Message of Abbot Paul - Sunday 25th June 2023

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​In our Gospel passage this Sunday which comes from Matthew, (Mt 10: 26-33), Jesus assures his disciples that God knows us through and through: there is nothing he does not know. It’s hard for us to know another person through and through and, let’s be honest, we don’t really know ourselves. We remain a great mystery, unfathomable and impenetrable. Jesus says, “Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted.” There is nothing that God does not know. He, the Creator, knows us intimately. Because of this, we have nothing to fear. As Jesus says, “There is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.”

 

​A phrase that appears three times in this short passage is “Do not be afraid,” or in traditional English, “Fear not.” In this basic form, it appears 103 times in the Bible, although if you expand your search for similar sayings then as many as 500 times. Whenever God appears, or the Angel of the Lord, or Jesus, then he greets the person he is visiting and has a message for with this greeting. It is an invitation to trust in God and to place our hope and confidence in him. Since we are held in God’s embrace, there is no need for fear, only love and trust, the comfort of being held safely in God’s arms.