Fr. Paschal Mary | June 21, 2026
Sunday Week 12, Year A
Out of the Old Testament, we tend to go to Isaiah when we look for prophecies of the Lord’s cross. And that is very good. Isaiah is quoted so often in the New Testament for good reason. Yet, as we look at Jeremiah, we see a type of Christ. Jeremiah was a good man, perhaps a little cranky, who spoke the words of the Lord. And in return he received terror, denunciation, shame and rejection. They sought to put him to death, to take vengeance upon him.
Jeremiah came from an exiled priestly family and was prophet at one of the most decisive and traumatic times in Israel’s history: the fall and destruction of Jerusalem. His witness was one of judgment and yet of hope. The first reading (Jeremiah 20:10-13) is from the last of his laments. Jeremiah describes the awful dilemma he finds himself in: if he speaks up, he is persecuted, but if he refuses, he burns up inside. I love how this ends: the Lord rescues the lives of the poor from the power of the wicked. We can see adumbrations of this in the Magnificat: Mary sings in praise of He who casts down the mighty from their thrones and who lifts up the lowly.
When our Lord cleanses the temple, the apostles remember a verse from Psalm 69, “zeal for your house consumes me” (cf. John 2:17). Although they give just this one verse (v. 9) the whole of Psalm 69 is recalled. Jesus bears the insult and the shame; he becomes an outcast in a stranger. The blasphemies of all the ages fall upon him. Yet Christ does lose hope or lose sight of the Lord who is bounteous and kind, and of great mercy. Jesus is deeply united to the lowly ones who, like Mary, rejoice. The Lord does not forget the poor, he hears them, he frees them and causes praise in their heart.
This is the gift which far surpasses the condemnation of sin and death. It is so easy to lose hope when all we experience is insult and shame. The grace of God in Jesus Christ as far surpassed the limits of time and frailty (cf. Romans 5:12-15).
And so don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul as Jesus says (cf. Matthew 10:26-33). As we see in the sparrows, the Father has an immense love, a truly infinite goodness and compassion towards those who seek him. And what must we do to receive that gift? We must acknowledge Jesus before others. So far in life we may have been ashamed, but there is no longer need. We can surrender to the grace and transformation of the passionate love of Jesus. We can ask the Holy Spirit who testifies on Jesus behalf to empower us as witnesses, as martyrs (cf. John 15:26b, 27a). Believe in the Gift and do not be afraid.