Homily 12th Sunday OT A

Franklin Fong, OFM

June 25, 2023

The lectionary readings today all center on the theme of having courage in good times and challenging times !

In the first reading from Jeremiah, we heard that when he was personally hurt he relied on his awareness of God’s presence and entrusted himself to the Lord. Jeremiah found refuge in God even when his preaching was rejected by the people. Jeremiah showed courage and persisted in his mission in spite of any resistance to his message of God’s love. Nevertheless, there were times when Jeremiah lost his patience and asked for God’s vengeance on these persecutors. As fellow human beings we can understand his frustration and loneliness in doing what God asks of him.

The in the second reading from St Paul’s letter to the Romans, our attention is directed toward an appreciation of God’s grace and mercy. God created Adam and Eve who brought us the gifts of life, sin and death. God also gave us his Son Jesus who showed courage by not only teaching us how to live a life of good deeds but as well opened the doors of eternal life for us !

In the gospel reading from Matthew, we hear of Jesus bringing our attention to the fact that the only thing to fear is our foolishness in denying ourselves God’s love and mercy. God cares for us. God watches over us. We must have courage and trust in God’s protection and be assured of God’s full acknowledgement of our faith especially when we suffer persecution, indifference or disregard in our life of ministry of bringing the light of Christ! As we heard Jesus day “Do not be afraid!”

So what happens then if we do not have enough courage to witness to our faith? We can not accomplish anything! We cannot share in the mission of Christ! We are too easily discouraged whenever we meet any criticism. Clearly then for those who do not have the courage are the ones who do not yet know or appreciate the will of God for them! Fear comes out of the ignorance or lack of self-confidence or lack of support or low self-esteem. This is the big learning curve of our faith journey ! It takes a lifetime and a strong family and community support to witness to our faith in the fullest meaning!

To summarize today’s readings, the first reading talks about Jeremiah’s courageous suffering in the face of his persecutors. The second reading talks about the graciousness of God to us sinners, who face our lives of sin and death. We must then be grateful to Jesus Christ who took courage to die for us and to invite us for eternal life. Finally the Gospel of Matthew encourages us in our missionary work in the face of opposition.

Some questions to reflect about in the coming week are:

1. How did you find your courage in trusting on God in your life? How have you learned to trust in God?

2. What does “speaking from the housetops” mean in your life? How has this evolved over your life of faith?

3. Have you or any friends ever personally experienced hostility in doing your ministries? How did you or they respond?

Brothers and Sisters of the Chinese Catholic Community

that is the Good News for this 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time.

Alleluia Alleluia

(中文翻譯.原文以英文為準.)

常年期(甲年)第十二主日 (06/25/2023)
鄺神父主日證道中譯本

讀經一: 耶肋米亞先知書 20:10-13
讀經二: 保祿宗徒致羅馬人書 5:12-15
瑪竇福音 10:26-33

今天的讀經都以我們要“充滿勇氣”為主題，不論時勢的順逆 。

在讀經一耶肋米亞先知書 ，我們聽到當他身受傷痛時，他依靠天主的臨在，將自己託付給祂。他在天主那裡找到了庇護所，即使人們拒絕了他的講道。耶肋米亞表現出勇氣，儘管人們反對，他仍堅持使命，傳播天主愛人的信息。儘管如此，有時耶肋米亞也會失去了耐心，祈求天主向這些迫害者報仇。我們同為人類，不難理解他在做天主要求他做的事情時感覺到的沮喪和孤獨。

在讀經二聖保祿宗徒寫給羅馬人的信中，我們的注意力集中於感激天主的恩典和憐憫。天主創造了亞當和厄娃，他們給了我們生命這禮物、也包括罪惡和死亡。天主也將祂的兒子耶穌賜給我們，耶穌表現出勇氣，不僅教導我們生活如何行善，也為我們打開了永
生之門！

在瑪竇福音的讀經中，我們聽到耶穌教我們注意到，我們唯一值得害怕的是我們愚蠢地否認天主的愛與憐憫。天主關心我們，看顧著我們。我們一定要有勇氣相信祂的保護並確信祂完全承認我們的信德，尤其是當我們把我們的生活作為事奉於帶來基督之光這使命而遭受迫害、冷漠或忽視！正如我們聽到耶穌說“不要怕！

那麼，如果我們沒有足夠的勇氣來見證我們的信仰，會發生什麼呢？我們什麼也做不到！我們無法分享基督的使命！每當我們遇到任何批評時，我們都很容易灰心喪氣。明顯地這些缺乏勇氣的人還未有認識和感謝天主給予他們的旨意！恐懼源於無知、缺乏自信、缺乏支持、或自卑。這正是我們信仰之旅必需跨越的學習過程！這需要一生的時間，強大的家庭和團體支持，來印證我們信仰的真諦！

總結今天的讀經，讀經一談到耶肋米亞面對迫害者，他勇敢地受苦。讀經二是關於天主對我們這些面對罪惡和死亡生活的罪人的仁慈，隨着我們必須感謝耶穌基督，因祂鼓起勇氣為我們而死，並邀請我們取得永生。最後，瑪竇福音給我們鼓勵，摶道時面對反對也不怕。

未來一周需要思考的一些問題是：
1. 你是如何找到在生活中信靠天主的勇氣的？你學會了信靠天主嗎？
2. “要在屋上頂張揚出去” 在你的生活中意味著什麼？這在你的信仰生活中經過什演變呢？
3. 你或你的朋友在做事工時有否曾親身經歷過敵意？你或他們有何反應？

華人天主教會的弟兄姊妹們，這就是常年期第十二主日的好消息。

亞肋路亞，感謝天主。