Do not be afraid

Welcome to my blog. Peace be with you.

God’s love is such that he has even counted the number of hairs on our head. We have nothing to fear from him. Whom are we to fear? The one who can not only kill our body but also our soul.

Friday 16 October 2020

Do not be afraid

 

Gospel

Luke 12:1-7

Not one sparrow is forgotten in God's sight

The people had gathered in their thousands so that they were treading on one another. And Jesus began to speak, first of all to his disciples. ‘Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees – that is, their hypocrisy. Everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. For this reason, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in hidden places will be proclaimed on the housetops.

‘To you my friends I say: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. I will tell you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has the power to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Can you not buy five sparrows for two pennies? And yet not one is forgotten in God’s sight. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. There is no need to be afraid: you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.’

 

Prayerful reflection

 

God’s love coming to us through Jesus is infinite and everlasting. He loves us at all times, even when we sleep (Psalm 127:2).  There is nothing to be afraid of from him. He even became a man and died for us. We must fear our weakness and stubbornness for this will make us turn away from him and follow the deceptions of the devil. That will lead us into hell. Hell is a self-inflicted punishment.

Jesus can heal our weakness. St. Paul said: ‘when I am weak, then I am strong’ because then he relies on the strength of Jesus to help him. Stubbornness is another matter. We must humbly open ourselves to him in prayer, welcome him into our hearts and lives and listen to him speaking to us. Then relying on him, we can be assured of his infinite strength to help us. With this relationship of friendship (notice he calls us, ‘you who are my friends’) there is nothing to fear of anyone in this world or in the other world.