Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Historically, you and I know how the action of one person can cause either immense harm or bring about immense good. Hitler single handedly could have prevented World War ll. He did the opposite. Over sixty million people died in that war. On the contrary, there are also people who single handedly brought much good in the world. Gandhi non-violently brought independence to an entire subcontinent. Martin Luther King Jr. non-violently raised the banner of equality for an entire people. St. Francis of Assisi single handedly reformed an ailing Church. Perhaps in our families too there are people who either cause great destruction or bring immense peace.
In today’s second reading, Paul was saying something similar. On the one hand, "Through one man sin entered the world, and through sin death” (Rom 5:12). On the other hand, through the grace of God the gracious gift of salvation flowed for humanity through one man Jesus Christ (Rim 12:15). To put it simply, one man caused sin and destruction whereas another man, Jesus Christ, brought redemption.
In my three points, I would like to explore this theme and offer some practical implications.
God's Relentless Goodness
Paul's purpose in writing the letter to the Romans was twofold. First, he wanted to convince his readers that salvation comes from faith in Jesus Christ. Second, he wanted to demonstrate how individual salvation can be accomplished - not by Law, but by faith. But to convince his readers of the above two points, he must demonstrate Christ’s gift to the world - free grace! This grace is freely given to the world because of God's plan of salvation. And this is Paul’s main point - that even if one man caused sin, death, and destruction, God did not give up on us. From Abraham to the last person, God has offered humanity the possibility of salvation. This possibility is made available to us through the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That is why he says earlier in the very same chapter, "But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us" (Rom 5:8).
The idea that God’s love and goodness is relentless despite the destruction caused by sin is not only deeply consoling but is the very the cause of our salvation. Humanity needs a God who is all good no matter what. We need a God whose commitment is to the good despite the evil. Precisely because human beings are capable of great evil, we need a God whose commitment is to the good. We have such a God in the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Fear No One”
In light of God’s commitment to the good, today’s gospel from Matthew reading draws us into God’s own work of salvation. Jesus says, “Fear no one!” The context is that he was preparing his disciples for persecution. The entire chapter 10 of Matthew is Jesus sending forth his disciples and training them in the art of discipleship, especially, in the face of persecution. In these situations, they must be like Jesus. The saying, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul,” calls for a tremendous commitment to the example of Jesus. Jesus was persecuted but he, like God, stayed fearlessly committed to the good.
Today’s gospel, then, is an invitation – an invitation to fearlessly stand by the good like Jesus. If there are those who cause persecution, then there must be those who, like Jesus, “Fear non one”. If there are those who kill, then there must be those who show that they can only kill the body but not the soul. If there are those who deny God, there must be those who unfailingly acknowledge the goodness of God. This is the call to discipleship. Just as Jesus undid the ancient sin of one man by his commitment to the goodness of God, we too can join hands with Jesus and continue God’s work of undoing evil in the world by our relentless commitment to God and to the good. This is the clamoring call of gospel discipleship.
Commitment to the Good
As we hear today’s scripture, we are aware that much evil has been unleashed in the world. For example, wars that were begun by a few simply refuse to come to an end. But as the war began there were also those who upheld the pursuit of peace through justful means. It was Pope Leo who categorically opposed the war and presented reasonable alternatives. He spoke fearlessly in the world and those who actions have been redeeming actions.
Today, it would be a good to examine our own consciences. Within each of us lies tremendous potential for good and evil. Gossip, destructive rhetoric, lies, bearing false witness, hatreds can cause great harm to us, to others, and to the world. At the same time, our faith in Jesus Christ creates great potential for love, truth, kindness, charity, goodness, peace, and compassion. These actions give the world hope. Each day, we have the choice to be like the “one man” who brought sin into the world or like the “one man”, Jesus Christ, who redeemed the world. Our task is to make sure that we are becoming more and more like Jesus.
The Eucharist we are about to celebrate is a continuation of Christ's redeeming action in the world. As we participate in the redeeming action of Christ, may our lives to become like his. Amen.
- Fr. Satish Joseph