Preet Anupam Beck csc –
Readings: Is 6: 1-8; Mt 10: 24-33
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear (1 Jn 4:18).
Today’s readings invite me to strive for this love, which overcomes all sorts of fear. Many believe that the opposite of love is hatred, but I consider fear as the opposite of love. We hate others or are jealous of them because we fear our insecurities, and we think that we might be irrelevant because they have greater qualities. So, we can become very unloving because of the fear within us.
In the first reading, Prophet Isaiah sees a vision of the heavenly court. He is amazed to see the holiness around him and realizes his littleness and sinfulness. He fears that with his uncleanness he would not be able to speak on behalf of God to the people. But one of the angels touches his mouth with a live coal, symbolically cleansing him from his sins. When Isaiah experienced this love, he had no fear of being sent in the name of the Lord.
In the gospel, Jesus reassures his disciples amidst the looming persecution, urging them not to fear, for everyone is precious in God’s eyes. He tells them that the enemy can kill their body but not the soul. So, Jesus invites us to acknowledge him in love, not fearing things that come out of evil in the form of anxiety, restlessness, and depression.