As Jesus sends his disciples off on their first apostolic mission in the Gospel today, three times he says to them: do not be afraid.  Again and again (365 times in all, if you count the Old and New Testaments), these words are spoken to us by God: do not fear.  You would think that hearing this once should be enough – but in our world still caught up by so many forms of fear and terror, we obviously need to keep being reminded. 

In our first reading today, we meet Jeremiah, the sad-sack prophet.  I can  relate to Jeremiah’s doom-and-gloom, though if I were going to throw a party, I don’t think he’s be at the top of my invite list!  Jeremiah carries his prophetic vocation pretty heavily.  His friends are just waiting for him to fail, he’s been thrown into a cistern full of mud, and has become a laughing-stock in the sight of the people.  As we meet him today, he wonders whether even God has led him astray. 

Yet even in the midst of his sorrow and fear, his depression, he knows that eventually, God can be counted on to fulfil his promise.  At some point – in God’s time, if not necessarily in his own – the truth would prevail.  But in this in-between time, he would need to confront his fears, his experience of rejection, and refuse to let the “terrors all around” get to him.  Since God was faithful to his promise, then with that strength at work in him, he could remain faithful to his prophetic calling.

Fear is indeed a powerful force.  As I look back on my life, and look at the areas where I have struggled, I recognize that it was often fear that got the better of me.  My sins were not primarily of commission, but of omission –  often enough, rooted in an insecurity that overcame me: the fear of failure, the fear of looking ridiculous, the fear of reaching out and being rejected, the fear of finding myself unable to do the difficult thing required of me.  I’m sure we can all think of times in our own lives when that kind of paralyzing fear kept us from being the best version of ourselves, from taking the risk of moving to a new level of commitment, relationship, or faith.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus addresses a variety of situations that can place fear into our hearts.  Fear linked to the revelation of what is secret and concealed being brought to the light.  Fear of those who use power, violence and compulsion to get their way.  Fear that we are not valued or loved by others – or even by God. 

To each of these situations, Jesus speaks a word of hope.  Do not be afraid: for if you let that secret come out into the light, it will lose its power over you.  Do not be afraid of bullies and those who dominate and control;  be concerned about how you stand in the sight of God, of those who love you, those who really matter. Do not be afraid of all the things and the people that politicians, the media, even your own neighbours, tell you to be afraid of: creating a climate of fear and suspicion, instead of a world of inclusion and love.  Do not be afraid of the judgments of others that what you do is not enough, that you are not enough: the same God who counts each hair of your head (a job that gets easier every year for God in my case!), whose eye is on the most insignificant sparrow flying overhead, is watching over you. 

There is a wonderful Gospel song that captures this image powerfully.  It’s been around a long time, but I first heard it sung by Lauryn Hill in the movie Sister Act 2.  It tells us that we need not be overwhelmed by our doubts, our fears, our inadequacies.  That God’s eye is on the sparrow, and that same God is watching over you and me.  That God’s “perfect love” alone has the power to cast the fear from our hearts.  On this weekend when we give thanks to God for the gift of our earthly fathers – who in their own way, at their best, loved us in a way that made us feel safe and secure – let us entrust ourselves to the care of our Heavenly Father, whose eye is on the sparrow, and on us.  Then we will know, in the words made immortal by U.S. President FDR, that we have “nothing to fear but fear itself.” Amen.   

His Eye Is On The Sparrow

(Tanya Blount And Lauryn Hill)

Why should I feel discouraged
Why should the shadows come
Why should my heart feel lonely
And long for heaven and home
When Jesus is my portion
A constant friend is He
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches over me
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me

I sing because I'm happy
I sing because I'm free
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me (He watches me)
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches
I know He watches
I know He watches me

I sing because I'm happy
I sing because I'm free
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me (He watches me)
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me (He watches me)
He watches me
I know He watches me.