his purpose which may be hidden from others but which they will proclaim from “the housetops.” He tells them not to fear the persecution he has told them they will face, because while the body may be killed, their souls are safe with him. He concludes this passage telling them that the Father is watching over them and they have nothing to fear.
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Homily:
How many times in movies have we heard the phrase: “Don’t look down!” We picture the scene: A person is on a rickety ladder or an unstable scaffold spanning a deadly drop. The novice is petrified and cannot move, staring down to almost certain death. And behind them, the calm hero or heroine says: “Don’t look down.” “Look up,” or “look ahead.” The Lord is telling his disciples that they will face resistance and persecution when they go out on the mission to which they are being sent.
The Gospel tells of the Lord’s calm assurance as he sends his friends out upon the mission upon which he was also sent. We suspect that, while his disciples were not fully trained rabbis, they had a good background in Mosaic Law and the Prophets. They would have been familiar with the stories of how the great prophetic figures (like Jeremiah in the first reading) had been attacked and persecuted. They would have known that in many cases this persecution led even to death.
In the Gospel the Lord tells them that they are correct. The mission upon which he is sending them will be difficult. There will be persecution and attacks, even from the people he is sending them to help. Then Jesus tells them: “Don’t look down.” In a very real sense he tells them to look up. Look up in faith to God the Father. Your spirit is safe in his loving hands.
Paul defines the difference between the soul before Christ’s sacrifice and after. He reminds us that these disciples, who are being sent into harm’s way, may be in physical danger, but because Jesus opens the gates of heaven, slammed shut in Adam’s “Original Sin,” they are safe from death in the eternal life promised by God and guaranteed by the sacrifice of his Only Begotten Son.
Because the Lord has not yet fulfilled that part of his mission, the disciples must accept on faith that what the Lord is promising, he will fulfill.
The message for us in scripture is very clear. First, through our baptism in which we had the sin of the first Adam washed away, we received the blessing of the New Adam, Jesus, who provides us with what we could call “eternal life insurance.” It is our safety net. Like those first friends of his, we are sent into a world that does not want to hear the message of the Kingdom of Heaven. Like those first disciples we will face persecution for our beliefs and likely even attacks as the secular world becomes ever more unaccepting of the truth Christianity offers.
If we hear this message to boldly go out and proclaim the Good News with our words and actions and become afraid, the Lord whispers in our ear: “Don’t be afraid. Don’t look down. Look up.” That is how we are encouraged today. We are sent, and we are given food for the journey that allows us to go out know the Lord is with us.
Pax
[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014
[2] The picture used is “Landscape with Christ and His Disciples” by Francisque Millet, c. 1660
[3] S.S.Commemoratio
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