12th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
What hinders us from saying "Yes" to God? What scares us from sincerely, truthfully and wholeheartedly answering our call to discipleship? What makes it impossible for us to accept, proclaim and live out the gospel of Christ?
Prophet Jeremiah tells us in today’s first reading Jer 20:10-13 that it will not be easy answering the call to discipleship and proclaiming the gospel of God, because we will be terrorized, denounced, trapped, rejected, denied and prosecuted, but God will rescue us from the power of the wicked.
So If we have been saved by the grace of God in the person of Jesus Christ as Saint Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans 5:12-15 today’s second reading, then nothing can stop us from being true disciples of Christ, our Savior. This is exactly the reason why Jesus said in today’s gospel reading from the Holy gospel according to St. Matthew 10:26-33, ‘Fear no one. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. 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; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.’ Hence, we cannot let the fear of the world make it impossible for us to live out and proclaim the gospel of Christ.
My dear friends, fear is the major reason why we have failed to be faithful to God or to proclaim and live out His gospel in our world today. Fear is an emotion caused by anxiety or the uneasiness of being afraid of something or someone. Fear has made us fail to be faithful to God and to be true disciples of Christ. Fear has crippled our call to go out to the world to proclaim the Goodnews. Ask yourself today what is this fear that prevents me from proclaiming God in the world? Why am I afraid or what am I afraid of that is more important to me than being with God in heaven after my life here on earth?
According to Will Smith's character in the movie ‘After Earth,’ fear is a creation of our own imagination, but danger is real. So there is a solution to conquering and crippling fear. Fear can be crippled by detachment. Detachment which is the state of being objective or aloof from the world and its glories or beliefs is the best way to fight our fears. This is a fact because when we detach ourselves from the world, its glories and its beliefs, and attach ourselves firmly to God, then the grace of God will surely lead and guide us to proclaim Him fearless in our world today, and will help us attain the kingdom of heaven after our lives here on earth.
So my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray for the grace to truly detach ourselves from the world today so as to firmly attach ourselves to God, answer our call to discipleship, truly accept His word in our lives, then proclaim and live out His gospel fearlessly.
