Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 2023
Popular Christianity nowadays talks about how happy and prosperous the Christian life is. Jeremiah might beg to differ, for he suffered due to his faithfulness and obedience to God. God protected him, but not with suffering and eventual death in exile. Paul reminds us that sin remains in this present age and that the gift of God does overcome these things, but it is the cruciform gift of Christ. So Jesus tells us not to be afraid, for all will be revealed in the end. We can speak openly and even boldly, if only in a caring manner. The evil forces can only kill the body. The only one to be feared is God. And he does have a wonderful end in mind for us, one that has us revolving around him in union with the Son.
Title
Outline
The popular narrative of the Christian life is that God has a wonderful plan for your life and wants to make you happy
Jeremiah was called as a youth to recall Israel to God
Paul reminds us that sin and death reign over most in this present age
So Jesus says, “Do not be afraid of them.”
Readings
FIRST READING
Jeremiah 20:10–13
10 Yes, 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 can be tricked; then we will prevail,
and take our revenge on him.”
11 But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion:
my persecutors will stumble, they will not prevail.
In their failure they will be put to utter shame,
to lasting, unforgettable confusion.
12 LORD of hosts, you test the just,
you see mind and heart,
Let me see 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 evildoers!
RESPONSE
Psalm 69:14c
14 But I will pray to you, LORD,
at a favorable time.
God, in your abundant kindness, answer me
with your sure deliverance.
PSALM
Psalm 69:8–10, 14, 17, 33–35
8 For it is on your account I bear insult,
that disgrace covers my face.
9 I have become an outcast to my kindred,
a stranger to my mother’s children.
10 Because zeal for your house has consumed me,
I am scorned by those who scorn you.
14 But I will pray to you, LORD,
at a favorable time.
God, in your abundant kindness, answer me
with your sure deliverance.
17 Answer me, LORD, in your generous love;
in your great mercy turn to me.
33 “See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, take heart!
34 For the LORD hears the poor,
and does not spurn those in bondage.
35 Let the heaven and the earth praise him,
the seas and whatever moves in them!”
SECOND READING
Romans 5:12–15
12 Therefore, just as through one person sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, 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 that one person’s transgression the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one person Jesus Christ overflow for the many.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
John 15:26b, 27a
26 “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.
27 And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.
GOSPEL
Matthew 10:26–33
26 “Therefore do not be afraid of them. 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.
Notes
SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2023 | ORDINARY TIME
TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
YEAR A | ROMAN MISSAL | LECTIONARY
First Reading Jeremiah 20:10–13
Response Psalm 69:14c
Psalm Psalm 69:8–10, 14, 17, 33–35
Second Reading Romans 5:12–15
Gospel Acclamation John 15:26b, 27a
Gospel Matthew 10:26–33