Jesus said to his Apostles:
“No disciple is above his teacher,
no slave above his master.
It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher,
for the slave that he become like his master.
If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul,
how much more those of his household!
“Therefore do not be afraid of them.
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.
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.
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.” Mt 10:24-33
As Jesus sends his disciples off to proclaim the kingdom of heaven, he tells them three times, “Do not be afraid!” Jesus tells us to speak His words on the housetops (this is usually most powerful by our actions). Next, he tells us not to worry about those with power on earth, but to guard our soul from the Devil who can destroy our soul. Jesus then moves to proclaiming us as miracles, God’s handiwork, “Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Many times our fallen human nature or the Devil try to put ideas in our heads that we are not worth much. God made us exactly how we are supposed to be and gave us a purpose. We must fight to believe in ourselves and have a good image of our self. Otherwise, we are offending God and the Devil is beating us. Confidence in ourselves changes everything! It does not mean pride, the opposite of humility, it means standing up for your dignity (who God made you to be). Last, whenever I read the verses, “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.” I think about how hard it used to be for me to say the Before Meals prayer in a public restaurant. Or to simply make the Sign of the Cross which proclaims Jesus and everything we stand for by doing the Sign of the Cross in a public place. On top of that, think about all of the Christians who are dying for their faith in the Middle East and we are afraid or embarrassed to do the Sign of the Cross in a public place. Maybe these are extremes but I don’t think so. Jesus said to proclaim the Good News from the roof tops. We need to gain knowledge of our faith, so we are ready to share it when someone asks us why we do the Sign of the Cross or say memorized prayers before and after meals. Then, we need to continue to learn about our faith. We work hard to grow in knowledge to improve our job, why not our faith which is the most important.
Become a saint!
Christian YOLO
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