Twenty-second Sunday – Year A – Ordinary Time

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Twenty-second Sunday – Year A – Ordinary Time

Readings: Jer 20:7-9; Rom 12:1-2; Mt 16:21-27.

1/ Reading I: ^RSV Jeremiah 20:7 O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived; thou art stronger than I, and thou hast prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day; everyone mocks me. ⁸ For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, “Violence and destruction!” For the word of the LORD has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. ⁹ If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.

2/ Reading II: ^RSV Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

 

I. THEME: Conflicts

            Conflicts of opinions happen everywhere and in every generation. For examples, children want to watch TV, but their parents want them to go to bed. On the road, a driver must wait for the green light to move while there is no traffic on either side. In a company, a worker wants to do his way but must do his owner’s way. So, where there is a conflict, which opinion one must do and how do we know which opinion is correct?

            Today readings show us that conflicts happen everywhere, and the ways people chose to follow they chose to follow God’s way. In the first reading, the conflict happened between God and the prophet Jeremiah. God wants him to speak things that people don’t want to hear. Since they don’t want to hear, they persecuted him. Sometimes Jeremiah doesn’t want to speak what God commands him; but he couldn’t do it because of “a burning fire shut up in his bones, and he is weary with holding it in.” In the second reading, Christ’s disciples are encouraged to offer their whole life as the holy sacrifice for God. This is not easy because worldly temptations surround them and divert their attention from God. In the Gospel, Matthew reported the conflict between Jesus and Peter, his apostle. Jesus foretold that he shall go up to Jerusalem to begin his Passion and death according to God’s plan; Peter took him aside and advised him not to choose that way. Jesus rebuked Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men.”

II. ANALYSIS:

1/ Reading I: The conflict between God and Jeremiah

1.1/ God’s will: From the beginning, God wanted to choose Jeremiah to be His prophet; Jeremiah told Him that he doesn’t know how to speak because he is still young. God said to him, “Do not say, `I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send, you shall go, and whatever I command you shall speak. Be not afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.” Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth and said to him, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” (Jer 1:6-10). He became God’s prophet from that time. Jeremiah himself in today first reading said, “O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived; thou art stronger than I, and thou hast prevailed.”

            He used the verb “piteh,” which should be translated as “to seduce” or “to persuade,” not “to deceive.” God doesn’t deceive anyone; He persuades people to follow the truth and the good. Once Jeremiah becomes God’s prophet, he must speak and do what God wants him to. If we understand Jeremiah’s mission according to the ultimate goal of his life, this is the good seduction to be felt into.

1.2/ Jeremiah’s will: God’s prophet must speak what God commands even though he doesn’t like it or people don’t want to hear. People want to hear the word of peace, but Jeremiah was commanded to speak about war and exile. That is the reason why he said to God, “I have become a laughingstock all day; everyone mocks me. For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, “Violence and destruction!” For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long.” Not only he was derided, but also thrown to a muddy well and left there for dying.

1.3/ Which way to choose? Many times, Jeremiah wanted to rebel as he confessed, “If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.”

2/ Reading II: The conflict between the consecrated and the worldly lifestyle

2.1/ The consecrated lifestyle: Before St. Paul’s conversion on the way to Damascus, he wanted to persecute Christians and put them into prison; but God wanted to use him to preach the Gospel for the Gentiles. The event of falling from his horse and Christ’s revelation completely changed his life forever: from the eager persecutor of Christians to the ardent preacher to the Gentiles. What we read from today passage expressed his ardent love for Christ, “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” This is the proper way for people to worship God.

            The offering to God, according to St. Paul, is no longer limited to sheep, goats or any material things which people can buy from the market; but must be the whole person with freewill, desire, intellect and passions. We offer our sacrifice to God, not only in the weekend or in the morning and the evening of each day, but also every minute of our life. This requirement is the challenge for the consecrated life. Only those who recognize God’s compassion and His immense love for them can offer to God this way.

