12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

by Larry Fraher, Ph.D  |  06/22/2023  |  Images of Faith

When I was a 12-year-old boy, my older brother and I shared the job of opening and closing the gymnasium for evening rentals at our Catholic school and parish. This “first job” often required a late-night four-block walk home after the last basketball or volleyball group finished for the night. On one night, working on my own, there was a late (11 p.m.) closing. As I walked home, I became frightened by a slow-moving vehicle that I perceived to follow me for about a block. Even after the car had turned and disappeared from sight, my fear persisted. Then, while I still a couple of blocks from the house, I received an overwhelming sense of calm and safety. I knew, in that moment, that God was with me, protecting me, surrounding me with His loving presence. I arrived home safely, and while I have had similar feelings, I have never experienced something as strongly as I did on that night.

I believe that this is the promise we hear in the three readings today: God comes to us in the midst of the anxieties of life and promises safety. When we are fearful and threatened, God has got us. When we are struggling, our trust in God will help us to prevail. Even, as we hear in the second reading, when we descend into the realities of human death, our God is there, has been there, and will protect us by raising us up into His love and light. Such a promise makes us free.

Such a release from our anxieties, fears, and ultimately, the fear of death, offers a path of deep-seated freedom for followers of Christ. If we follow Him in the depth of faith and in the promises of our God, then we may be free. Such freedom is not the modern sense that tells us, “Do whatever you desire, whenever you desire.” Instead, it is a sense that reaches into and pervades our being, releasing us for discipleship: no fears, no worries. What we hear in Church, we are free to proclaim, because all those things that might make us fearful have been taken by God, and we have been assured of His loving protection.

As a youth minister, I facilitated a retreat weekend titled “Risking it All.” The only way a person can risk everything is by being truly free of worries, fears and day-to-day anxieties. While this is certainly what we as Christians are called to become, I am sure that most, like me, often fall far short. Each day, however, is an opportunity to move more deeply into this freedom and a chance to respond to Christ’s call in today’s Gospel to proclaim Him in all things; for the Father knows everything, even when a sparrow falls to the ground. When we adhere to Christ, He will protect us, “So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Mt 10:31)