12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A (가해 연중 제12주일)


1st Reading: Jeremiah 20:10-13

Jeremiah’s fifth “confession”
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[10] For I hear many whispering.
Terror is on every side!
“Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”
say all my familiar friends,
watching for my fall.
“Perhaps he will be deceived,
then we can overcome him,
and take our revenge on him.”
[11] But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior;
therefore my persecutors will stumble,
they will not overcome me.
They will be greatly shamed,
for they will not succeed.
Their eternal dishonour
will never be forgotten.
[12] O Lord of hosts, who triest the righteous,
who seest the heart and the mind,
let me see thy vengeance upon them,
for to thee have I committed my cause.

[13] Sing to the Lord;
praise the Lord!
For he has delivered the life of the needy
from the hand of evildoers.

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Commentary:

20:7-18. This last, very dramatic “confession” is one of the most impressive
passages in prophetical literature. It (especially vv. 14-18) has features in
common with Job 3:1-10. It could have been uttered around 605-604 BC when
Jeremiah was being persecuted by King Jehoiakim. Despite all his efforts,
Jeremiah feels that he has failed; he believes in God – but could it be that he
never received a special call? It is a time of inner crisis for Jeremiah. He la-
ments his vocation, for it has led to his persecution (vv. 7-9); then he makes
an act of trust in God despite the harassment he is suffering (vv. 10-13); the
passage ends with a series of imprecations (vv. 14-18).

The prophet confides his feelings to God and complains about his calling (v.
7a). It looks as if God has misled him (v. 7b): the prophet has made enemies
on every side. When he proclaims the word of God no one listens: reproach
and derision are the only response he gets (v. 10). He would like to walk away.
Yet he cannot, for God is like a “burning fire” in his heart (v. 9). Despite all his
difficulties, his zeal for the Lord wins the day: it only goes to prove that those
who have experienced desire to make him known to others – to those who once
knew him and have forgotten him, and to those who have never heard of him.
That is the message that Theodoret of Cyrus takes from this passage, recalling
the example of St. Paul: “The same happened to St. Paul as he stood in silence
in Athens. His soul burned within him when he saw the terrible idolatry that was
practiced in that city (cf. Acts 17:16). The prophet had the same experience”
(Interpretatio in Jeremiam, 20, 9). And when Origen reads this passage and
asks himself whether God could ever deceive someone, he explains: “We are
little children, and we must be treated as little children. God, therefore, en-
trances us in order to form us, although we may not be aware of this captivation
before the appropriate time comes. God does not deal with us as people who
have already left childhood, who can no longer be led by sweet words but only
by deeds” (Homiliae in Jeremiam, 19, 15).

In spite of everything, Jeremiah is sure that God will never forsake him (v. 11).
>From what he says, we can see that there is an inner tension between his 
experience of all kinds of sufferings (vv. 14-18) and the conviction that God will
never leave him (vv. 12-13). What he says in v. 18 could suggest that he is 
utterly depressed, but what he is doing is baring his soul to someone whom
he loves and trusts entirely, even in the midst of total darkness and a sense of
powerlessness. Events will show this to be the case: Jeremiah did not give up
his ministry but persevered in it to the end of his life. He admits his limitations
but he stays true to God: this bears out what the Lord will tell St. Paul when he 
feels the situation is beyond him: “My power is made perfect in your weakness”
(2 Cor 12:9).

Meditating on this “confession” of Jeremiah, St. John of the Cross concludes that
sometimes God’s purposes are impossible to understand: “It is very difficult to
attempt to understand fully the words and deeds of God, or even to decide what
they may be, without falling often into error or becoming very confused. The
prophets who were entrusted with the word of God knew this well; their task of
prophesying to the people was a daunting one, for the people could not always
see what was spoken coming to pass. Therefore, they mocked and laughed at 
the prophets, as Jeremiah says: I have become a laughingstock all the day; 
every one mocks me (20:7). Although the prophet speaks as though resigned to
his fate, in the voice of a weak man who is unable to bear any longer the 
vicissitudes of God, he makes clear the difference between the prophecy and its
fulfillment and the common sense that the divine sayings contain, because he 
knows that the prophets were often taken as mischief-makers” (Ascent of Mount
Carmel, 2, 20, 6).

