The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today resonate with our experience of personal or collective crisis and the opportunity for intervention by the Spirit in our situation.
The reading from the Prophet Jeremiah laments Jeremiah’s Interior Crisis
* [20:14–18] Deception, sorrow and terror have brought the prophet to the point of despair; nevertheless he maintains confidence in God (vv. 11–13); cf. Jb 3:3–12. (Jeremiah, CHAPTER 20, n.d.)
Psalm 69 is a prayer for Deliverance from Persecution.
* [Psalm 69] A lament complaining of suffering in language both metaphorical (Ps 69:2–3, 15–16, the waters of chaos) and literal (Ps 69:4, 5, 9, 11–13, exhaustion, alienation from family and community, false accusation). In the second part the psalmist prays with special emphasis that the enemies be punished for all to see (Ps 69:23–29). Despite the pain, the psalmist does not lose hope that all be set right, and promises public praise (Ps 69:30–36). The Psalm, which depicts the suffering of the innocent just person vividly, is cited often by the New Testament especially in the passion accounts, e.g., Ps 69:5 in Jn 15:25; Ps 69:22 in Mk 15:23, 36 and parallels and in Jn 19:29. The Psalm prays not so much for personal vengeance as for public vindication of God’s justice. There was, at this time, no belief in an afterlife where such vindication could take place. Redress had to take place now, in the sight of all. (Psalms, PSALM 69, n.d.)
The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans contrasts humanity’s Sin through Adam with Grace and Life through Christ.
* [5:12–21] Paul reflects on the sin of Adam (Gn 3:1–13) in the light of the redemptive mystery of Christ. Sin, as used in the singular by Paul, refers to the dreadful power that has gripped humanity, which is now in revolt against the Creator and engaged in the exaltation of its own desires and interests. But no one has a right to say, “Adam made me do it,” for all are culpable (Rom 5:12): Gentiles under the demands of the law written in their hearts (Rom 2:14–15), and Jews under the Mosaic covenant. Through the Old Testament law, the sinfulness of humanity that was operative from the beginning (Rom 5:13) found further stimulation, with the result that sins were generated in even greater abundance. According to Rom 5:15–21, God’s act in Christ is in total contrast to the disastrous effects of the virus of sin that invaded humanity through Adam’s crime.
* [5:12] Inasmuch as all sinned: others translate “because all sinned,” and understand v 13 as a parenthetical remark. Unlike Wis 2:24, Paul does not ascribe the entry of death to the devil. (Romans, CHAPTER 5, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches whom to fear and our gift of courage under persecution.
[10:26] The concealed and secret coming of the kingdom is to be proclaimed by them, and no fear must be allowed to deter them from that proclamation.
* [10:32–33] In the Q parallel (Lk 12:8–9), the Son of Man will acknowledge those who have acknowledged Jesus, and those who deny him will be denied (by the Son of Man) before the angels of God at the judgment. Here Jesus and the Son of Man are identified, and the acknowledgment or denial will be before his heavenly Father. (Matthew, CHAPTER 10, n.d.)
Julie Kalkowski comments that, during a course, two couples, MBA students, approached her as they had found out they both had 14 year old daughters. They were quite surprised to learn their daughters were experiencing very similar problems. They had anticipated that a 14 year old white girl would have different problems than a 14 year old black girl.
They had forgotten that 14 is a difficult age regardless of what race you are. It struck me then, as it does now, that as long as we are so separated, we cannot know about each other's lives. And that not knowing, not being connected makes it easier to judge others or to fall prey to our fears.
When you start to become fearful or feel afraid of someone based on how society has labeled them, that’s when Jesus is calling on us to remember the sparrows in Matthew’s gospel. Jesus wants to remind us that, as each one of us is a child of God, we are all worth more than hundreds of sparrows. (Kalkowski, 2023)
Don Schwager quotes “Fear not, you are of more value than many sparrows,” by John Chrysostom, 344-407 A.D.
