12th Sunday Ordinary Time A
12th Sunday Ordinary Time – Do Not Be Afraid
Hello. Good Evening/Morning to you all. I hope that everyone is well and has been able to enjoy the beautiful weather we have had these past few weeks.
I wanted to ask you a question. Who, here, is afraid? Who is frightened of things, of stuff within your lives? Who, here, lives in a state of constant fear of a particular thing?
I don’t mean being scared of the dark or of spiders – my own pet phobia. I mean being scared to our very core, to the extent that this fear, this fright, keeps us awake at nights from time to time and maybe even all of the time.
This fear can relate to and involve our everyday living. Being scared of failure. Being scared of success. Being scared of being found out that we are not as good as we think we are or as others think we are. Being scared of causing offence. Being scared of not being liked or respected or regarded or, or and the list can go on and on.
And I am not dismissing this list as being fanciful or unreal. No! We all have our fears and worries and trepidations to some extent or other and the issue, the real issue is to what extent we allow these fears to take an important position in our lives: in fact in some cases to take over our lives.
For many years when I worked, I was worried about promotions. It was a worry and not a fear. But then when I was promoted several times, I developed a fear, a real anxiety about being good enough for that position; a fear that I had been promoted too far, too fast and too soon. And this fear grew to the point where it affected my life and my health and my living relations with my family and friends.
And the fear only really subsided after I retired, so it meant that I didn’t really enjoy my last five years of work as much as I could have and should have.
There are many types of fear and anxiety that hit us every day. Some we deal with on the hoof and manage them and pass them off. Others stay with us and nibble at our every sense of wellbeing and calm. They undermine our confidence and our relationships. They feed on our worries and anxieties to the point where they make us ill. And they make us ill because we don’t know how to deal with them. We don’t know what to do with them. They stay there like dead weights getting heavier and heavier until they break us down.
So what should we do? What is our course of treatment? Well, the simplest course is to talk to a friend: to express our fears out loud so that we can hear what they sound like and maybe give picture and sense to them, for us and for our listener. This way we can then gain an idea as to how to deal with them. We can gauge their size and shape and impact. Over my many years I found that there was no better friend to speak to than Jesus. No person more readily on hand and able to take my call and listen to me totally and attentively than Jesus.
I often make use of the scripture quotation from Isaiah, - (Isaiah 43) “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine”, when I am down or worried. I take strength and consolation in the fact that God has my back at all times, “…and know that I am with you, yes to the end of time”, and have made reference to both of these quotes over the past weeks, months and years.
So, this weekend we can take great comfort from Jesus saying to us not once but twice in the message of today’s gospel. “Do not be afraid. For everything now covered will be uncovered and everything now hidden will be revealed.” And again, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul”. He is giving a reassurance to His disciples that they should be confident in the love that God has for each of them and to then go forward and to live this love in how they live their lives. They should live lives full of love for everyone that they meet and everyone that they deal with. They should fear nothing because nothing can come between them and God their heavenly Father
He could be speaking from the headline of any of today’s newspapers, it is so relevant to us. We are not to be afraid of those things that we do not understand or of those things that simply scare us and make us frightened. We are to put our trust in Him and know that He has our backs at all times, yes – even when we think those times are most dire and dark.
Jesus is there to help us to put all things into perspective; into their proper weight and form and to help us to see that nothing can frighten us or cause us distress if we but put our faith, our hope and our trust in Him.
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine” Amen
Bidding Prayers
1. For when we are afraid and let that fear take over our lives, that we put our faith, trust and hope in the Lord to make all things right. Lord in your mercy
2. For when we can see no way forward that we seek the guiding light of the Holy Spirit to guide us, guard us and to always protect us. Lord in your mercy
3. For all peoples who are feeling lost or dejected that they can turn to the Lord for guidance, love and support. Lord in your mercy
4. For an increase in peace and harmony across our troubled world especially in those countries torn apart by war and terror. Lord in your mercy
5. For all those who are sick in mind, body, or spirit that they may be comforted and strengthened by our prayers and actions. Lord in your mercy
6. For all those who have died recently or whose anniversaries occur at this time that they may find eternal rest with the Father. Lord in your mercy
7. We ask Mary our Mother to intercede for us as we now pray together. Hail Mary