2nd Reading: Romans 5:12-15

Adam's Original Sin
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[12] Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through
sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned--[13] sinned indeed
was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is
no law. [14] Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins
were not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one to come.

[15] But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's
trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of that
one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.

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Commentary:

12-14. This passage can be elaborated on as follows: just as sin entered the
world through the action of a single individual man, so righteousness is attained
for us by one man--Jesus Christ. Adam, the first man, is a type of the "new
Adam": Adam contained within himself all mankind, his offspring; the "new
Adam" is "the first-born of all creation" and "the head of the body, the Church"
(Colossians 1:15, 18) because He is the redeeming Word Incarnate. To Adam
we are linked by flesh and blood, to Christ by faith and the Sacraments.

When, in His infinite goodness, He raised Adam to share in the divine life, God
also decreed that our First Parent would pass on to us his human nature and
with it all the various gifts that perfected it and the grace that sanctified it. But
Adam committed a sin by breaking God's commandment and as a result he
immediately lost the holiness and righteousness in which he had been installed,
and because of this disloyalty he incurred God's wrath and indignation and, as
consequence, death--as God had warned him. By becoming mortal and falling
under the power of the devil, Adam "was changed for the worse", in both body
and soul (cf. Council of Trent, "De Peccato Originali", Canon 1). From then on
Adam and his descendants pass on a human nature deprived of supernatural
gifts, and men are in a state of enmity with God, which means that they cannot
attain eternal beatitude.

The fact of Original Sin is a truth of faith. This has been stated once again
solemnly by [Pope] Paul VI: "We believe that in Adam all have sinned. From
this it follows that, on account of the original offense committed by him, human
nature, which is common to all men, is reduced to that condition in which it must
suffer the consequences of that Fall [...]. Consequently, fallen human nature is
deprived of the economy of grace which it formerly enjoyed. It is wounded in its
natural powers and subjected to the dominion of death which is transmitted to
all men. It is in this sense that every man is born in sin. We hold, therefore, in
accordance with the Council of Trent, that Original Sin is transmitted along with
human nature, "not by imitation but by propagation", and is, therefore, incurred
by each person individually" ("Creed of the People of God", 16).

Our own experience bears out what divine Revelation tells us: when we examine
our conscience we realize that we have this inclination towards evil and we are
conscious of being enmeshed in evils which cannot have their source in our holy
Creator (cf. Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 13). The obvious presence of evil in
the world and in ourselves convince us of the profound truth contained in Reve-
lation and moves us to fight against sin.

"So much wretchedness! So many offenses! Mine, yours, those of all mankind
....

"Et in peccatis concepit me mater mea!" In sin did my mother conceive me!
(Psalm 51:5). I, like all men, came into the world stained with the guilt of our
First Parents. And then...my own sins: rebellions, thought about, desired,
committed....

"To purify us of this rottenness, Jesus chose to humble Himself and take on the
form of a slave (cf. Philippians 2:7), becoming incarnate in the spotless womb of
our Lady, His Mother, who is also your Mother and mine. He spent thirty years
in obscurity, working like everyone else, at Joseph's side. He preached. He
worked miracles.... And we repaid Him with a cross.

"Do you need more motives for contrition?" ([Blessed] J. Escriva, "The Way of
the Cross, IV, 2).

13-14. Both the commandment imposed by God on Adam, and the Mosaic Law,
threatened the transgressor with death; but the same cannot be said of the
period between Adam and Moses. In that period also people did sin against the
natural law written on every person's heart (cf. 2:12ff). However, their sins "were
not like the transgression of Adam", because the natural law did not explicitly
bind under pain of death. If, nevertheless, they in fact had to die, this proves,
the Apostle concludes, that death is due not to personal sins but to original sin.
It is also proved, the Fathers of the Church usually add, by the fact that some
people die before reaching the use of reason, that is, before they are capable
of sinning.

Death is a consequence of original sin, because that sin brought with it the loss
of the "preternatural" gift of immortality (cf. Gen 2:17; 3:19). Adam incurred this
loss when, through a personal act of his, he broke an explicit, specific command
of God. Later, under the Mosaic Law, there were also certain precepts which
involved the death penalty if broken (cf., for example, Exod 21:12ff; Lev 24:16).
In the period from Adam to Moses there was no law which stated: If you sin,
you shall die. However, people in that period were all subject to death, even those
who committed no sin "like the transgression of Adam", that is, what is termed
"actual sin".

