Jeremiah 20:10-13

Romans 5:12-15

Mathew 10:26-33

Jeremiah 20:10-13

Prophetic figures of the Old Testament were conscious of their vocation to proclaim the word of God ‘in and out of season’. Especially chosen by God for a specific time and purpose they were acutely aware of their vocation and the ‘cost of their discipleship’ due to opposition, persecution, and defamation of character in their vocational calling. The substance of this vocation, restoration of justice, religious consciousness, and communal solidarity with the poor, amongst other things, brought them into conflict with the status quo of their time.

In our first reading this Sunday we see these scenarios played out and the human impact of proclaiming the truth. Being consumed by God’s calling (20:7) and the zeal of his proclamation, Jeremiah becomes a “laughing stock” and is rejected on the grounds of his persistence. Under such pressure, Jeremiah considers relinquishing his vocation (20:10) but he experiences “a fire burning in his heart” that restores his faith and commitment even though his detractors continue to denounce him, a further burden comes from friends who turn away from him.

Restoration and balance comes from his convictions that the Lord “is at my side a mighty hero….a dread warrior” who will overthrow all opposition. The message contained in this text is worthy of meditation for all those who are called to discipleship, where the experience of personal powerlessness is converted into a new sense of purpose, a grace that restores the original message of hope in the hearts of those who are oppressed. Keeping faith alive in this way restores the gift of vocation by way of memory and the assurance of God’s prevailing spirit and fidelity.

Romans 5:12-15

Paul’s letter to the Romans is fully aware of alienation and separation (the type experienced by Jeremiah), and indeed the sin of the world, both understood as a tragic breach from God’s love and fidelity; it is an alienation, a turning away from the ‘original’ unity between God and human kind illustrated by Adams rebellion and Christ’s restoration.

Paul understands the life death and resurrection of Jesus to be the healing, or the remedy for sin and separation - a reordering of creation, both personal and collective.

Matthew 10:26-33

Matthew provides a ‘roadmap’ for the disciple where the spirit of Jeremiah can be understood as a model - moving beyond fear to proclamation, under the influence of God’s spirit. Matthew’s message is for the disciple to proclaim the truth, and to uncover all that is hidden; Jesus assures the disciple that they are worth more than many sparrows, and the very hairs on their head are accounted for. The God of all life will protect, guide, console, and channel fear into deeper faith and commitment.

‍

‍

'The fear of God’ means both reverence and love of the One whose threefold care never deserts us (the Collect) and whose sacrifice is both the eternal act of reconciliation and the definitive act of Divine praise (the Prayer over the Offerings).

The Sundays of Ordinary Time in the Summer months are a good opportunity to use Eucharistic Prayer 4, since its scope is the whole story of salvation, the scope also of the Sundays of Ordinary Time.

For the General Intercessions

That the Church may remain faithful to Christ,

and in the face of persecution may find the peace of his resurrection.

‍

God, our deliverer, against whom evil cannot prevail, stand with all who suffer violence for the name of Jesus, that as they have acknowledged him, so he may acknowledge them as his own. Who lives and reigns...

‍

These hymns have been suggested from the Laudate hymnbook:

883 Christ be our light

933 Father, hear the prayer we offer

794 God is love, his the care

852 We have a gospel to proclaim