Posted on June 17, 2026 View all Gospel Reflection
“So do not be afraid” (Matthew 10:31a)
This Sunday we are invited to reflect on two things. First, we are invited to reflect on our own sinfulness and our need for repentance. Second, we are also exhorted by the Lord to fear not and trust that if we are faithful to the Lord, he will reward us with eternal life.
Throughout the Sacred Scriptures we see the all too familiar pattern of the sinfulness of mankind. Beginning with the sin of Adam and Eve, to those of the people of Israel which we heard in our first reading from the Book of Jeremiah, and then ultimately to the sins of those around Jesus and in our own time.
One cannot begin to have repentance if one is unaware of their sins. When Jeremiah was called by the Lord God to proclaim to the people of Jerusalem to repent, he suffered greatly. In fact, he laments to God saying “I hear the whisperings of many: ‘Terror on every side! Denounce! let us denounce him’…” (Jeremiah 20:10) But even in the midst of this suffering, Jeremiah declared his trust in the Lord as he says “But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their failure they will be put to utter shame.], to lasting, unforgettable confusion.” (Jeremiah 20:11)
Jesus invites us to acknowledge him before others by following his commandments. He invites us to listen to the counsel of others around us who call us back to the Lord and to holiness. All too often the world would have us pay attention to our own needs and conveniences rather than to live as we ought. How often to we rationalize sins by thinking that the end of our sinful and selfish actions will bring us happiness. But in the end, sin will cause us death. This death is a separation from Christ and is one with eternal consequences. We must be attentive to the light that is spoken to us. There is nothing that is concealed that will not be known by the Father. Therefore, we must also know that he calls us to life. When faced with these external pressures, we should have confidence that while there are those who can kill the body, they cannot kill the soul that is living according to the Way of the Lord.
Our lives should be lived in the light. We must not fear the persecutions of those in the world. Jeremiah knew this and proclaimed that the Lord has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked. (cf. Jeremiah 20:13) Similarly, Jesus taught “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 the soul and body in Gehenna.” (Matt. 10:28)
As we meditate on this love that God has for each of us, we recall the words of St. Pope John Paul II who in 1999 spoke to a gathering of young people in Compostela saying: “Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. … Do not be afraid to be holy! Have the courage and humility to present yourselves to the world determined to be holy, since full, true freedom is born from holiness. This aspiration will help you discover genuine love, untainted by selfish and alienating permissiveness.”
Therefore, let us live in the light and proclaim on the housetops how the Lord calls us to eternal life and how the gracious gift of Jesus Christ will overflow for the many.
