TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, JUNE 21, 2026
(Jeremiah 20:10-13; Romans 5:12-15; Matthew 10:26-33)
Once again the gospel today imparts a basic lesson for
growth in the spiritual life. The passage is taken from Jesus' “apostolic
discourse,” one of the five lessons that along with their accompanying
narratives constitute the body of Matthew’s Gospel. We can think of it as
preliminary instructions for the great sending of the apostles at the end of
the work.
As Pope Saint John Paul II used to tell all Catholics, Jesus
warns his apostles: “'Do not fear.'” Afraid of what? In the first three
centuries of the Church, the lives of Christians were in danger because of
their beliefs and practices. This type of persecution still exists in China,
several Muslim countries and some parts of Africa. But it is rare in Western
nations.
However, there is another type of fear among us. Many fear
being belittled or considered out of touch and not “cool” if they live the
faith as the Catechism teaches. That is, if we insist on attending Sunday mass
even though we have to drive twenty miles or if we leave a movie theater that
shows nudity. Some may make fun of us now. But it should not surprise us that
in twenty years we will be remembered for having dedicated ourselves to a cause
as noble as the conspiracy of charity that is the Catholic Church.
Jesus does not say that all kinds of fear are unnecessary.
In fact, he recommends fear of the one “who can throw our soul and body into
the place of punishment.” Unfortunately, he does not mention who he is
referring to. Who can throw us into hell? Some Bible commentators have said
that he has in mind God, his Father. Others think he means the devil. But isn't
it true that both – God and the devil – are formidable and merit fear?
We think of the devil more as a person who can seduce us to
perdition than as someone who could throw us there. However, the effect would
be the same: the perpetual loss of happiness. By the way, if we do not accept
terms like “devil” and “Satan,” we can change them to “evil” or “the web of
evil.” What we are saying is that our natural tendencies toward goods such as pleasure, power, and prestige
can become disordered so that they suffocate us. That is, they can extinguish
our desire to have just relationships with God and neighbor.
Certainly God can throw us into hell, but would He? Maybe
not in the sense of forcing us out of His care. However, He has created us with
free will to be responsible men and women. Furthermore, he has sent us his own
Son to break the bonds of sin and light the paths to justice. If we wish to
reject all these advantages, He will not prevent us from separating ourselves from
Him.
Yes, we must fear God, particularly when we lack maturity.
But once we grow in wisdom, fear turns into love like a caterpillar turns into
a butterfly. We recognize that our happiness remains with Him and not with the
praise of drinking buddies. For this reason, the Word of God stipulates that
fear of God is only “the beginning of wisdom.” We are truly wise when we cling
to God like a child to his father in the middle of a crowd at a soccer match.
Since we have mentioned soccer, we can conclude with a
comment about the World Cup. In previous years the competition was associated
with much illicit pleasure. Obviously, the participants in the disordered
activities were immature people despite being millionaires. They needed the
fear of God to put them on the right path. But fans who are also friends of God
always thank him for having created athletes with such skill as a Lionel Messi
or a Kylian Mbappé. For them, football is an exciting pastime, but not as
importance as Sunday mass. It gives them
even more reason to glorify God for all He has done.
