Bible
Study: Isaiah 6, 1 to 8. Matthew 10, 24 to 33.
Today’s Gospel passage needs
no explanation. It is a climax of Jesus’ instructions to his apostles as he
sends them out on mission. As he concludes his instructions, he seems to save
the best for last. The most important aspect of the mission work is one’s
ability to conquer fear of his fellow human beings.
Honestly, fear is by far the
greatest obstacle for anyone who sets out on mission. I could be so afraid of
people at times that even though I have prepared a sermon on paper, I look at
their faces while preaching and I decide to say something different from what I
have written down. Why am I so afraid of telling people the truth? I feel that
by so doing, they would hate me or attack me. I want it cool, I want to be
their friend and encourage them to come back to church again.
Today’s Gospel passage is a
personal warning to me. If I allow my fear of human beings become an obstacle
to my call to preach the truth, it means I am refusing to acknowledge Jesus
before men and when I stand before God on the day of judgement, Jesus will not
acknowledge me before God. It would be a shame that after all my work in the
house of God, I would be disqualified from heaven.
No way. I would rather be
hated by people and suffer whatever attacks they haul at me right now than face
the fiery fires of hell. After all, they can only kill my body just as they
have killed many in the past but they can do no more. I will fear only God who
can kill both soul and body.
My fear of God should not be
cosmetic. I should not only fear God when people are watching, I should fear
God even when in secret because as Jesus says; “nothing is covered that will
not be revealed or hidden that will not be known.” If I am only good when
people are watching and I become terrible when no one is watching, then it
means my goodness is not authentic and it is people I fear, instead of God.
The story is told of a very
holy saint who was visited by an agent of Satan to lure him to sin. She begged
him saying: “Only once, please, just grant me this favour and I bet, you will
go for confession, no one will ever know.” So the saint smiled and agreed to do
it with her. But while she was about to undress, he said: “No, not here. Follow
me and I will show you where we should do it.” She was happy and agreed to
follow him thinking they were going to some secret place. As they walked, they
talked and the saint seemed to be in the mood. Upon getting to a very busy market,
the saint stopped suddenly and said to her, “Ok, right here. Go ahead, I am
ready now.” She shouted, “You mean in front of all these people???” She quickly
turned around and ran away.
Most of us are just like
that. We are so scared of what people will think of us but we seem not to
bother about what God is thinking of us when we hide to do bad bad things. We act
as though we can ever hide from the watchful eyes of God. Even when our conscience
tells us God is watching us, we still go ahead with evil because we are not
afraid of God. What does it profit me to earn the reputation of people for the
few years I have to live only to suffer eternal damnation for the rest of eternity?
The prophet Isaiah today
narrates how he was called. Have you had a personal encounter with God? What is
that unforgettable experience that made you fully convinced about your
Christian faith and determined to walk in the light? As you read that of
Isaiah, recall your own story, recall when you fell in love with Jesus, recall
how you too were called, how you decided to repent from all past sin and take your
faith seriously. I guess this exercise will renew your spirit and cause you to
rekindle the fire once again.
Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, may my fear of
God be far far greater than my fear of human beings that I may always do what
pleases you regardless of what my fellow humans would think or do to me.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. Happy Weekend
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