Do Not Be Afraid

06-25-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi, V.C.

In our First Reading today, God calls on the prophet Jeremiah and sends him to tell the people of Israel to repent of their sins of idolatry and immorality and turn to God. The godless people do not want to hear the truth from God through Jeremiah, so they plot evil ways to get rid of him. Facing the opposition and the death threat against him, Jeremiah is tempted to keep quiet and let things be. Then God stirs up the fire of the Holy Spirit within his heart until he can no longer withhold the warnings of the Lord and continues to speak up on behalf of the Lord.

The account of Jeremiah’s experience prefigures the life of Jesus in the New Testament. Jesus came not just to preach the Good News, heal the sick, raise the dead, and drive out demons, but above all, He came to save mankind from eternal damnation. Jesus preached the message of love of God and love of neighbor, and even advocated for love of one’s enemies. Some hated Him so much that they wanted to put Him to death. In the Gospel of John 10:31-33 we read: “The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus. Jesus answered them, I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?” Several other ti mes in Scripture, people who resented Jesus tried to set traps for Him so they could justify their plot to kill Him (Mt 22:15-17; 26:1-5; John 11:39-53).

The situation during the ti me of prophet Jeremiah and Jesus’ time is not so different from the situation in our society today. Like Jeremiah and Jesus, when we try to preach the Good News of God, when we tell people to repent of their sins, when we speak the truth against the culture of death, immorality, and idolatry we see around us, we will face opposition and persecution from the worldly people.

We do not need to be afraid of speaking the truth as directed by God. We are not alone when we do this, for God is always with us. Jesus reminds us not to be afraid of those who can kill the body but cannot kill the souls. Jesus also reminds us that there is nothing concealed or kept in secret that will not be revealed by God on the last day. Our obedience to God must come first before anything else. There is no human being, any government or scientific invention that can guarantee us eternal life. God is the only one who can protect us through this world unto eternal life.

Fr. James