Matthew 10: 26-33
Jesus said to his disciples:
“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Transforming Our Fears
I once saw a video where scientists released some large but harmless snakes into a playpen of babies. To my utter surprise, the babies were unperturbed and actually played with the snakes, while their parents looked on with visible discomfort and anxiety. The babies did not begin crying until they saw the terrified faces of their parents. Fear is learned.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches us who and what to fear. Jesus Christ’s whole life, Passion, and Resurrection was a victory over what the world teaches us to fear–ridicule, discomfort, and death. What do we fear and who taught us to fear those things? Instead, let us gaze on the face of Christ–both in prayer and in our neighbor–and learn how our fears can be transformed into opportunities for greater faith, hope, and love.
—Tom Hellenbrand, SJ, is a Jesuit scholastic of the Midwest Province studying philosophy at Saint Louis University.
Prayer
Mary, Mother of Jesus, please be a mother to me now.
—St. Teresa of Calcutta