“Fear no one,” is how our Gospel begins today. Given the situation that our Covid-19 world has found itself in I hesitate to suggest that any one gathering as a faith community for the first time in 3 months should not have a healthy fear of many things. BUT—– God Encourages us to ‘Fear Not’ over 365 Times in the Bible — One for each day is more than enough to communicate the message that God is with those who believe and we needn’t fear with Him beside us! He does not say, “Take off your mask and hug your neighbour!” This is where intelligence and caution complement each other.
Yes, there is suffering in our world. It can ennoble or it can embitter. Suffering can bring us closer to God and other people or it can block human feeling and sympathy. It is difficult to know why, but God uses our suffering to reveal to us the great truth in today’s Gospel.
Jesus warns his disciples— and us—that we follow a Lord who was reviled and rejected, tortured and crucified and that we will also face rejection and disfavor. We will face times of suffering as we follow Christ. And then we are reminded that Christ is with us and we need not be afraid.
Jesus said, “You are more valuable than many sparrows.” If the Lord God remembers all the sparrows of time and history, then the Lord God remembers all human beings from time and history. We human beings are more valuable than many sparrows. Jesus taught it. Jesus said it. Jesus knew the mind of God like no other human being before or after. “You are more valuable than many sparrows.” This was his way of saying that every human being is valuable to God.
Sparrows. Sparrows are all around us. Sparrows are those little brown birds that seem to be everywhere. Ever present. Unimportant. Unimpressive. Unassuming.
Sparrows do not draw attention to themselves. Sparrows are not majestic like eagles with their white headed feathers and eight foot wide wing spans. Nor do they have long elegant legs like the blue heron. Nor do they sore gracefully in the wind like seagulls. Nor do they squawk noisily like crows. Here in the Oakville we don’t go “sparrow watching.” No, sparrows are non-descript as you see them momentarily flutter by.
We may not realize it but there are fifteen different species of sparrows here in North America.
It is with the complexities of these images of sparrows, and all these little brown birds which are so common, so unnoticeable, so unremarkable, and so undetectable, that we approach the teachings of Jesus today.
Jesus in Luke said: “Not one sparrow is forgotten by God.” Whoa! Wow! No, not one. Not one sparrow is forgotten by God. Jesus taught it. Jesus said it. Jesus knew the mind of God like no other human being before or after. “Not one sparrow is forgotten by God.” This was his way of saying that not one human being is forgotten by God. Jesus, the Mind of God, said it.
They were pretty insignificant things these little sparrows but God watches over them. And if God cares about the birds which fall from the air, the tiny little birds sold for a morsel of meat in the market, how much more God cares for us. We are of more value than many sparrows.
So we see that this famous teaching by Jesus (about knowing and loving us more than sparrows) is found right in the middle of his teachings about discipleship.
In Matthew 10, as his disciples go out into the world they and we are to:
- Share the gospel and heal the sick.
- Avoid taking any money or appearing to be rich.
- Go into a hostile environment that does not like God nor God’s ways.
- Be wise and innocent.
- Be ridiculed and persecuted by religious leaders, governments, and family.
- Be unafraid of those people who are persecuting, ridiculing and killing us.
- Know that we are more valuable to God than sparrows.*
- Be public about loyalty to the Lord God and Jesus Christ.
- Expect divisiveness and tension from our families because of our beliefs.
- Love God more than our families.
- Pick up our own cross and follow Jesus.
There is another image which is lovely—the number of hairs on our head. We do not know how many hairs we have but God does. The text says “Even the hairs of your head are all counted.” I know I have a lot more hairs today than I did back in March. I always ask my barber to just cut out the gray ones; they are the ones I inherited from my children! Happy Fathers Day! Again, God knows us better than we know ourselves. Christians are called to live out their faith in daily life. Our faith is not a secret—we are to uncover those things which are covered up and to make known those things which are secret. It is in and through suffering that we grow in love for God and our neighbors. And we as followers of Jesus are called to be with the sick, visit the prisoner, to comfort the dying, to console those grieving, to understand the troubles, to care about others as God cares for us.
It follows, then, that those of us alongside suffering people should somehow find a way to bring meaning or significance to their experience. God tells us the way: We follow Christ to suffering and death. We become like our Master. As we give up our own strength and power and pride, we rely more upon the strength and hope we find in Christ. We look to the cross as something that reflects our own experience as well as that of Jesus. We look forward to glory which is to come not as something apart from the cross but only in and through suffering and shame and death.
Jesus tells us that our future victory is assured:
“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before humans, I also will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.”
Do not be afraid, you are of more value than many sparrows. God will take care of you. Peace.
-Dcn. Terry Murphy