Do not be afraid: Jer 20, Rom 5, and the courage of testimony in Mt 10

**Quotation:**

> “Therefore do not fear; for I am with you, does not say, ‘I will give you rest.'” (Matthew 10:31)

**Text:**

The twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time in Year A weaves together three texts focusing on the courage to bear witness despite persecution. Jeremiah 20:10-13 presents Jeremiah listening to those conspiring against him, yet trusting that the Lord is with him as a mighty warrior. Romans 5:12-15 returns to the Adam-Christ comparison: sin entered through one, but the free gift of Christ overflowed much more. Matthew 10:26-33 compiles Jesus’ teachings on bearing witness with courage: do not fear those who kill the body, trust in the Father who numbers the sparrows and counts the hairs on your head, and acknowledge Jesus before men. The three readings describe a similar structure: external pressure from the world that persecutes, and interior grace that sustains testimony.

**I. The First Reading: Jeremiah 20:10-13**

Jeremiah hears whispers around him: “Terror on every side! Denounce him, let’s denounce him! All my friends watch for my fall: ‘Perhaps he will be misled and we can overcome him, take our revenge against him'” (Jer 20:10). The conspiracy comes from those close by, not from strangers. What hurts most is not the distant enemy’s persecution but the betrayal of known friends. Jeremiah’s response is trust: “But the Lord is with me as a mighty warrior” (v.11). Those who persecute will stumble and fail. “The Lord of hosts tests the righteous and sees their heart and their kidneys” (v.12a). Jeremiah concludes with thanksgiving: “Sing praises to the Lord, give thanks to the Lord, for he has delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers” (v.13). The liberation is celebrated before it’s fully visible; Jeremiah’s faith anticipates what hasn’t yet been fulfilled.

**II. The Second Reading: Romans 5:12-15**

“For just as through one man sin entered into the world, and through sin death, so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Rom 5:12). Paul returns to the Adam-Christ theme already presented, but now emphasizes the asymmetry: “The free gift is not like the offense. For if by one man’s offense many died, much more abundant grace and the free gift through the grace of one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for many” (v.15). The logic is one of excess: where sin caused harm, grace did good even more. Where death entered, life overflowed even more. This asymmetry forms the Christian hope: evil is weaker than good, not through optimism but through revelation. The Risen One is proof that grace overcomes sin.

**III. The Gospel: Matthew 10:26-33**

Jesus continues His instructions to the apostles, saying: “Do not fear men; what is hidden will be revealed, and what is secret will be known” (Mt 10:26). What Jesus says in darkness, His disciples will proclaim in light. The courage of testimony is founded on eschatology: truth will be revealed at the end, so what is said during persecution is not in vain. “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna” (v. 28). The foundation for not fearing is not human bravery but correct perspective: what the world can do is limited, what God can do is absolute.

“Can two sparrows be sold for a farthing? And one of them is not lost without your Father knowing it” (v. 29). God’s care is universal and meticulous. “Even all your hairs are numbered” (v. 30). He concludes: “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven” (v. 32).

IV. Mary and the ‘Do Not Fear’

Jeremiah 20 describes Jeremiah hearing of a conspiracy against him by his closest associates, those who plot to bring him down, but trusting that the Lord is with him as a mighty warrior: Mary lived a similar experience from the beginning, pursued by Herod who sought to kill her newborn son, alongside her Son persecuted by scribes and Pharisees, present at the Cross surrounded by enemies. Like Jeremiah, Mary did not flee; she stayed, trusting that the Lord is stronger than those who pursue her. Matthew 10 speaks of God counting each hair on our head: tradition contemplates Mary as the creature most “counted” and known by the Father, predestined before all centuries, known by God by name even before she was conceived. The promise in Matthew 10:32, “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will acknowledge before my Father,” applies to Mary uniquely: she recognized Jesus before any other human being, at the moment of the Annunciation when the angel said, “You shall conceive and give birth to a son” (Lk 1:34), and she responded, “I am the Lord’s servant; let it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38).