Gospel reflection for June 21, 2026, Twelfth week in Ordinary Time
In photo above, The focus of salvation is at the heart of the Gospel message for June 21, 2026. CNS file photo
Social pressure, the fear of being ridiculed or sidelined within our families, among our friends, or in the workplace leads many of us to sideline our thoughts or opinions. This can be particularly true in matters of our religious faith. For many embedded cultural reasons, related primarily to the marginalization of Catholics prominent within our country until about 60 years ago, we are most reluctant to share or express religious opinions or faith. Granted, there are times when it is prudent not to do so from the vantage point of the situation, yet, doing so often does, or certainly should, make us uncomfortable.
In one of the more poignant images he uses, Jesus instructs his disciples of the depth of God’s love for all of creation. God knows when a sparrow falls from the sky. God has a count of the hairs on our heads. The intimacy of the relationship between God and Jeremiah is a promise of the relationship between ourselves and God. While often this imagery is used in some sappy form of religion, Jesus does not intend it that way. He is calling his disciples to make a decision. The closing lines of the passage make a heavy demand upon us – the expectation of a decision. We either stand with Jesus or against Jesus. There is no room for middle ground.
Jeremiah, the great seventh and sixth century BC prophet who experienced the horror of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, stands as a parable for the relationship between God and the people of Jerusalem, is one of intense spiritual and personal struggle. A reluctant prophet, Jeremiah constantly struggled over his seeming failure as a prophet. No matter what he did, the people rejected his message and turned to the false prophets who told them what they wanted to hear. The First Reading is from chapter 20 which is the most heart-wrenching soliloquy in the Bible. Jeremiah struggled with God but came to the deep and profound realization that despite all his struggles, God justified and intended to save him. Through all of his trials and persecutions at the hands of the priests and leaders of his own people, they held no real power over his life. It is to God alone, the source of all life, to whom Jeremiah was faithfully and constantly committed.
Jeremiah knew well that he would be vindicated by God who sees the intentions of the heart and not just one’s external positioning.
Jesus instructed his disciples with a similar promise and a warning as we hear in Jeremiah.
While it is true that there will be times when the life of a disciple of Jesus will be difficult, the Lord in his love continues to walk with and care for the disciple. Yes, in those times it is easy for us to become discouraged and retreat, even to apostasize the faith. Too many of us are unwilling or unable to proclaim our faith in the marketplace, college dorm room, or even in our own homes. First and foremost, like Jeremiah, Jesus, Paul, and the countless millions of unnamed disciples of the Lord, we must come to the understanding that it is our faith in the providence of God which is the sustaining force in our lives.
There does seem to be a bit of an irony in the life of faith. When hearing the testimonies of those who yet suffer the horror of persecution, torture, and martyrdom for our faith, they always beat witness to acknowledging that the Lord protects them, walks with them, and that they are enduring their trials in testimony to his love.
Then, those whose lives are inconvenienced, or who are in the slightest way challenged in their faith, cry foul, and feel slighted or oppressed.
The greater the oppression, the greater the recognition of the presence of a loving God who hears our prayers, and intends to lead us along the path to eternal life.
The life of faith is supposed to be inconvenient, challenging, and difficult. It often comes with the demands to be separated from others, and to experience forms of persecution along the way. There is no promise of an easy life, one free from pain, disruption, turmoil, or even the hatred of this world. But it does come with the promise that every hair of our heads is known, and that we have a loving Father who shields us along the way, and keeps us safe in the shadow of his wings.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.