Twelth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A
For today’s Gospel reading click the link below:
Mass Readings
(Jer 20:10-13, 1 Rom 5:12-15, Matt 10:26-33)
Homily Reflection by Fr. JJ Fenelon
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
We are into the 3rd week of phase 1 and yet live in a time of change and uncertainty. Our lives have been affected in so many ways. This dreaded disease has turned our lives upside down.
We have been struggling to find ways to tolerate stay at home orders. A couple friend of mine celebrated their wedding anniversary by just going for a drive. They just needed to get out. Many had to incorporate the education of their children during the day while working from home. Many young parents are suffering from mental stress coping with all these new demands. There are many others who have lost their jobs or businesses that have sustained them and their families, disappearing literally overnight as the economy had to shut down in order to curtail the spread of the virus.
And furthering these emotions, people of faith are experiencing a great suffering of their spirit through the ongoing inability to worship as a community. We Catholics are finding it especially painful as we hunger and thirst for the Eucharist, now that our attendance at Mass is limited to livestreaming video broadcasts on our televisions and computers. Last Sunday we celebrated Corpus Christi under these prevailing conditions. There was no opportunity to attend Mass and receive the Lord in Holy Communion, spend time with our Lord in Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament and no procession with Benediction.
In many ways, it marks the passing of the old and emergence of the new. Due to the pandemic we mourn the loss of a certain way of living: freedom to be and to do whatever we want whenever we want. As Catholics, how do we live our faith? Not only for ourselves but for our children, elderly parents and for society as a whole? How do we give encouragement to others when we ourselves are driven by a real fear of not knowing what is going to happen next? As much as we strive to stay positive, there is an inevitable fear prevailing in our lives.
In these circumstances, the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel: “Do not be afraid… Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows” (Matt 10:20-31) is so assuring. His words come as a tremendous sign of His presence among us encouraging us to persevere as He encouraged His Apostles.
In today’s 1st reading Jeremiah experiences persecution for being a prophet of God. Instead of caving in, he appeals to God for protection: “But the Lord is at my side, a mighty hero; my opponents will stumble, mastered, confounded by their failure; everlasting, unforgettable disgrace will be theirs.” (Jer 20:11) When our hearts don’t have strong love or a firm faith in God, we can end up at the mercy of our fears. The fear of the future seeps in. We don’t clearly see our next step.
Faith in God, when rightly understood, doesn’t lead us to escape our responsibility. It doesn’t lead us to flee from conflicts or challenge. It makes us resolute and daring. It doesn’t wrap into a false sense of security and comfort, but encourages us to be committed. If we listen in our hearts to Jesus’ words: “Don’t be afraid”, it’s a prompting not to evade our challenges but trust in God’s power to confront them.
I am sure many of you would have come across this testimony by one of our Elects in our first issue of our Newsletter last Sunday.
“……..The turning point came to me at the start of last year when I was going through a low point in life. I was feeling particularly stressed out at work and I found myself constantly questioning my purpose and meaning in life. One day, while I was feeling lost and depressed after a day of work, I received a message from an ex-colleague who I had not been in touch with for a long time.
She had suddenly thought of me and shared with me a link to Psalm 121, A song of ascents. The lyrics “He will not let your foot slip – he who watches over you will not slumber” and “The Lord will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life” really called out to me at that time. At that moment, it felt like God was speaking to me through my ex-colleague to comfort me and remind me that despite the loneliness and fatigue that I was feeling, he was actually there with me, every step of the way. Those words brought me immense comfort.
……….It was unfortunate that COVID-19 struck us at the start of the year and many of us were very worried that it would drag on and our Baptism would be postponed. We were right. Missing baptism during Easter period was definitely a damper. I think many of my fellow Elects in RCIA were very disappointed as it was something we were all excited and eagerly looking forward to. Strangely, even though baptism was postponed, I did not feel as upset as I thought I would be. Maybe it was because to me, Baptism was me pledging my love to God. Not being able to pledge my love to him does not make my love for him any less. It felt like God was telling me that if I was truly ready to be a Catholic, what’s wrong with being patient and waiting until Baptism?………” (Carmen Chan – Elect from our 2019/2020 RCIA Journey)
This is our calling and vocation too as Christian disciples of Jesus Christ. We are called to be prophetic like Jeremiah despite the challenges and difficulties. Today our persecution comes from an invisible and silent enemy – Covid-19. All our stress and anxieties are peaked by the fear of contracting coronavirus as we see each day the numbers of confirmed positive cases and deaths from Covid-19.
This time can be a blessing in disguise for everyone as it makes us less reliant on ourselves but more dependent on God. It’s a time for deepening our commitment to Jesus, for grounding our identity as Christians and being the strength for our community. “So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven” (Matt 10:32) is the great message of assurance that should reverberate in our hearts as we continue our journey of proclamation, communion and mission. True faith makes us resolute and daring. Trusting faith in God doesn’t lead the believer to escape one’s responsibility in the face of problems. It doesn’t lead us to flee conflicts in order to close ourselves comfortably in isolation. Jesus invites us to be “salt of the earth and light of the world.”
Today’s 2nd verse from our Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 68) can truly be our prayer.
This is my prayer to you,
my prayer for your favour.
In your great love, answer me, O God,
with your help that never fails:
Lord, answer for your love is kind;
In your compassion, turn towards me.
Response: In your great love, answer me, O God