Reading
Matthew 10:28-33
28 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 hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
Comment
Instilling courage in his disciples, Jesus uses the words "do not be afraid", which echo the exhortation "do not fear" continually addressed by God to his people in the writings of the Old Testament. The fear of "the One who can destroy both soul and body" (v. 28) comes only later, to testify that faith is founded first of all on the hope of life which prevails over corporal death, and only secondarily on fear of what brings death to the soul and body.
Gehenna was the valley of Hinnom, used as a landfill where waste was continually burned; in the New Testament it becomes an image of hell, into which the wicked will be thrown on the day of judgment. Therefore, the "fear of God" is the fear of burning in vain, separated from life, rather than burning with charity, a love that he does not consume.
Jesus presents God as the one who cares about even small things like the death of a sparrow. The same concept is represented by the affirmation that God cares about the hair of every man, which recalls a proverbial saying of Jewish wisdom, and is present in many passages of the Scriptures (cf. 1 Sam 14:45; 2 Sam 14:11; 1 Kings 1:52; Lk 21:18; Acts 27:34). With these words, Jesus powerfully affirms God's sovereignty and his universal providence.
Recognizing Jesus is literally indicated by the Greek verb homologeo, "to confess", which means the testimony of his name, to be considered in the context of this passage as perseverance in faith in the face of those who kill the body (v. 28), but more generally during the trials of life. True faith is founded on a relationship of mutual recognition between Christ and his disciple, which will extend into eternal life when we will know God perfectly, as we are known by him (1 Cor 13:12).
Prayer
Confirm us in faith, o Lord, and make us courageous witnesses of your gospel of salvation, assisted by the solicitude of your love. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
