“Do not be afraid”, God is reminding us all the time .

The words of Jesus are an encouragement not to be deterred in the face of challenge or opposition.

Help me to recognise your supporting presence and not to be afraid for you are with me always.

  

Blessed Virgin Mary 

St. Henry

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that king

Uzziah died I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: two to cover the face, two to cover the feet, and two to fly with.

They were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh Sabaoth. All the earth is filled with his glory!" At the sound of their voices the foundations of the threshold shook and the temple was filled with smoke. I said, "Poor me! I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips, and yet I have seen the King, Yahweh Sabaoth."

 

Then one of the seraphs flew to me; in his hands was a live coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with it and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin is forgiven."

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" I answered, "Here I am. Send me!"

 

Ps 93:1ab, 1cd-2, 5 The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Matthew 10:24-33

A student is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. A student should be content to become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If the head of the household has been called Beelzebul, how much more, those of his household! So, do not be afraid of them! 

There is nothing covered that will not be uncovered. There is nothing hidden that will not be made known. What I am telling you in the dark, you must speak in the light. What you hear in private, proclaim from the housetops.

 

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but have no power to kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of him who can destroy both body and soul in hell. For a few cents you can buy two sparrows. Yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father knowing. As for you, every hair of your head has been counted. Do not be afraid: you are worth more than many sparrows!

Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. Whoever rejects me before others, I will reject before my Father in heaven.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"It is not about us."

In today's Gospel, Jesus gave another set of missionary instructions to his disciples. The disciples were told that they, as disciples, were not greater than the Master. They were also instructed to tell in the light whatever they heard in the dark. They must not be afraid because they were being taken care of by God. Lastly, they were to acknowledge Jesus before others.

 

In other words, it is Jesus who was sending them into mission. Hence, the disciples were to bring Jesus and Jesus' message in their mission. Clearly, the mission does not belong to any of Jesus' followers. The mission is God's. By virtue of our being followers of Jesus, we are all missionaries in our own little ways.

 

Thus, we are always challenged to resist the temptation to think that whenever we perform any of our missionary duty – that it is about us, It is not about us. It is about God who called us to be instruments through which his mission can be realized. Our role is to participate in God's mission. It is about God who always cares for sparrows and who certainly cares for us. It is about him. It is not about us.