12th Sunday: "Fear no one"

 

"What I say to you in darkness, speak in the light."

Matthew 10: 26 - 33

The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062523.cfm

In our liturgy this Sunday we officially move into the long summer and fall season called Ordinary. The Lent/Easter/Pentecost feasts are completed and now we take a long journey with our Lord learning of his ways and forming our morals, behavior and lifestyle according to his Gospel ways.  It is a time for us to again examine the quality of our discipleship and our constant need for conversion. This is a good time for a spiritual checkup on our Christian health.

This Sunday our readings present a realistic warning to us as disciples of the Lord.  Not the good news we want to hear normally.  Yet, such true experience is part of our walk with the Lord for they also hold times of great grace and growth. The cost of discipleship is both somewhat fearful and hopeful.  

Imagine, for example, that you are a lone passenger on the front deck of the Titanic.  You notice ice in the ocean and suddenly, catch sight of a large iceberg floating on the water dead ahead of the enormous ship. You cry a warning, try to get the captains attention but he ignores your cry.  You run to other parts of the ship and try to warn the stewards, other passengers, operators near life boats but no one pays any attention and asks you to leave them alone.

If you can imagine such a scenario, then you have a sense of what the prophet Jeremiah experienced in our first reading and the warning Jesus gave to the Apostles before they began their missionary journeys.  

In our first reading, we hear of the suffering of the great prophet Jeremiah who honestly shares his fearful anxiety with his readers: “I hear the whispers of many; terror on every side!” The great prophet of the Babylonian exile shared intimately in his writings. No one would listen to the prophet; they hated him and the ultimate fate of Israel was its destruction by the Babylonians. 

Even though Jeremiah’s warning came true, he never turned against God’s demands that he keep preaching. He recognizes, that despite his own personal suffering there is a greater good at work; the transformation of the world through the power of God. Jeremiah is convince that: “. . . the LORD is with me like a mighty champion . . . praise the LORD, for he has rescued the life of the poor . . .” God would be his rescuer in spite of what may have seemed insurmountable odds.  God will never abandon any of us. Be not afraid.

In our Gospel, Jesus speaks with warning but also with assurance that their ministry as messengers of the good news will not be easy.  Like Jeremiah, they too will encounter apathy, indifference, scorn and rejection. For when the Apostles were sent out, and there was reason to be afraid and to be on guard, but nonetheless the Gospel takes a much higher priority for those who oppose can only harm the body as Jesus reminds them.  It is a more full fear they should have and that would be to understand that only God can give life or kill the soul. Christ is always with them in the midst of this fearful experience but it is tempered by the greater promise of eternal reward. As the saying goes: "Jesus runs to the train wreck."

The point of all this is that being a Catholic-Christian, means something.  All the more now, we must be intentional Catholics and not lukewarm in name only, never attending Mass, having no serious prayer life, never really engaging in any charitable work, rarely if ever going to confession for example, and basically blending in seamlessly with the values of the secular culture as if it meant nothing to be Catholic. 

"Catholic" is not a badge we wear or a club we belong to.  It is a radical decision to give ourselves over to Christ and to live our lives with conviction, love and truth. We can do such and still live well in this world finding ourselves responding to what we see and hear in ways that will not confuse or compromise the faith we profess in our gatherings for the Eucharist.

Pope Francis reminds us that we are “missionary disciples” sent out to change the world around us.  That may seem like a tall order and indeed it is for us since the world is either indifferent, hostile, politely dismissive, yet also hungry for a deeper sense of meaning and purpose.

By the time of Jesus' ominous message today, the disciples had developed a close relationship with Jesus, coming to know him more intimately, hearing of his message and a witness to his wonder works, so too are we reminded that we have heard the same, albeit in the Gospel stories, but also in our personal lives. Yet all this is overcome by the promise that our "fear" of God will tap down any fear we may have in this life.  The promise of eternity, gained by Jesus' resurrection, assures us that our fears have no place in us. 

In the end, maybe taking to heart the promise of Jesus today to his disciples about letting go of their worry would do us well to reflect more on our lack of faith or our lack of trust that God will carry through as he has promised. This call to personal conversion is timeless and assuring. 

The Eucharist comes to us as a sign of God’s enduring love; as food for our journey in a broken world.  Through the Church we can find healing and reconciliation, the support of a community of other imperfect believers, and the grace necessary to walk without a fear that would paralyze us. 

Grant, O Lord,

that we may always revere and love

your holy name, for you never deprive or your guidance

those you set firm on the foundation of your love.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 

who lives and reigns with you

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God for ever and ever.

(Collect of Mass)