12th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 25th June 2023
Lectionary Readings:
Jeremiah 20 v7-13; Psalm 69 v7-10, 16-18; Romans 6 v1b-11; Matthew 10 v24-39
When the going gets tough……..
In the Old Testament passage, Jeremiah is being honest with God about how he is feeling. Jeremiah is blaming God for his social isolation, his unpopularity with the people of Israel. The message God had asked Jeremiah to pass on was about the people’s death and destruction (v8); a consequence of the people turning their back on God. This was a message the people did not want to hear; they turned on him, as the messenger; Jeremiah feared for his life.
Although God is not credited with an immediate response, we read a few verses later that the prophet’s mindset has changed as he reflects on God’s faithfulness towards those who do right.
(see Jeremiah 20 v12, 13).
This appears to happen quite often in the Psalms, writers ranting and raving one moment and turning to praise the next. Are these glimpses of the Holy Spirit at work, soothing a troubled mind?
Jeremiah acknowledges that God knows every heart and mind and will test those who do right. (v12).
This theme of God testing the faithful is reflected in the gospel reading.
Matthew quotes Jesus as arguing that God will test the resolve of those who follow him by bringing to mind the ‘crosses’ they have to bear. (Matthew 10 v34-39) These ‘crosses’ could be connected to our past life, harmful habits or ways of thinking, or demanding relationships that draw us away from God. The question is about our priorities. Can we put God first by following Christ?
This question of priorities is picked up in the passage from Romans.
Paul is urging his readers to recognise that their baptism has changed their life. The ‘old life’ is no longer fit for purpose, it is now dead he says.
‘When we were baptized, we died and were buried with Christ. We were baptized, so that we would live a new life, as Christ was raised to life by the glory of God the Father’. (Romans 6 v4).
‘When Christ died, he died for sin once and for all. But now he is alive, and he lives only for God. In the same way, you must think of yourselves as dead to the power of sin. But Christ Jesus has given life to you. and you live for God’ (Romans 6 v11).
Paul is well aware that living this ‘new’ life will not be easy. The temptation to slip back into the ‘old’ life will be ever present and he implores his readers by saying: ‘Don’t let sin keep ruling your lives. You are ruled by God’s kindness and not by the Law’. (Romans 6 v14).
Paul is counselling us to keep close to God. Living as a Christian may be tough, but God is equal to the challenge of supporting us through it.
Bible quotations taken from the Contemporary English Version