Matthew 10: 26-33

Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: “Don’t be intimidated. Eventually everything is going to be out in the open, and everyone will know how things really are. So don’t hesitate to go public now.

“Don’t be bluffed into silence by the threats of bullies. There’s nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life—body and soul—in his hands.

“What’s the price of a pet canary? Some loose change, right? And God cares what happens to it even more than you do. He pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don’t be intimidated by all this bully talk. You’re worth more than a million canaries.

“Stand up for me against world opinion and I’ll stand up for you before my Father in heaven. If you turn tail and run, do you think I’ll cover for you?

Gospel Reflection

Jesus told the apostles as He sends them off to spread the gospel: ““Fear no one. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna”

It’s so easy to say that we are followers of Jesus but it’s another story when we are called to witness for Jesus no matter what the cost. Majority of the apostles were the perfect witnesses for Christ, they feared no one they followed Him championing His teachings until their very last grasp of breath.

The Martyrs of the church who shed their blood for the cause of Jesus, they spoke of the truth, they were not afraid to die. A very good example were Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador and Father Rudy Romano a Redemptorist Priest in the Philippines, they fought for the rights of the poor and the oppressed at the cost of their own lives.

Be not afraid, be a true witness for Jesus, this is the clarion call for the twelfth Sunday in ordinary time.