Homily for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

What And Who Are You Afraid Of?

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, June 25, 2023

Prophet Jeremiah was indeed one of the greatest prophets of Israel. He was a man deeply in touch with God and God’s purpose, but at the same time, he was sometimes unsure of himself. When God first called him, he disputed it and told God he was too young and didn’t know how to speak. In the course of his prophetic ministry, he was tormented by real and imaginary enemies. He had some paranoid fear. Although he said and did what God wanted wholeheartedly, he wavered sometimes. For instance, he questioned God and blamed God for his problems. In a nutshell, Jeremiah was a complex human figure. In our first reading for today, his unique character stares us in the face. Speaking, he says, “I hear the whisperings of many: Terror on every side! Denounce! Let us denounce him! All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine.” He is expressing the reaction he is receiving as a result of his prophecy. He said what God wanted him to say, and now his life is threatened. But in the midst of Jeremiah’s fears, he perceives the presence and power of God. So, he says, “But the Lord is with me like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.” Mind you, Jeremiah is not expressing the disappearance of all his troubles. Rather, he is saying that in the struggles, conflicts and anxieties of this life, he can sense a power greater than all of those powers and forces.

In the teaching of Jesus, this theme is amplified. In our Gospel for today, Jesus says, “Fear no one.” No matter who is threatening you, no matter who is denouncing you, no matter who is coming at you with furious intensity, don’t be afraid. Why? Because your relationship with Jesus Christ has connected you to the very power of God. Your life is hidden in Christ the very incarnation of the God of Israel. When you are in Christ, you are inside the castle. That means no matter the violence and mayhem that is happening on the outside, you have found a place of safety, and a place of power. Intensifying this subject matter, Jesus says, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” The body passes, but the soul, which is your meeting point with God, that place where you are in ongoing contact with God, endures forever. So, get your fear in the right order. Properly prioritize your fear. Rather than be afraid of any human being, Jesus says, “be afraid of the one who can both destroy body and soul in Gehenna.” Who is that person? God alone. 

Now, I ask you, what are you afraid of? Who are you afraid of? Are you afraid of those paper tigers that can only kill the body or the living God who can kill both body and soul? In the midst of the struggles and difficulties of this world, you can truly find a place of safety when you are grounded in Christ Jesus. Think of the saints. Saints are rare human beings who rightly and properly prioritize their fears. Think of the young Karol Wojtyla who later became Pope John Paul II behind lock doors during the Nazi period, preserving the great works of Polish literature, knowing full well that if the Nazi found them, they would be killed. When he came of age and became Pope John Paul II, he said in his homily to the whole world, “Be Not Afraid!” echoing the same words of Jesus. This is someone who personally and directly experienced the worst barbarism in the 20th century, who had every right to feel justified in his fear, yet he says to all the world, “Don’t be afraid.” Where does his courage and bravery come from? It comes from being grounded in Christ. Think about the Mexican teenage boy, Jose Sanchez del Rio. When the Mexican government violently turned against the Church during the Cristero period, Jose Sanchez del Rio refused to renounce his Catholic faith. During that period, the Mexican government was putting priests and nuns to death and also burning down churches in order to stamp out Catholicism. This teenage boy who was 14 years old stood for his faith. In spite of enormous opposition, threat, torture and the realization of facing a firing squad, he wasn’t afraid of those paper tigers who could kill only his body. He was more concerned with his soul. He was living in Christ and Christ was living in him. And in Christ, he found a place of peace and safety even in the worst condition. He was canonized a saint on October 16, 2016 by Pope Francis. 

What about Mother Teresa of Calcutta who cared for the poor, the sick and the dying? When she won the Nobel prize, she had the courage to stand before a national prayer breakfast in Washington and challenged the president and the first lady to their faces over the issue of abortion. Where does that courage come from? It comes from living in Christ. Don’t be afraid of those who can kill the body and do nothing else. Think of St. Charles Lwanga who in 1880 refused the king of Uganda’s sexual advances and the king’s subsequent request that he renounce his Christian faith. As he was being burnt to death, Lwanga said to his executioner, “It is as if you are pouring water on me. Please repent and become a Christian like me.” His last words as he died was “Oh God!” So, don’t be afraid of those who can only harm the body. Who did all these saints fear? Not the wicked human beings who surrounded them, rather, they feared God. They worried, not what people wanted them to do, but what God wanted them to do. What are your priorities? Who do you want to please above all and whom do you fear? Once you resolve these questions, the rest of your life will unfold. Notice that none of these figures lived a life free of worry and threat and persecution. Just the contrary! It is oftentimes assumed by many that those who believe in God will expect a life of ease. As a matter of fact, everything in the Bible and in the great tradition of the Church shows it will lead us to the opposite. Whether you believe in God or not, you’re gonna have to struggle. But daughters and sons of God will find the courage to get through the negativity of life. As the song, titled “On Christ the Solid Rock I stand” says, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.” Those are the words of someone who knows that Jesus is the Lord of heaven and earth, and that’s why despite the pain and the struggle, he insists that his life is built on Christ, the most solid Rock.