💖 HOMILY - JULY 13 💖

First Reading - Isaiah 6:1-8 

Gospel - Matthew 10:24-33

Today’s Gospel passage comes from the end of Jesus’ instruction to the apostles, sending them forth to carry on the mission of preaching and healing and instructing them to live simple lives, expecting opposition and rejection. Predicting future opposition and persecution, Jesus encourages the apostles to stand firm, three times urging them, and us, “Do not fear!” “Do not be afraid!” Thus, we know that we, too, will be successful despite the opposition we encounter.

Jesus gives three reasons why the apostles, and we, should not be frightened. The first reason is that their mission will succeed, and opponents will not be able to prevent Jesus’ followers from succeeding in their mission because God will expose their evil plans and deeds: “Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered.” The Lord “will bring to light the hidden things of darkness” (1 Cor 4:5), will vindicate the faithful, and will not permit evil to win (v. 26). The second reason not to be afraid is the limited power of our opponents. They can kill the body, which dies all too soon anyway, but they have no power over the soul. The third reason we should not be afraid is that the providential care and protection of their Heavenly Father who cares for all His creatures will never fail. Jesus tells us that we are more important to God than sparrows “sold at two for a penny.” The God Who cares for a trivial bird like the sparrow also cares about our smallest problems – even counting the hairs on our heads. While this is an encouraging assurance, we may find it difficult to believe in the midst of persecution.

Dear friends, we can suffer from many fears: (A) Fear of Loss: i) Loss of life by illness or accident; ii) Loss of dear ones – spouse, children, parents; iii) Loss of belongings and property or savings; d) Loss of job; e) Loss of good name and reputation by slanderers (B) Baseless fears due to mental illness. C) Global fears about terrorist attacks, nuclear holocaust, plagues, like Covid-19, war etc. When we are afraid let us remind ourselves that God cares – we are each a dear child of His and He cares for each of us. “Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”