12th
SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Romans 5:12-15
Matthew 10:26-33 .
"Whoever acknowledges
me before others
I will acknowledge before my Father in Heaven”
At first glance, the gospel seems to offer a number of splintered themes. A closer look, however, brings us to one or two dominant points: first, the prophetic imperative on every believer; second, the assurance of the believer under the providential justice and love of the Father.
1. "Whoever acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. Whoever rejects me before I will reject be fare my Father in Heaven.” --- Every baptized, thus a believer, is a prophet. This is one of the three-fold office of Christ which we share upon baptism, the other two being a priest and a king. True, there are those who are especially called and ordained to be preachers. And so, they live as preachers by vocation. But the prophetic responsibility is shared by all. In fact, as today's gospel would point out, prophethood is an imperative to every baptized just as he is equally bound to exercise his common priesthood. So, we must understand that this evangelic mandate is addressed not only .to a selected, few but to all who take the path towards Christian perfection.
The believer becomes a prophet by being a witness.
Now, witnessing takes two levels. The first
level of witnessing is by speech. This is most basic that one must never do
away with, nor even underestimate its importance and propensity. A prophet is called
a prophet precisely because he is a "mouthpiece." Thus, he is a
spokesperson and his immediate identity rests on how he speaks and on the power
of his words. True, there are times when silence becomes the most prudent choice.
But this does not mean that a prophet's life is “eighty-percent silence".
A prophet must speak up, and he must speak up often and openly. By this, he
puts flesh and blood to what Christ says: “There
is nothing covered that will not be
uncovered, nothing hidden that will not be made known. What I am telling you in
the dark, you must speak in the light. What you hear in private, proclaim from
the housetops.”
More so, we learn from experience and testimonies that conversion knocks even at hardened hearts of many because of the powerful words of eloquent preachers. Certainly, their sermons are capable of awakening dormant hearts for they seem to echo the voice of the great prophets of old. We remember the holy John Chrysostom, the Dominican Lacordaire and the contemporary preacher Fulton Sheen as among those gifted by God with golden tongues in order to give witness to his gospel.
The other level of witnessing is by way of life. If
witnessing by speech is most basic, witnessing by way of life is most profound.
Experience has taught us that preachers become credible and effective not so
much because of what they say but because they practice what they preach. This
is in fact the test of a true prophet, a true witness. Thus, most of the
prophets suffer so much because most often witnessing of this kind demands great
sacrifices, even life. But true prophets always shine in virtue amidst pain and
suffering. No good tree bears bad fruit, or a bad tree good fruit. At times,
and even most of the time, the good fruit comes much later, so that we may even
be tempted to think that what we have is a bad tree. In our first reading,
Jeremiah has this similar experience. But God's justice comes in his most
appropriate time. And when that time comes, these witnesses gain most happily
and worthily the meaning of Christ’s promise: "Whoever acknowledges me
before others 1 will acknowledge before my Father in Heaven.”
But this is true not only to the prophets in the stricter sense, but also to “prophets” in the general sense which today's gospel has been referring to. That is why there are saints among the baptized: The call to sainthood does not mean performing miracles and other great wonders, but to live out gospel imperatives daily. This is the undying contribution of saints. Most of them are not really intellectuals and great-deal speakers. But they are simple practitioners of faith who, in their own little way, try to live out the virtues of the gospel. They are indeed witnesses, before anything else. And if those intellectuals and great-deal speakers become saints too, it is also because they first and foremost live out what they think, believe and say in a way most fitting to be Christian. This is why we Catholics remember the saints with our pious sentiments. Indeed, we give them honor not because they are divine, but because in their being human like us they are able to give living examples of what Christian witnessing means.
2. The price of Christian witnessing is, therefore, high. In all levels, it costs life. In its extreme situation, it means real death, physical death. In normal course of living, it means "deaths" to many things. No wonder, many cannot afford to pay for it. It's difficult to risk one’s life and end up like a hero for nothing. Much more, in normal cases, it is so tiresome to be good. It is just as tiresome as to be poor. And this is no lie. This is most real. This is the experience of the poor; the experience of those who try to be good; the experience of those who become poor because they try to be good; and the experience of those who try to be good because they are poor. In any case, witnessing is tiresome and frustrating.
Christ must have known this perfectly well. That is why with this imperative comes his assurance: "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but not the person. Rather be afraid of him who can destroy both body and soul in hell. For only a few cents you can buy two sparrows, yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father’s consent.” With these words, Christ widens our understanding regarding true values in life. Although material good is good, spiritual good is better. While the former is external, the latter is internal. Thus, what is more determinant is the latter.
This goes to say that what actually separates us from God is our internal refusal to what is good and our internal assent to what is bad. External forces, even physical death, only influence us from without. Thus, more blessed is he who chooses physical death to save spiritual life. In another sense, while it is true that material good is always inducing since it is sensual, spiritual good may not be immediately appealing since it is non-sensual: But certainly, it is most enduring. While the former fades in time, the latter shines for all eternity. Hence, this is what Christ assures and promises.
And not only that. These same words widen too our understanding on the Father's providential love. Indeed, nothing escapes from his cognizance, not even a sparrow or a single hair. Much less can a soul pass away without his knowledge. And every single soul is just so precious before his eyes. Even the poorest of the poor is worth more than a flock of sparrows. How can then a true witness remain unrewarded?
"Whoever acknowledges me before others I will
acknowledge before my Father in Heaven.”