12th Sunday of Ordinary Time
By Fr. Victor Feltes
A string walks into a bar and the bartender says to the string, “Hey buddy, look at the sign!” The sign says: “NO STRINGS.” So the string steps outside, loops itself around, tightens itself up, messes up its hair, and goes back inside the bar. The bartender says, “Hey, aren’t you that string?” It replies, “No, I’m a frayed knot.” That was a joke referencing persecution, hair, and fearing not. My philosophy on homily jokes is that they should always tie in.
Jesus tells us three times in today’s Gospel to not be afraid. He says, “Fear no one. … Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. … Do not be afraid.” Jesus insists we need not fear because God knows and loves and cares about us. Jesus notes: “Even all the hairs of your head are counted.” Why does he cite hair as an example? Perhaps it is because your hairs are the most numerous, the most replaceable, and the most painlessly disposable parts of you. Yet God keeps tabs even on that about you. Nothing about you is being overlooked.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus also notes God’s attentive care for birds. Earlier Jesus had said: “Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?” As the inspired 84th Psalm observes: “The sparrow herself finds a home and the swallow a nest for her brood; she lays her young by your (temple) altars, Lord of hosts, my king and my God. They are happy who dwell in your house, forever singing your praise.” So God feeds and shelters the birds and offered them the opportunity to live in his presence and praise him. He offers the same to us.
Jesus asks, “Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.” What is this about sparrows “falling” to the ground? By “fall” Jesus may be referring in the Greek to birds “landing” or “descending,” but I have also seen dead birds fallen on the ground. Last week for the first time, on the shoulder of the highway, I saw a black crow standing beside a dead crow on the ground, presumably where it had fallen after being hit by a passing vehicle. About the sparrows Jesus says, “Not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.” But how can I be consoled by this when I see dead birds on the ground?
Yes, like Jesus and Job, Christians may suffer through no fault of their own. Like Jesus with his kinsman St. John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary with her Son, Christians may experience the tragic loss of a dear one. Like Jesus and his Apostles, we may suffer and be put to death for our faithfulness to God. But Jesus repeatedly urges us to not be afraid since our deliverance and glory shall be like his. “So do not be afraid,” Jesus encourages us, “you are worth more than many sparrows.”
Jesus also wants us to be open and bold about our Catholic Faith: “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…” In America today, you and I are not even facing deadly persecution, so what is our excuse for timidity? Like I said last Sunday, be an unashamed and faithful Catholic in everyday life. Answer people’s questions and invite them to explore our Faith. Be bold, for their souls may depend upon it.
Instead of fearing the judgment of peers, Jesus wants our concern to be what God thinks of us. “Be afraid, rather, of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna,” that is, our Divine Judge. Jesus assures us, “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.” So if we have been cowardly Christians in the past, repent and resolve like St. Peter to bear better witness to your relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior in the future.
St. Paul teaches, “Have no anxiety at all.” Worry is worthless, concern is enough. If I were not concerned about this homily, I would have had nothing prepared. If I were not concerned about this Mass, I would not have shown up to celebrate it. But feeding worries about these things would have been for me a waste of time and energy. As St. Padre Pio often said, “Pray, hope, and don’t worry!” It comes down to this: will you trust Jesus Christ? Remember his words and his rewards and fear not.
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