‘So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows’
(Matt 10:31)
(Year A: The Second Sunday after
Trinity, 21st June, 2020)
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READINGS
If I should walk
in the valley of darkness no evil would I fear. You are there with your crook and
your staff; with these you give me comfort. (Psalm 22:4).
These words are
often heard at funeral liturgies. In many parts of the world millions have died
from the covid19 disease and more are expected in the coming months as the
disease is now spreading into economically fragile regions of the world in
parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America.
We have lived through many months of uncertainty, anxiety and in many
cases loneliness. The plague that spread from one end of the globe to the other
in weeks and days has gripped us. Families have been torn apart and loved ones
taken from us. A major fear, especially
those at higher risk by virtue of age or some underlying condition, is that the
disease will strike oneself or one’s family. The consequences can be devastating
and even those who recover can, in a minority of cases, be scarred physically
and psychologically for life. This is a most virulent and evil disease and only
faith and science will eventually crush it.
For every death
from covid there are is a large multiple of deaths from all manner of
conditions, accidents and circumstances. Death awaits us. But, we are a people
of hope waiting in hope not for death but for the life that God alone gives
not, it must be repeated, just beyond death but right now in the place where
you and I find ourselves with all its worries, uncertainties and fears. Why in
the Bible do we hear over and over again the call - ‘Do not be afraid’? Likewise in the Old Testament reading the
angel of God tells Hagar not to be afraid. In today’s Gospel reading no less
than three times Jesus bids us not to be afraid. The first example that he
gives in the discourse of chapter 10 relates to the malign opposition that we
as disciples will encounter, inevitably, if we are true to our calling. We hear
the words of the Lord:
If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household! (Matt. 10:25)
God seeks to
reassure us in the midst of fear and danger then and now.
Fear was very
much to the fore among the early disciples of Jesus – the first and second
generation that followed those who had directly witnessed the Lord’s
resurrection.
Jesus reassures
us that we are known, loved and precious to God. He cites the example of the
sparrow: ‘Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall
to the ground unperceived by your Father’ (Matt. 10:29). Every human life is
sacred to its maker and worthy of protection, respect and dignity.
A recurring
theme in the scriptures is what might be referred to as the trilogy of: Fear,
Reassurance and Trust. The prophecy of Isaiah, for example, is full of
this. In the New Testament Jesus, again and again, calms our fears and stormy
waters and invites us into a trusting relationship with him and Our
Father. Even today, in the midst of personal, familial, communal or
societal anxieties and traumas not least those arising from the pandemic and
its continuing economic and social impact we hear this call to trust in the One
who is Peace at the very heart of our beings. Knowing this trust and this
peace does not take away the pain of what happened or what is happening right
now to each of us.
We live in extremely
challenging times and many of us are called on to undergo much suffering for
what we believe in and the values we live from (even if the two are not always
in harmony). In many parts of the world to be a person of faith – faithful to
the social gospel of true freedom may demand a type of martyrdom (to which the
root word in Greek is witness). It is idle fantasy to try to imagine what we
might do in this situation or that. It is enough to embrace the small trials
and tribulations of each day. The most credible witness is to be true to ourselves
even to the point of exclusion, ridicule and condemnation. The one we
follow met such and we cannot expect less.
Silence is
complicity. Like Jeremiah, we cannot remain silent about the injustices around
us at this time and in this country. Reverend
Patrick Comerford over on his blogsite writes this week:
Are we prepared to stand up for our faith and its values even at the risk of being ridiculed? Even when this upsets the peace of our families, our communities, our society and our land? Readings, hymns and sermon ideas for Sunday 21 June 2020,
He goes on to ask:
Or are we prepared to speak out, not worrying about the consequences, knowing that ‘whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me (Matt. 10:38).?
Postscript
Matthew wrote
his gospel for a Jewish-Christian community in Antioch at a time of great
trauma and separation from Judaism. Through
the discernment of the church his writings along with other gospel stories were
stitched together – over 300 years - in an agreed set of books which we now
refer to as the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The Bible was the fruit
of a lived and narrated catholic oral, and then written, tradition. The Word of God is received and eaten in the
inspired writings of the biblical authors.
In this sense do we say ‘This is the word of the Lord’.
Word
count = 952
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INTERCESSIONS
Loving God we place our trust in you. Show us your great
compassion and mercy that we may entrust everything to you.
We pray for those struggling to know you the Truth that is
Love. Lord hear us. R. Hear our prayer.
Grant to those caring for the sick at home or in places of
special care. Be their rock and courage. Lord hear us. R. Hear our prayer.
We are worth more than these little creatures that surround
us. Teach us not to be afraid. Lord hear us.
R. Hear our prayer.
Inspire leaders to defend the rights of the most vulnerable
in our societies. May they fearlessly live by the values of the Gospel. Lord
hear us. R. Hear our prayer.
We pray for all the people of China, India and he USA as
they endeavour to overcome the devastation caused by covid19. Help them to work
with the international community to defeat the virus. Lord hear us.
R. Hear our prayer.
We take a moment to pray for each other, for ourselves and
our families and for those fears and doubts that assail us from time to time.
Silence ….. Lord hear us. R. Hear our
prayer.
Merciful father: accept these our prayers for the sake
of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen
Our Father ….
Collect of this Sunday
Lord, you have taught us that all our doings without love
are nothing worth:
Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love,
the true bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whoever lives is counted dead before you. Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen (Book of Common Prayer, Ireland)
Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love,
the true bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whoever lives is counted dead before you. Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen (Book of Common Prayer, Ireland)
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