Have No Fear

Gospel: Matthew 10: 24-33

Throughout the scriptures God continually exhorts us to not be afraid, that we ought to fear nothing at all.  At this point someone will object: should we not fear God?  Does Jesus not say in this very passage that we ought to fear God? Does Jesus not say that he will disown those who have disowned him?  Yes, Jesus does say all those things.  

But consider: Peter denied Jesus three times.  All the other apostles abandoned him and disowned him in the Garden.  Jesus was left alone to die a horrid death.  And yet, did Jesus disown Peter and the others?  No.  Instead, he went and sought them out in the upper room and offered them peace.  He went out to Peter and asked him if he loved him.  No condemnation.  No disowning.  Instead, we find the image of the father seeking out his prodigal son.

This image of God, this example of Jesus fills us with immense awe and wonder.  It inspires us to treat others in the same way, hard as that may be for us human beings.  As we have received this mercy, though, so must we show to other people, and in so doing we help to dispel the fear that grips our world.  But this is who God really is - the God of mercy, not the God of destruction.