{"id":4327,"date":"2023-06-24T01:35:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-24T00:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/?p=4327"},"modified":"2023-06-24T12:16:40","modified_gmt":"2023-06-24T11:16:40","slug":"commentary-on-12th-sunday-of-the-year-a-25-06-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/commentary-on-12th-sunday-of-the-year-a-25-06-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Commentary on 12th Sunday of the year (A), 25.06.2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

Commentary by Donagh O\u2019Shea OP, www.goodnews.ie<\/a><\/h3>\n

Mt 10:26-33<\/b><\/p>\n

So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.\u00a0 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.\u00a0 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.\u00a0 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.\u00a0 And even the hairs of your head are all counted.\u00a0 So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.<\/em><\/p>\n

The other readings at today\u2019s Mass describe situations of fear and terrible anxiety.\u00a0 The Responsorial Psalms follows suit: \u201cI have borne reproach\u2026 shame has covered my face.\u201d Then the gospel reading begins, \u201cHave no fear\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

This phrase, \u201cHave no fear\u201d runs like a refrain through the Gospel, indeed through the whole Bible.\u00a0 To Abram, God said, \u201cDo not be afraid, I am your shield.\u201d\u00a0 To the prophets, \u201cDo not be afraid, I am with you.\u201d\u00a0 To Mary, the angel said, \u201cDo not be afraid.\u201d\u00a0 To the apostles, Jesus said, \u201cDo not be afraid.\u201d\u00a0 To Paul, the Lord said, \u201cDo not be afraid.\u201d\u00a0 To all his disciples, Jesus said, \u201cDo not be afraid, little flock\u201d (Luke 12:32).<\/p>\n

Fear is a powerful factor in the life of every human being, perhaps especially in people who pretend to have no fear.\u00a0 Children are afraid of the dark; teenagers are often afraid of themselves, or of the other sex, or of life itself.\u00a0 In young and old alike, fear can express itself as shyness, feelings of inferiority, aggression, and (most painful of all) anxiety.\u00a0 Anxiety is a generalised form of fear: fear of nothing in particular but of everything in general.\u00a0 It is often about possible future troubles rather than present ones: the future, possible illness or accident, and death.<\/p>\n

We often tell one another, \u201cDon\u2019t worry, don\u2019t be afraid.\u201d\u00a0 But there is only slight comfort in it, because we all know how easy it is to say this when we are not in the line of fire ourselves.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s gospel reading offers a more substantial support.\u00a0 It does not say, \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid, it won’t happen.\u201d\u00a0 It says something more like, \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid; it may well happen, but when it does happen you will not be destroyed as a person.\u201d\u00a0 This is the difference between optimism and hope.\u00a0 The 14th-century English mystic Julian of Norwich put it clearly.\u00a0 \u201cHe did not say, \u2018You will not be tempted, you will not be troubled, you will not be distressed,\u2019 but he said, \u2018You will not be overcome.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.\u201d\u00a0 The truth will out.\u00a0 There are no hidden traps or hiding-places.\u00a0 In the ultimate stakes everything will stand in the full light of truth; everything, even the detail.\u00a0 \u201cEven the hairs of your head are all counted.\u201d\u00a0 There is a Father who cares about what we do and what happens to us. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom\u201d (Luke 12:32).<\/p>\n

From the beginning and throughout the ages Christians have found strength in this.\u00a0 St Paul wrote to the Corinthians, \u201cThanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labour is not in vain\u201d (1 Cor. 15:57-58).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Commentary by Donagh O\u2019Shea OP, www.goodnews.ie Mt 10:26-33 So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.\u00a0 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.\u00a0 Do not<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4328,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4327"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4327\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7885,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4327\/revisions\/7885"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}