2.2/ The worldly lifestyle: People of the world are competing to be rich so that they can enjoy everything the world offers; Christ’s disciples are required to give up all worldly allurements and to live a simple life. Though they have a body which demands to be caressed and cared for, Christ’s followers are required to give up marriage to live a chaste life. More than anything, Christ’s disciples are required to give up their will to obey their superiors who are human like them and have many weaknesses through a life of obedience.

            Though living in a world full of temptations, St. Paul advised us, “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” This advice is not only for those who live a consecrated life but also for Christians who live in a marriage life. All people through baptism bear in themselves the priestly duty, therefore, they must offer to God pure, holy and perfect sacrifices by their own life.

3/ Gospel: The conflict between Christ and Peter

3.1/ Christ’s will: Christ’s Passion is near, and he wanted to reveal to his disciples God’s plan of salvation. According to this plan, he must go up to Jerusalem to be persecuted by the elders, the scribes and the Pharisees. He shall be crucified, died but raised in the third day.

            When was prevented by Peter, he sternly rebuked him, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men.” As a human being, it is easy for Christ to fall into Peter’s temptation because no one wants to suffer and to die; but as the son of God, Christ must do God’s will in order to bring God’s plan of salvation to perfection.

3.2/ Peter’s will: After Christ revealed his plan; Peter takes him aside and says to him, “God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” Like the Jewish contemporaries, Peter can’t understand why the Messiah must go through suffering to save men. By preventing Christ from God’s plan, Peter is doing the Satan’s works. He tempted Christ in the desert and in the Gethsemane Garden: Let choose other way to save people, the way which shall not require to be suffered and be died.

3.3/ The conditions to follow Christ: Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” According to Jesus’ statement^, there are three conditions which one must do to be Christ’s disciple: First, he must deny himself which means he must forsake his will to do God’s will. Like Jeremiah and Paul, Peter and other disciples felt the difficulty of giving up their will to do God’s will. Jesus gave three reasons why one must do so. Secondly, he must take up his cross which means to bear daily suffering. Lastly, he must follow Jesus’ way.

            (1) “For whoever would save his life, shall lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” This reason is difficult to understand; but can be understood with concrete examples. If everyone is afraid of death, who shall fight with the enemies to protect their nation? And if the enemies invaded their nation, can they protect their life? Or if everybody didn’t keep the law, the social order shall be messed up; and once the society lost its safety, human lives shall no longer be protected. Similarly in the spiritual life, only God knows what people must do to inherit the eternal life. He knows people can’t achieve eternal life with an easy lifestyle, so He taught them to through the narrow door by giving up their will and carrying their cross. People, of course, still have freedom to choose; but they must choose the way that leads them to eternal happiness.

            (2) “For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life?” In order to choose wisely, people must foresee and compare the results which they shall get. Jesus drew people’s intention to the ultimate goal of their life which is the life of eternal happiness in God’s kingdom. Many people have a tendency to look for temporal results and forget about the ultimate goal of their life. Jesus wants to remind these people that it is a waste if they can possess all things of this present life but shall lose their eternal life.

            (3) “For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done.” People must know that all their works shall be judged on the Last Day and God shall repay them for what they have done. Even in this life, people must also receive the results of their works: if they do good deeds, they shall receive good results; if they do bad deeds, the bad results. Though there are some deeds that people can get by in this life, but they must face God’s judgment and corresponding results in the life to come.

III. APPLICATION IN LIFE:                   

            – Conflicts can’t be lacked in our life because everyone has their own will, a hundred people have a hundred wills; but we must find out what is the best will to follow. This is relatively easy if we follow the law of God, of society and of nation.

            – When there are conflicts in morality and spirituality, we must find God’s will to follow; because only God has absolute wisdom to guide people. God’s will be revealed to us through Scripture, Tradition and the Church’s teachings.

            – People are easy to be rebellious due to the environmental effects, such as: climate, social pressure, peers, and job. They have tendency to follow their will and don’t want to obey authorities. However, we need to know that our wisdom is very limited, we need to open up ourselves to receive good things from others, to protect the common goods, and especially to achieve the ultimate goal of our life by doing God’s will.