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21 giu 2026

June 21, 2026 - Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time - A

June 21, 2026 - Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time - A

First Reading: Jeremiah 20:10-13 from Psalm 68; Second Reading: Rom 5:12-15; Gospel: Matthew 10:26-33

"Death has spread to all men, because all have sinned," says St. Paul. And in another passage he says that death is the wages of sin, its sure fruit. The apostle wants to warn us against sin, any kind of sin. In this regard, he tells us that sin entered the world through one man. He is obviously referring to Adam, of whom Scripture tells us that he preferred to obey the word of the serpent, the tempter, rather than the Word of his Creator. He suspected that his God was a liar and interested in man's ruin, and for this reason he closed his ears to His word. Adam's sin describes every sin we have, every thought we formulate, and every action we perform in conflict with the love of our Father and the one who makes Him known to us, His Son. It is this Son, the only man without sin, who uplifts the situation of all humanity. His grace, his gratuitous love, lived with the offering of himself, enables us all to conquer sin and therefore death. He conquered it by choosing to listen to the Word of the Father rather than that of the tempter. When he was in the desert, we saw his decision.

The sin of every man causes others to suffer, but the love of God can save us from this suffering. The prophet Jeremiah tells us this with lucid clarity. When he began to obey God and speak as a prophet, he perceived "the slander of many," the hatred, jealousy, and malice of those who sought his ruin. His faith sustained him and gave him the certainty of being in the powerful and reassuring hands of God, the God who had called him and put in his mouth the words to be transmitted to the people. He turns to Him, saying: "To you I have entrusted my cause." He is certain of being watched over and protected: "The Lord is at my side like a valiant warrior." He can therefore invite everyone to praise the Lord, who protects the poor from their persecutors.

Jesus, in the Gospel passage, seems to want to draw on these certainties of the prophet: "Do not fear men," not even if they threaten to kill your body. And he repeatedly repeats the invitation not to be discouraged by fear for any reason. From the Lord's words, we understand that he wants to warn us that those who listen to him and follow him will be hated and slandered like the prophet. Indeed, his disciples, both with their lives and their words, are true prophets: they speak, and demonstrate, the will of the Father, repeating the Master's teachings and living in accordance with them. These are important to everyone; they are the joy of those who experience them, so they cannot and must not remain in the shadows, hidden, secreted.

He who loves others, starting with those to whom he is naturally attached, such as relatives, if he truly loves them, makes them aware of the wholesome and holy words, rich in wisdom and knowledge, spoken by the Lord. The hatred and threats of those who would continue their selfishness and lies do not dampen the love of the believer, who now belongs to the kingdom of heaven, a kingdom where peace and joy are known that no one else knows.

He who has known Jesus now knows that he is life, that he is the true gift that true love can offer to all. He who has listened to Jesus and loves him "announces his name from the housetops"; he fears no one, and can repeat: "The Lord is at my side like a valiant warrior." He knows he is worth more in God's eyes than the sparrows that enjoy his protection, and he knows that God is like a father, indeed much more: he knows that "even the hairs of your head are all numbered," that we are protected down to the smallest details.

Jesus concludes the invitation to abandon all fear with another exhortation, that of acknowledging him "before men." How will men be saved if no one bears witness to his presence and the joy that comes from listening to his word and obeying him? Those who are ashamed of him or hold back from making him known will not have him "at their side" before the Father of all.

Jesus is the salvation from sin, and therefore from the death that frightens everyone. It is he who makes our life beautiful and worth living. With him we live even when around us there is the hatred of many that frightens us. We will not be afraid. We will remember the insistence with which the Lord assures us that we are loved, therefore protected, and cared for. Fear, all fear, will stay far from us!