Fr. Joeven Matugas sx
The reassuring words uttered by Jesus when he gave instructions to the Twelve, his Apostles, before sending them out for the mission were: "do not be afraid", or in other translations, "have no fear of them" or "do not fear".
Indeed, it is quite true that we may experience human fear when we venture out to a journey that is unknown to us. Most especially like the Apostles who were sent to preach. I am sure they experienced fear because Jesus was not physically with them on the journey. They carried out the work by themselves. However, that work was not really of their own. It was the work of God, the heavenly Father, entrusted to them by their Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. "Do not be afraid".
Jesus said: do not fear those who may inflict harm on your physical body. Instead, fear those who can destroy your spirit and soul. It is the harm, the ruin, of our souls that will lead you to eternal damnation.
These words of Jesus, that we hear today, are quite applicable to the present situation of our world. We are afflicted by fear because of the problems and resistance we meet in our daily tasks. The system of a society that promotes a culture of threat, of violence and of death is indeed fearful. We cannot be sure that that there will be progress and development of human life in time to come. Many will not be happy but rather disturbed.
Jesus also said that we are more valuable than sparrows. The sparrows are cheap and of little value. We humans are created by our heavenly Father. We must see our worth in regard to Him. God shows us His total and infinite knowledge and care. He knows our human longings and desires. He knows the content of our hearts. In particular he cherishes a loving care for us all.
We should strive to drive out human fear from our hearts. Fear can destroy our trust in God. We need to strongly believe that God, by his loving kindness and steadfast love (hesed) - his grace - ha made us his beloved children.
In 1 John 4:18 "perfect love casts out fear".
The reassuring words uttered by Jesus when he gave instructions to the Twelve, his Apostles, before sending them out for the mission were: "do not be afraid", or in other translations, "have no fear of them" or "do not fear".
Indeed, it is quite true that we may experience human fear when we venture out to a journey that is unknown to us. Most especially like the Apostles who were sent to preach. I am sure they experienced fear because Jesus was not physically with them on the journey. They carried out the work by themselves. However, that work was not really of their own. It was the work of God, the heavenly Father, entrusted to them by their Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. "Do not be afraid".
Jesus said: do not fear those who may inflict harm on your physical body. Instead, fear those who can destroy your spirit and soul. It is the harm, the ruin, of our souls that will lead you to eternal damnation.
These words of Jesus, that we hear today, are quite applicable to the present situation of our world. We are afflicted by fear because of the problems and resistance we meet in our daily tasks. The system of a society that promotes a culture of threat, of violence and of death is indeed fearful. We cannot be sure that that there will be progress and development of human life in time to come. Many will not be happy but rather disturbed.
Jesus also said that we are more valuable than sparrows. The sparrows are cheap and of little value. We humans are created by our heavenly Father. We must see our worth in regard to Him. God shows us His total and infinite knowledge and care. He knows our human longings and desires. He knows the content of our hearts. In particular he cherishes a loving care for us all.
We should strive to drive out human fear from our hearts. Fear can destroy our trust in God. We need to strongly believe that God, by his loving kindness and steadfast love (hesed) - his grace - ha made us his beloved children.
In 1 John 4:18 "perfect love casts out fear".