“Jesus said to the Twelve: ‘Fear no one.’” The twelve apostles had answered the call and followed Christ. They have lived with Him, sat at his feet and listened to Him teach, heard him preach, see Him do miracles. That was what they signed up for, that’s what it meant to be a disciple. But in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells them there is something else they have to do if they are to follow Him. They have to face their fears. Face the fact they are afraid, cowardly men. Unless they deal with their fears they won’t be able to follow Him.

           Like us, the disciples don’t want to get hurt. They want to avoid pain. They don’t enjoy violence, beatings, or torture. They don’t want to get killed because they are following Christ. They had not planned on that. But they have seen the opposition Christ has to deal with, the persecution He faces. And they are not stupid. They know what is in store for them. A mountain of pain. They are afraid. How can Jesus tell them, “fear no one”?

          The danger is real. They would be stupid if they weren’t scared. But Jesus is telling them not to give in to their fear. He doesn’t want them to get stuck in their fears, paralyzed or panicky.

          “Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed.” He is telling them to take all the things he has taught them in private (stuff concealed up till now) and go reveal it, teach it to the world. “Nothing is secret that will not be made known.” They are to hold nothing back. All the secret mysteries of the Kingdom of God He has taught them, they are to make known to the whole world.

          “What I say to you in darkness, speak in the light. What you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.” He has taught them in a low, ordinary tone of voice. But now He wants them out there screaming the message. He’s telling them to be bold in their preaching, courageous in teaching. Fearless. Proclaim everything publicly.

          “Lord we can’t do that,” they say. “The Pharisees will come after us, just like they do you. We’ll get killed!” And he says – “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body. Be afraid rather of the one who can destroy both body and soul in Gehenna.”

          Gehenna is a huge garbage dump outside the city. It was filled with all kinds of refuse, including rotting carcasses of dead animals, that people would try to burn because they smelled so bad. Christ uses Gehenna as a symbol for Hell. Christ is saying –

          “So someone is going to hurt your body. But you are more than your body. The deepest you, your center, is your soul. Nobody can hurt that or kill that. So don’t be such big babies. Bodies get hurt in life. That’s what it means to have a body – it means to experience pain as well as pressure.

          “What you need to fear is not the pain that will pass away, but the agony of soul that will last forever. Be afraid that in the life to come the real you will be thrown into junk pile of Hell.

          “He re’s to get beyond your fear. I am not telling you to deny it or ignore it. That doesn’t work. I am telling you to replace it. Trust in the Father’s love for you. That’s how you conquer fear. Replace it with confidence in Him. He’s in charge, in control of everything.

          “Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.”

          Sparrows are so plentiful they are worthless. You could buy two for a penny. But not even a worthless sparrow drops dead without the Father’s consent. Nothing escapes God’s notice, nothing happens without His permission. You are more important to Him than all the birds of the air put together. He knows everything about you, down to the number of hairs you have on your head. He pays attention to the smallest thing that happens to you. So don’t be afraid of what’s going to happen, of what you are going to suffer. You put your pain in His hands, you surrender yourself to Him. You trust Him. That is how you get beyond your fear.

          The disciples say “Well Jesus, the Father is far away distant, removed from the scene. It is not easy to trust Him.” Our Lord answers, “No problem. I am right here. Focus on me, instead. On being faithful to me. Do what I do, say what I say, be bold in preaching my message no matter what the cost. You follow me. I will show you how to trust in the Father, no matter how afraid you are, even in death.

          “Everyone who acknowledges me before others, I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others I will deny before my heavenly Father.”

          “You speak up for me on earth, I’ll speak up for you to my Father in heaven. You let people know that I am the center of your life, that your relationship with me is more important than life itself, and I’ll bring you to everlasting life.

          Don’t be afraid. Don’t let fear paralyze your tongue or panic your feet. I don’t want to say to my Father – ‘So and so was with us, but he got scared off and dropped out.’ – Your relationship with me is what is going to save you in the long run. Some day, you know, your body is going to die anyway. Fear isn’t going to stop or prevent your death. So don’t be silly. Don’t deny me to save your body a little pain. That doesn’t get you anywhere. Being faithful tome, being bold, courageous, fearless, does get you somewhere. It gets the whole you into heaven. Everyone who acknowledges me before others, I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.

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