In today’s gospel, Matthew 10: 26 – 33, Jesus was sending the twelve apostles out into the world and instructing them to announce, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” This announcement was not to be “whispered,” in the dark. Jesus directed the twelve apostles to “proclaim [it] on the housetops.” “Speak in the light.”
Proclaiming the gospel message required boldness then and it
requires boldness today. Boldly proclaiming the gospel was so important that
Jesus repeated it three times in seven short verses: “fear no one,” “proclaim
on the housetops,” “Do not be afraid.” In addition, sharing the gospel message required/s faith. It requires faith in God the Father who, as
Jeremiah tells us in the first reading, is with us, “like a mighty
champion.” It requires faith in God’s
infinite and overwhelming love, a love so fervent that God the Father knows how
many hairs each of us has on our head. In the First Letter of John 4:18-19
we read that “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because
fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in
love. We love because [God] first loved us.”
God’s transforming and empowering love is a gift; it is a
gift revealed through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ who died for
all our sins. In Romans 5:5-8 St.
Paul said “the love of God has been poured out into
our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us. For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet
died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed,
only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good
person one might even find courage to die. But
God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for
us. With such
irrefutable proof, there is no room for fear.”
And so, we all should have the courage to proclaim the gospel message
from our housetops, in our schools, in our work places and in our community THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND!
Today is Father's Day.
It is a day set aside for us to honor and remember our fathers if they
have died and to honor and thank our father’s if they are still with us. The very first place we learn about God’s
love for us is in our homes. The very
first people who demonstrate God’s compassionate love for us are our
parents. Fathers have a special
responsibility to make God’s love present to their families, their communities
and to our world. And so, on this day we
say a special prayer for all fathers.
God our Father
Bless these men,
that they may find strength as fathers.
Let the example of their faith and love shine forth.
Grant that we, their sons and daughters,
may honor them always
with a spirit of profound respect.
Amen!
