June 25
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Lord, in your great love, answer me.”
READINGS
Reflection
The readings for this weekend speak to the challenge of discipleship in an increasingly secular world. As we seek more spiritual and faithful ways to follow Jesus, many in our society prefer to leave Jesus out of their lives. They simply believe that this world is the only reality that exists. Our readings explore this separation and give us good news about how we can stay the course of discipleship in our lives.
In our first reading we see the Prophet Jeremiah describing the people who seek to separate him from his faith through violent means. The second half of the reading describes how God will help us to keep the faith and punish those who want to separate us from Him. Our Psalm gives us words of comfort while describing the actions of those who alienate themselves from us because of our allegiance to God. In the passage from the letter to the Romans, St Paul tells us that sin has always been in the world. What is important to faithful disciples is the fact that our faith redeems us through Christ’s gift of his own life.
In the gospel passage from St Matthew, Christ tells the disciples that the soul is much more important than the body. It is the soul which they must be concerned with because the body is but a passing thing, while the soul is eternal. The Lord is always at our side giving us strength in our efforts to fend off the weakness of the flesh. We must listen carefully and believe in his opening words: “Fear no one”. We must avoid the things of the flesh that separate us from God and trust in his love and protection so we can become the people he wants us to be. As we continue our journey of faith, let us turn toward Jesus and seek his love and strength in order resist the temptations of a fallen world.
Keep the faith,
Deacon Dare
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