Gospel Reflection June 25 – Fr. Lynch
Sunday, June 25
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 10: 26-33
Gospel:
Jesus said to the Twelve:
“Fear no one.
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;
what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;
rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy
both soul and body in Gehenna.
Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.
Even all the hairs of your head are counted.
So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Everyone who acknowledges me before others
I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.
But whoever denies me before others,
I will deny before my heavenly Father.”
Gospel Reflection:
The most repeated phrase in the whole Bible, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, is “Fear not!” or “Have no fear!” or “Do not be afraid!” or “Be not afraid!”
Fear provides us the opportunity to either F.E.A.R, “Forget Everything And Run”, or “Face Everything And Receive.”
The Apostles give us hope because they provide numerous examples of being fearful, sometimes running away from the Lord and denying him and other times running toward Him and accepting Him, yet when they allow the grace of the Lord to work and play out over time in their lives, Jesus satisfies all of the fear and discontent in their lives.
In 7 short verses in the Gospel of Mt 10:26-33, Jesus tells us to “fear no one” and “be not afraid” three times. Within the entire Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us be not afraid many times in varying situations in life. In this Gospel passage, Jesus is directly speaking to His Apostles. He is giving them specific instructions on how to continue His mission for us.
Our Lord is preparing His disciples through His word and example, by anticipating future encounters with those who do not know or accept Christ. He is preparing his disciples to love as He loved, to give as He gave, to accept as He accepted, and to forgive as He forgave, even at such a great cost…one’s life.
What fears do you have that you need to bring to the Lord? In what ways has the Lord shown you the way? What graces do we need to pray for and accept in our lives in order to TRUST Jesus and His eternal promise’s rather than FEAR in a worldly way?
St. Brigid of Kildare…Pray for us!
Father Tim Lynch