Do not be afraid!
Year A – 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 10:26-33: “Do not be afraid!”
Last Sunday we began reading the “apostolic discourse”, also known as the “missionary discourse”, found in chapter 10 of Matthew’s Gospel. The Gospel passage introduced us to this discourse with these words: “When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (9:36). Jesus wanted to involve the Twelve in his compassion and decided to send them out on mission. The Master gave them his instructions (10:5-25). The liturgical reading omits part of these instructions for the sake of brevity, not because they are no longer relevant. They were valid for the apostles and for the early Church, and they remain so for us today.
Jesus does not hide the difficulties and risks of such a mission: “Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves” (v. 16). Saint Matthew gathers here several sayings of the Lord concerning the demands of mission and of the disciple’s life. We can imagine what the apostles’ reaction may have been: fear! That is why today’s Gospel is centred on Jesus’ threefold invitation: “Do not be afraid!”
1. Whose side am I on: that of the crowd or that of the disciples?
This second discourse of Jesus is addressed entirely to the Twelve: “Calling to himself his twelve disciples…”. More generally, we can say that Jesus is speaking to disciples of every age. It would therefore be fitting to ask ourselves: do I feel that this discourse is addressed to me as well?
Two categories of people follow Jesus: the crowd and the disciples. The crowd accompanies him out of sympathy: it is attracted by his wonders and miracles, by his word and his new teaching, by his free and prophetic personality. The disciple, instead, follows Jesus because he wishes to listen to his word and share his way of life.
In general, we all begin the Christian life as part of the sympathetic crowd. At a certain point, however, the Lord calls us to become disciples. This means stepping away from the crowd in order to remain close to him and, at the same time, committing ourselves to the crowd, to others. The temptation is to turn a deaf ear and remain in the crowd, that is, to sympathise with the values proposed by Christ without committing ourselves too much. Let us ask ourselves, then: whose side am I on? Among the anonymous crowd or in the group of disciples?
2. Do not be afraid!
Fear is a very human feeling. It is part of the instinct for survival and, therefore, it is natural to experience it. But woe to us if it becomes the principle behind our actions. It would be like moving forward with the handbrake on. The driving force of life, instead, is trust.
In our time, fear is one of the most widespread feelings. It is also one of the greatest threats to the Christian faith. Fear is the attitude of “an imprisoned soul”, Pope Francis used to say. That is why the first word God often addresses to the human person when he encounters him is: “Do not be afraid!” It is commonly said that in the Bible this invitation resounds 365 times, one for every day of the year; according to others, even a few more times, for certain extraordinary circumstances.
Jesus seems to refer to three particular fears.
“Do not be afraid of men!”
The first fear comes from within us. It often arises precisely from the demands of the message itself: it is the fear of being inadequate for the task God entrusts to us. How can I bear witness to my faith if I too have my moments of doubt? If I do not even live it fully myself? If I have my own limitations and defects? It is the fear that our inconsistencies may be thrown back at us. Jesus, however, invites us to proclaim the message without fear, in broad daylight, from the rooftops.
To counter this fear, let us cultivate the awareness that we are not sent out recklessly, but that we are in the hands of the Spirit.
“And do not be afraid of those who kill the body”
The second fear is death. This is our most radical fear. In order not to have to face it, it has become a taboo subject in our society. Horace’s carpe diem, “seize the day” — or “seize the moment”, as people prefer to say today — has become the maxim of many. But only by overcoming the fear of death can we fall in love with the beauty of life and savour every moment of it.
To overcome the fear of death, it is not enough to ignore it. We must face it, reconciling ourselves with this reality, accepting the small daily “deaths” and looking serenely at the passing of the days in the hourglass of life. Above all, however, we must cultivate the hope of eternal life: the best is yet to come!
“So do not be afraid: you are worth more than many sparrows!”
The third fear is tomorrow, the future. The demands of discipleship often take away from us those human securities in which we trust as guarantees for our tomorrow. Elsewhere Jesus had said: “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (6:34). There too he had spoken of sparrows and lilies. These are not mere poetic images, but expressions of great tenderness, the tenderness that the evocation of the Father awakens in the heart of Jesus.
3. Acknowledging Christ before others
The Gospel passage ends with the invitation to have the courage to acknowledge Christ before others and with his severe warning: “But whoever denies me before others, I too will deny before my Father.” It is a warning that we also find elsewhere in the New Testament. In a time of persecution, the Church was well aware of this risk. It is the temptation to which Saint Peter succumbs: “I do not know the man!” (Matthew 26:74).
This danger is real, today more than ever, when one Christian in seven lives in contexts of persecution. We too live in a society that often mocks us. This subtle form of persecution is now found even within the family. The Christian who sets out to live the values of the Gospel finds himself going against the current and, however much he may try to avoid it, sooner or later he comes up against misunderstanding and opposition.
Here, then, is a fourth fear, the good fear to cultivate: the fear of denying Christ before others. This fear coincides with the healthy fear of God of which Jesus spoke earlier.
How can we cultivate this fear so as not to succumb to Peter’s temptation? Prudence and courage are not enough; above all, prayer is needed. This is what we ask the Father every day: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Fr Manuel João Pereira Correia, MCCJ
Fr. Manuel João, comboni missionary
Sunday Reflection
from the womb of my whale, ALS
Our cross is the pulpit of the Word