"What do you see in creation of less value than a tiny sparrow? But even the sparrow will not fall without God's knowledge. Jesus does not mean that the sparrow falls by God's direct will because it is unworthy but that nothing that occurs is hidden from God. If then God is not ignorant of anything that happens in creation, and if God loves us more truly than the best human father, and if God loves us so as to have numbered our very hairs, then we need not be afraid. Jesus said this not to indicate that God literally has a number placed on the very hairs of our head but rather to show that God has perfect knowledge of everything about us and providentially cares for everything about us. Therefore, if God both knows all things that happen to us and is able to save us and willing to do so, then whatever we may be suffering, we need not think that God has forsaken us in our suffering. For it is not God's will to keep us wholly separated from that which elicits dread but rather to persuade us not to make an idol out of whatever we dread. It is this, more than anything else, that constitutes deliverance from dread. 'Therefore, don't be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows.' Don't you see that God views your fear with more concern than the lives of many sparrows? He already knows the secrets of your heart. Hence Jesus adds, 'Do not fear.' For even if that which you dread prevails, it prevails only over your body; this is the limited part of yourself, which nature will surely take in due time and bring to an end." (excerpt from The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 34, 2-3) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 10:26-33 comments that the disciples probably had to cling to these words often as they went forth to witness. Not everyone accepted their preaching, and they couldn’t work miracles as consistently as Jesus had (Matthew 17:16-20). But it didn’t matter because their worth came not from what they did but rather from who they were: children of God. They could rely on their Father’s care for them no matter what. They could trust that his love wasn’t based on their success or accomplishments. It was based on the fact that he had created them in his image and likeness. He loved them, eternally, simply because he is love.
Jesus speaks these words to you today: You are worth more than many sparrows. The same Father in heaven who cared for those disciples cares for you. He sees your every joy and every difficulty and loves you through all of them. He even loves you when you stumble! He rejoices when you witness to his goodness and delights when you care for your family. He values you when you are confined to bed and all you can do is offer him your pain. He sees it all. He loves you, not because of what you do, but because of who you are.
You are more than the sum of your successes and failures. You are a beloved child of your Father in heaven—you are worth more than many sparrows.
“I trust in you, Jesus, because you care for me.” (Meditation on Matthew 10:26-33, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the text from the “Confessions of Jeremiah” as a lamentation as the people blamed Jeremiah for their difficulties. Paul considers spiritual and physical death through the contrast of the sin of Adam and the full life in Christ. Friar Jude notes the cognitive dissonance in “they will kill you but never harm you.”
Rev. Dr. Barbara Holmes and Rev. Donny Bryant discuss “crisis contemplation.” Holmes believes contemplative experience can emerge in times of collective crisis. When you experience crisis as an individual, that’s what St. John of the Cross calls “the dark night of the soul.” You are wrestling with God. You’re doing what you need to do to handle what’s coming up out of you that you don’t understand. It’s personal. You’re getting a divorce, your child is ill … or you’re just having the catastrophe of everyday life. But that’s not the same thing for a group of people.
Crisis contemplation is that spirit that emerges when the breaking occurs. We find it in every single culture. The Chinese call this spirit chi (qi), the Egyptians call it Ma’at, and Hindus call it prana. Kuzipa Nalwamba writes of the concept of Mupasi, which is an African description of a spirit that dwells within all of us. [1] It’s individual but also communal…. When you are all suffering, Mupasi is that vital spiritual voice that weaves the lives of all of us into an inseparable bond. It makes reality one whole. It gives kinship to all of us. When you think about it, that means that loving our neighbors is not just a little anecdote or possibility. With the moving of the Spirit, it’s inherent to our being, for where the Spirit abides there’s always unity. (Holmes, 2023)
We are aware of the many shortcomings in the life of our communities that call out for reconciliation. Our hope in the Love of God as activated by the prompting of the Spirit will sustain our struggle in times of crisis.
References
Holmes, B. (2023, June 25). The Spirit Comes in Crisis — Center for Action and Contemplation. Daily Meditations Archive: 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-spirit-comes-in-crisis-2023-06-25/
Jeremiah, CHAPTER 20. (n.d.). USCCB. June 25, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jeremiah/20?10
Kalkowski, J. (2023, June 25). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved June 25, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/062523.html
Matthew, CHAPTER 10. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 25, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10?26
Meditation on Matthew 10:26-33. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved June 25, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/06/25/715801/
Psalms, PSALM 69. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 25, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/69?8
Romans, CHAPTER 5. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 25, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/5?12
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Fear Not - You Are of More Value Than Many Sparrows. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 25, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=jun25
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