Therefore, death is due to a sin--original sin--which attaches to each man, woman
and child, yet which is not an "actual sin". This original sin is the cause of death,
and the fact that everyone dies is the proof that everyone is affected by original
sin. The Second Vatican Council sums up this teaching as follows: "The Church,
taught by divine Revelation, declares that God has created man in view of a
blessed destiny that lies beyond the limits of his sad state on earth. Moreover,
the Christian faith teaches that bodily death, from which man would have been
immune had he not sinned (cf. Wis 1:13; 2:23-24; Rom 5:21; 6:23; Jas 1: 15),
will be overcome when that wholeness which he lost through his own fault will be
given once again to him by the almighty and merciful Savior. For God has called
man, and still calls him, to cleave with all his being to him in sharing for ever a
life that is divine and free from all decay" ("Gaudium Et Spes", 18).

Gospel Reading: Matthew 10:26-33

Jesus' Instructions to the Apostles (Continuation)
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(Jesus said to His disciples,) [26] "So have no fear of them; for nothing is co-
vered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. [27] What I tell
you in the dark, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon
the housetops. [28] And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the
soul; rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. [29] Are not
two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground with-
out your Father's will. [30] But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
[31] Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. [32] So
every one who acknowledges Me before men, I also will acknowledge before My
Father who is in heaven; [33] but whoever denies Me before men, I also will deny
before My Father who is in heaven."

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Commentary:

26-27. Jesus tells His disciples not to be afraid of calumny and detraction. A
day will come when everyone will come to know the whole truth about everyone
else, their real intentions, the true dispositions of their souls. In the meantime,
those who belong to God may be misrepresented by those who resort to lies,
out of malice or passion. These are the hidden things which will be made known.

Christ also tells the Apostles to speak out clearly. Jesus' divine teaching method
led Him to speak to the crowds in parables so that they came to discover His true
personality by easy stages. After the coming of the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:8), the
Apostles would have to preach from the rooftops about what Jesus had taught
them.

We too have to make Christ's doctrine known in its entirety, without any ambiguity,
without being influenced by false prudence or fear of the consequences.

28. Using this and other Gospel texts (Matthew 5:22, 29; 18:9; Mark 9:43, 45, 47;
Luke 12:5), the Church teaches that hell exists; there those who die in mortal sin
suffer eternal punishment (cf. "St. Pius V Catechism", I, 6, 3), in a manner not
known to us in this life (cf. St. Teresa of Avila, "Life", Chapter 32). See notes on
Luke 16:19-31.

Therefore, our Lord warns His disciples against false fear. We should not fear
those who can only kill the body. Only God can cast body and soul into hell.
Therefore God is the only one we should fear and respect; He is our Prince and
Supreme Judge--not men. The martyrs have obeyed this precept of the Lord in
the fullest way, well aware that eternal life is worth much more than earthly life.

29-31. An "as" (translated here as "penny") was a small coin of very little value.
Christ uses it to illustrate how much God loves His creatures. As St. Jerome
says ("Comm. in Matth.", 10:29-31): "If little birds, which are of such little value,
still come under the providence and care of God, how is it that you, who, given
the nature of your soul, are immortal, can fear that you are not looked after care-
fully by Him whom you respect as your Father?" Jesus again teaches us about
the fatherly providence of God, which He spoke about at length in the Sermon
on the Mount (cf. Matthew 6:19-34).

32-33. Here Jesus tells us that public confession of our faith in Him--whatever the
consequences--is an indispensable condition for eternal salvation. After the Judg-
ment, Christ will welcome those who have given testimony of their faith and con-
demn those whom fear caused to be ashamed of Him (cf. Matthew 7:23; 25:41;
Revelation 21:8). The Church honors as "confessors" those Saints who have not
gone physical martyrdom but whose lives bore witness to the Catholic faith.
Although every Christian should be ready to die for his faith, most Christians are
called to be confessors of the faith.

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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.


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