THE POWER OF TRUST AMIDST THE WHISPERS OF THE WORLD: TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – A


TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – A | JUNE 21, 2026

Jeremiah 20:10-13, Psalm 69:8-10, 14, 17, 33-35, Romans 5:12-15, Matthew 10:26-33

 THE POWER OF TRUST AMIDST THE WHISPERS OF THE WORLD

 Brothers and sisters,

If there is a universal human experience, it is that of fear. We all know that lump in our stomach in the face of the unknown, the fear of illness, or that more subtle but devastating anxiety: the fear of being judged by others, or of being rejected and invisible in the crowd.

It is precisely there that the Word of God comes to us today. In the Gospel, Jesus repeats to us three times, like a refrain of tenderness and courage: “Do not fear.”

 Let us first look at the prophet Jeremiah. He is going through a trial that many of us have already gone through: betrayal and backbiting. “I hear the calumnies of the crowd... Denounce him”, said his own friends.

Who hasn't suffered from a rumor, a discussion group where people talk behind their backs, or the hushed hostility of a work environment? It's a deeply isolating experience.

When reading the book of Jeremiah, one inevitably thinks of the phrase from Psalm 68:69: “The zeal of your house will devour me” (which Saint John quoted much later about Jesus: Jn 2:17); it sums up Jeremiah's life quite well, but nothing and no one could divert him from his mission. One may wonder what his secret was: the awareness of being on a mission, quite simply. And believers know that God will always give them the strength they need to fulfill their strength. Just go to the source. The second secret is there: Jeremiah knew he was too small for the task, and therefore did not seek his strength in himself, but in God.

This is why the prophet Jeremiah does not sink. He shifts his gaze. Instead of staring at his enemies, he stares at God: “But the Lord is with me, like a fearsome warrior.” When anxiety overwhelms us, we tend to stare at our problems and just glance at God. Jeremiah invites us to do the opposite: to look briefly at our difficulties, and to contemplate the Lord for a long time.

This security is based on one certainty: God's love for us is personal and infinite. Saint Paul reminds us, in the second reading, that in the face of sin and death, God did not respond with anger, but with an ocean of grace in Jesus Christ. So, when Paul says, “The grace of God has been poured out abundantly upon many, that grace which is given in one man, Jesus Christ,” he means that Jesus Christ has established between God and us that loving relationship which is vital for us, and which fulfills us because we are made for it. As St. Augustine says: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it abides in you.” Saint John says the same thing, but differently: “Eternal life is that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (Jn 17:3). Now, in biblical language, to know and to love are the same thing. Eternal life, the one that began since our Baptism, is therefore to live in the love of God, quite simply, in his grace that surrounds us at every moment.

To make us understand this immense value that we have in his eyes, Jesus uses in the Gospel two daily images of great poetry:

  • Sparrows: At the time, they were the cheapest birds on the market, the food of the poor. Two sparrows were worth a penny. Yet not a single one falls to the ground without the Father knowing.
  • The hair on our head: Who would have fun counting their own hair? It is impossible and useless. Yet, Jesus tells us that God has counted them all. It is a way of saying that God knows us intimately, in every detail of our lives, our wounds, and our secret hopes. In a world of data, algorithms, and social security numbers, God calls us by name.

 Brothers and sisters, Jesus calls us to “bear witness” to him before men. This does not mean making great speeches, but living with quiet courage. It's refusing to participate in gossip at the coffee break. It is choosing honesty where everyone else is cheating. It is to look with dignity at the one whom society ignores, like a worthless sparrow.

This week, when fear or doubt knocks at our door, let us remember the sparrows and the counted hairs. We are not alone. We are loved, known, and kept in the palm of His hand.

Amen.

 

By B’rata Joe H., Sdb – P’titeLight

 

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