*** 1st Reading ***

Jeremiah 20:10-13

 I hear many people whispering,

“Terror is all around! Denounce him! Yes, denounce him!” All my friends watch me to see if I will slip: “Perhaps he can be deceived,” they say; “then we can get the better of him and have our revenge.”

But Yahweh, a mighty warrior, is with me. My persecutors will stumble and not prevail; that failure will be their shame and their disgrace will never be forgotten.  Yahweh, God of hosts, you test the just and probe the heart and mind.

Let me see your revenge on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause.  Sing to Yahweh! Praise Yahweh and say: he has rescued the poor from the clutches of the wicked!

 

Ps 69:8-10, 14, 17, 33-35(14c)

Lord in your great love, answer me.

 

*** 2nd Reading ***

Romans 5:12-15

Therefore, sin entered the world through one man and through sin, death, and later on death spread to all humankind, because all sinned. As long as there was no law, they could not speak of disobedience, but sin was already in the world. 

This is why from Adam to Moses death reigned among them, although their sin was not disobedience as in Adam’s case—this was not the true Adam, but foretold the other who was to come.

 Such has been the fall, but God’s gift goes far beyond. All died because of the fault of one man, but how much more does the grace of God spread when the gift he granted reaches all, from this unique man Jesus Christ.

 

**** Gospel ****

Matthew 10:26-33

There is nothing covered that will not be uncovered, and 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.

 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but have no power to kill the soul. 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.

As for you, every hair of your head has been counted. So do not be afraid: you are worth much more than many sparrows. Whoever acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. Whoever rejects me before others I will reject before my Father in heaven.

 

 Gospel Reflection

Read:

The first reading speaks of how God protects the innocent; the second reading recounts how he himself designed to save fallen and sinful humanity. And finally, in the Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that they have nothing to fear because even all the hairs on their head have been counted.

Reflect:

The love that God has for us is a very concrete, enfleshed, embodied kind of love. It is not a mere idea or an abstraction. God, Jesus has revealed to us, is a father.

He is a person, one that we can talk to, that we can rely on, someone with whom we can relate, speak about our heartaches and headaches, someone who is close to us.

At the same time, he is a father who askd that we be responsible, accountable, dependable, that we be good stewards of the gifts and blessings that he has given us, that we make the most of the life we have, so that we could become the best person we can be, the person he wants us to be.

That is how he cares for us, and it is a care that is all encompassing, reaching to the very minute details of our lives. With such a loving father, what is there for us to fear or worry about. Life opens up fully for one who trusts in God completely.

Pray:

Lord, help me to rest in the Father’s love so that I may know true peace of mind and heart.

Act:

Pray for the gift of a trusting spirit and rely on God for everything.