Faith Daily |10 July 2021

PRAYER of the DAY - PENTECOST APBA P 552

O God,

you have prepared for those who love you

such good things as pass our understanding:

pour into our hearts such love toward you,

that, loving you above all things,

we may obtain your promises

which exceed all that we can desire;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

GOSPEL for the Day: Matthew 10: 24-33

24 ‘A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; 25it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!

26 ‘So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. 27What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground unperceived by your Father. 30And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

32 ‘Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; 33but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.

GOSPEL Reflection: Contributed by: Alan Bell

This passage comes from the time Jesus spent preparing the disciples for their mission. It should also be seen as advice for our Christian mission too. First Jesus explains that disciples will be maligned even more than him by those who say he is aligned with the devil. This would have created fear for the disciples as the dangers, including death, were real and surely apparent by then. He then encourages them and us to have no fear of these dangers for God’s truth will be revealed. Jesus provides encouragement to proclaim the good news without fear, because those who persecute him and his disciples cannot kill the soul. Finally, he encourages his disciples to acknowledge him before others in the knowledge that he will support them before God in this world and the next.

There should be no greater encouragement than this for us to proclaim his word fearlessly. How great it is to have his support in all we do in his name. While we do not feel physically threatened in doing his work today it still takes courage to live as a disciple and spread his word in a society where Jesus is not widely acknowledged as teacher and master of all. Let us use this passage to renew our efforts to tell the story of Jesus as fearless disciples.

FINAL PRAYER:

How do we feel to be compared to a sparrow?

How do we feel to know that the hairs of our head are counted?

More importantly – how do we feel to know we have to have courage?

Courage to say –

God is God, and God is love.

The Christ is in all, and is in you.

The Holy Spirit moves where God wills –

and nothing will separate us

from the love and presence of God.

Amen.