{"id":913,"date":"2017-06-20T06:17:48","date_gmt":"2017-06-20T06:17:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/batkol.info\/new-website\/?p=913"},"modified":"2017-06-20T06:17:48","modified_gmt":"2017-06-20T06:17:48","slug":"12th-sunday-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/2017\/06\/20\/12th-sunday-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"12th Sunday of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n\t\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

12th Sunday of the Year<\/h3>\n
\n

12th Sunday of the Year \u2013 A (25 June 2017)<\/p>\n

Jeremiah 20:10-13, Psalm 68, Romans 5:12-15, Matthew 10:26-33<\/p>\n

Download<\/a><\/p>\n

Theme: \u2018The Lord listens\u2019 \u2026 \u2018in your great love, answer me, O God.\u2019 (Ps. 68)<\/p>\n

In our first reading, Jeremiah is having a hard time. His message, which challenges his listeners to \u2018change your lives and stop doing evil\u2019 (25:5-6), doesn\u2019t go down well. Not surprising when others tell a soothing message that all will be well, shades of the struggle between \u2018fake news\u2019 and truth that we experience today. One of those voices that Jeremiah rails against is that of the priest, Pashur, to whom Jeremiah said in 20:3, \u2018The Lord has named you not Pashur but \u201cTerror-all-around\u201d. In our reading, in 20:10 we have a play on this new name as, despite Pashur\u2019s soothing message, terror is being acted out at many levels. Jerusalem is under threat from outside forces, an undermining threat comes from those who give a \u2018false\u2019 message that all will be well (Jer. 20:6), and the people reinforce the intensity of the threat by listening to the false messages even to the point of threatening Jeremiah who is warning them of the dangers involved.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jeremiah knows that, as inadequate as he feels to speak out against all this \u2018terror\u2019 that he is noticing and experiencing, his voice is not his own, it comes from God (Jer. 1:4-10). Our reading shows his clarity that in expressing God\u2019s voice, he must also root himself in its source, for it is God who \u2018has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers\u2019 (20:13), it is God who sees \u2018the heart and the mind\u2019 (20:12).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the Gospel reading the theme of threat continues. Jesus says, \u2018do not be afraid\u2019. His attention is on the inner world of the \u2018soul\u2019 and he provides \u2018a warning to be faithful despite persecution\u2019 (The Jewish Annotated New Testament).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018Terror\u2019 is familiar in our world today too. It can be difficult to hear our own inner voice or God\u2019s. In difficult times, when we experience \u2018terror\u2019 at the various levels highlighted above, it can force us to stop and listen in a new way. A difficult task perhaps when the \u2018terrors all around\u2019 potentially present us with a mirror in which we might see our own inner world and the terrors which may lurk therein. Terror \u2018uncovers\u2019 something \u2018hidden\u2019 and \u2018proclaims\u2019 something \u2018dark\u2019. \u2018Do not be afraid\u2019, however, for we are told that there will be movement and what is covered now will be uncovered, what is hidden will become clear, what is whispered in the dark will be proclaimed in the daylight. Jesus\u2019 message, just like Jeremiah\u2019s, contains within itself the movement it anticipates. Where we move to, however, depends on our willingness to be aware of \u2018terror\u2019, at all its levels, and whose voice we choose to listen to in response to it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

These external and internal \u2018terrors\u2019 and the shadows they caste, remind me of Proverbs 20:27, \u2018The human soul is the lamp of the Lord, searching every inmost part.\u2019 To ensure the light of this lamp remains kindled, for ourselves and others, requires a capacity to hear and remain faithful to God as Jeremiah did and to believe Jesus\u2019 words, \u2018no need to be afraid\u2019. Their words invite us to face the \u2018terror all around\u2019 and the terror within ourselves. They support us to \u2018uncover\u2019 what is \u2018hidden\u2019, to \u2018proclaim\u2019 in the \u2018light\u2019 rather than \u2018whisper\u2019 in the \u2018dark.\u2019 They move us from \u2018fake news\u2019 to truth and through the darkness that has been uncovered, sometimes by terror, further into our identity as \u2018the lamp of the Lord.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Reflection and Discussion: 1 To whom do I listen and how does this influence my choices? 2 Where is the source of my own voice? 3 What stops me from listening and remaining faithful to the voice of God in my life at all times?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bibliography: The Jewish Annotated NT by Amy-Jill Levine & Marc Zvi Brettler (eds)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s Sunday Gospel Commentary was prepared by<\/p>\n

Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Fitzgerald nds, Bat Kol Alumni 2015
Email address: theresefitzgerald7@gmail.com<\/p>\n

[Copyright \u00a9 2017]<\/p>\n

\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n

PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Gospel commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Sunday Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol. Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome<\/p>\n

……………………………………………………………….<\/p>\n

Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem<\/p>\n

1983-2017<\/p>\n

\u201cChristians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.\u201d<\/p>\n

gill@batkol.info Website: www.batkol.info<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

12th Sunday of the Year 12th Sunday of the Year \u2013 A (25 June 2017) Jeremiah 20:10-13, Psalm 68, Romans 5:12-15, Matthew 10:26-33 Download Theme: \u2018The Lord listens\u2019 \u2026 \u2018in your great love, answer me, O God.\u2019 (Ps. 68) In our first reading, Jeremiah is having a hard time. His message, which challenges his listeners…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":""},"categories":[3,6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/913"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/913\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}