Proper 7 (12) – Year A

Welcome to the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost. In this week’s Gospel, Jesus says, “What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light.” But before we rush to proclaim anything, it’s worth asking: what exactly are we hearing in the dark?

Much of our world runs on a kind of counterfeit knowing that we might call conspiracy thinking. It thrives on accusation. We quickly decide who’s to blame, gather consensus, and build a sense of righteousness over against someone else. That’s how scapegoats are made. And once the scapegoat is in place, everything feels clear… and justified.

But Jesus is not participating in that world. He is exposing it. “Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered.” The “secrets” being revealed are not primarily our private sins, but the hidden mechanisms by which we create enemies, justify violence, and call it good. Jesus steps into that system and, from within it, unmasks it.

Which is why he says, “Do not fear.” Not because nothing bad will happen, but because the real danger isn’t what others do to us. The real danger is being drawn into the system itself: joining the accusation, participating in the gossip, needing someone else to be wrong so we can be right.

Instead, Jesus invites us to stand somewhere else. With the one being cast out. With the scapegoat. To refuse the easy clarity of blame and to trust a deeper truth: “You are of more value than many sparrows.”

To live this way will feel dangerous. It may cost you your place in the crowd. But this is the cross we are invited to carry — not as punishment, but as freedom. So listen carefully. And when you hear that whisper in the dark — the truth about the system, and your place within it — don’t keep it hidden. Speak it in the light. It’s the beginning of a different kind of world.