Fear No One
Jesus gives His disciples a command that sounds almost impossible:
“Fear no one.”
Fear is deeply human.
Usually, we are afraid because something matters to us.
We have something good and fear losing it: a person, a relationship, our health, security, reputation, or a future we imagined.
Or there is something good we long for, and we fear we may never have it.
Underneath so many fears is the same question:
What happens to me if this does not turn out the way I hope?
We begin trying to control situations because we are afraid of what might happen if we do not.
Jesus does not pretend those fears are imaginary.
He is preparing the apostles for real difficulty.
They have watched opposition to Him grow. They know the authorities are watching Him. They can reasonably suspect that following Him may eventually cost them something too.
And still He says:
Do not be afraid.
Courage Is More Than a Moment
The opposite of fear is not pretending nothing is difficult.
It is courage.
Courage is choosing a good thing even when pursuing it is hard.
Anyone can be brave for a few seconds.
The deeper form of courage is showing up again and again.
For weeks.
Months.
Years.
That kind of courage becomes perseverance.
Marriage requires it.
Parenthood requires it.
Faith requires it.
There are times when we do not know how something will turn out, yet we keep showing up, loving, trusting, praying, and doing the next right thing.
Jeremiah lives that kind of courage in the first reading.
People are whispering against him. Even those he considered friends are waiting for him to fail.
Yet Jeremiah can still say:
“The LORD is with me, like a mighty champion.”
His courage does not come from believing nothing bad will happen.
It comes from knowing who is with him.
Your Father Knows
Jesus then gives His disciples an image that completely changes the conversation.
Two sparrows are sold for almost nothing.
And yet not one falls to the ground without the Father knowing.
Then Jesus says:
“Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
God sees.
God knows.
He knows the struggle you are carrying well.
He knows the one you are carrying poorly.
He sees the cross you would rather put down.
Nothing about your life is insignificant to Him.
Sometimes we imagine God as distant, disappointed, or merely tolerating us.
Jesus gives us a different image.
Father.
Not a Father who promises that His children will never suffer, but a Father whose children are never outside His knowledge or care.
What a Father Gives
On Father’s Day, that image gives us something important to consider.
Scripture repeatedly reveals God the Father as life-giving and providential.
He gives life.
He provides.
Earthly fathers are called to reflect something of that.
Providing certainly includes practical things: food, shelter, security.
But a father provides much more than a paycheck.
He can provide encouragement.
Stability.
Room to fail and try again.
A voice that says, I see something good in you.
A father can look at a son or daughter and recognize possibilities they cannot yet see in themselves.
He can bless what is good, encourage what is developing, and give a child the confidence to keep going.
That kind of fatherhood gives life too.
The Father We Can Trust
No earthly father does this perfectly.
Some have reflected God’s fatherhood beautifully.
Others have left wounds.
But Jesus does not ask us to understand God the Father simply by looking at our human experiences of fatherhood.
He reveals the Father to us.
The Father knows us completely.
He sees us.
He provides what we ultimately need.
And He has given us His Son.
St. Paul reminds us today that sin and death entered the world, but the gift of God in Jesus Christ is greater still.
Christ has already entered the very thing we fear most, death itself, and conquered it.
That changes what Christians mean by courage.
Our courage is not confidence that we can control everything.
It is confidence that even when we cannot, we belong to a Father who can be trusted.
For Moms
Mothers carry plenty of fear.
Fear for our children can disguise itself as planning, hovering, worrying, correcting, anticipating, and trying desperately to make sure nothing goes wrong.
Some of that is simply responsible parenting.
But fear can quietly convince us that everything depends on us.
Today's Gospel reminds us:
Your children have a Father who sees what you cannot see.
He knows the number of hairs on their heads too.
That does not mean we stop protecting, guiding, or paying attention.
It means we are allowed to parent from trust instead of panic.
We can do what belongs to us and entrust what does not to Him.
And when we see the fathers in our lives giving life, providing stability, encouraging our children, and faithfully showing up, we can recognize and affirm that good.
Questions to Sit With
- What am I most afraid of losing, or afraid I may never receive?
- Where is fear tempting me to control something that I need to entrust more fully to God?
- Who in my family needs encouragement from me to see the good or potential that I see in them?
Family Practice
At dinner one evening, have each person say one specific thing they appreciate about Dad, Grandpa, or another father figure who has helped give, protect, encourage, or provide for your family.
Then pray together for all fathers and end with Jesus’ words:
“Do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”