Sunday Mass Readings with reflection - June 21, 2020

TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 

1st READING 

Jeremiah assures us that good people will always be saved from the hands of those who are evil. Sin is unjust and unfair. It always brings suffering. God does not cause suffering; it is a consequence of our sins. To get rid of the suffering in the world, we must first address our sinfulness. Let us repent our sins and return to God.

Jeremiah 20:10-13

10 Jeremiah said: “I hear the whisperings of many: ‘Terror on every side! Denounce! Let us denounce him!” All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. ‘Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail, and take our vengeance on him.’ 11 But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion. 12 O Lord of hosts, you who test the just, who probe mind and heart, let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause. 13 Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!

PSALM

Psalm 69:8-10, 14, 17, 33-35

R: Lord, in your great love, answer me.

8 For your sake I bear insult, and shame covers my face. 9 I have become an outcast to my brothers, a stranger to my mother’s children, 10 because zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me. (R) 14 I pray to you, O Lord, for the time of your favor, O God! In your great kindness, answer me with your constant help. 17 Answer me, O Lord, for bounteous is your kindness; in your great mercy turn toward me. (R) 33 See, you lowly ones, and be glad; you who seek God, may your hearts be revive! 34 For the Lord hears the poor, and his own who are in bonds he spurns not. 35 Let the heavens and the earth praise him, the seas and whatever moves in them! (R)

2nd READING

We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. However, we should not focus on this. If we always look at our sins, how do we overcome it? Let us focus on Jesus who has freed us from sin and enables us to live in freedom. Let us look forward to a future free of sin and a life in union with the Lord.

Romans 5:12-15

12 Brothers and sisters: Through one man sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned. 13 For up to the time of the law, sin was in the world, though sin is not accounted when there is no law. 14 But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin after the pattern of the trespass of Adam, who is the type of the one who was to come. 15 But the gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one, the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many.

GOSPEL

Jesus assures us that everything will be brought out into the light at the end of time. Those who do not hide anything have nothing to fear. But for those living in the darkness of sin, may this truth inspire a deeper repentance. Jesus knows you completely. God sees everything. There is nothing you can hide from Him.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

The Spirit of truth will testify to me, says the Lord; and you also will testify.

Matthew 10:26-33

26 Jesus said to the Twelve: “Fear no one. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. 27 What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. 30 Even all the hairs of your head are counted. 31 So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. 32 Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. 33 But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.”

Reflect: What do you think the Holy spirit will testify about you?

REFLECTION

DO NOT BE AFRAID

Italian superiors have two nice words to tell those under them when giving them tasks: Coraggio (Courage) and Avanti (Keep on). In the Gospel today, we hear Jesus saying something similar to His disciples as they faced the challenge of persevering in the values and virtues that He teaches. Several times, He says: “Do not be afraid.” But going further, Jesus’ words make us see why we need to persevere in His ways:

Time reveals the lasting and true value. It may happen that truth and goodness are not always obvious. Fruits that validate the way of truth and godliness may take some to grow and develop. Evil, like grass, seems to grow well and quicker than the good crop we are cultivating and nurturing. Instant rewards and successes may initially be reaped by those that espouse evil. But, yes, time will vindicate the true one. We, therefore, need patience.

Eternity is for the way of the Spirit. Earthliness and materialism are very attractive. Our senses make us pay attention to material goods: what can be seen, heard, touched, and tasted. These are all real and experiential. In like manner, earthly sufferings and difficulties are also most real, and so they affect us a lot. But we have to constantly affirm: there is yet another world that is to come, where goods will be spiritual. We have to train our sight to see beyond the sensate and the sensual.

There is God! To live according to values and virtues may seem futile, because the human sense of fairness can be unfair. Even with strict forms of judgment, justifications can make the right wrong, and vice versa. Human reason can make the unreasonable reasonable. But Jesus reveals: God is the first Word, and God has the last Word. We rest our case, confident in God.

Being good is, therefore, not an option. We have to take it as a way—for goodness has an objective basis. It is not something relative. It is stable in God. God is goodness, and He alone is forever. Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

---------- REFLECTION QUESTIONS ----------

What gives you discouragement about the way of goodness? What real and personal temptations have you suffered from in this regard? Where did you get the courage and strength to remain in the way of goodness and right?

Grant me Your grace, O Lord, to be strong and courageous at all times. Amen.