“..do not be afraid” repeated three times to his disciples, frightened rabbits caught in headlights of an emerging life changing society & religion, a life threatening lockdown.. reminds us of 7 July 2005 bombings in London; 52 victims, with 3 of terrorists from Yorkshire ..a webpage opened within minutes titled “we are not afraid” 4m hits in 48hrs from folk like first disciples afraid terrified but afraid to admit it?..or determined to overcome it? an enduring image of the classic London underground sign announcing each station & instead of Kings Cross it says “we are not afraid”..poor Jeremiah in 1st rdg his calling with some of most beautiful words in whole of scripture as God spoke to him & to us “before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you came to birth I consecrated you. I have appointed you as prophet to the nations.” chose you..you..billions of years ago consecrated appointed & Jeremiah’s excuse is ours “Ah, Lord; look, I do not know how to speak; I am a child” I am just an ordinary workaday Catholic in this sleepy corner of North Yorkshire..& the Lord’s reply clear then & now “do not say ”I am a child”; go now to those to whom I send you & say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid! for I am with you to protect you, it is the Lord who speaks”..game set & match to Our Lord.. ..when was last time you had a threatening crisis, potentially life threatening injuries for you or a beloved loved one, & you called on his help & he let you down..when tell me? not when you went solo, alone determined to beat it, & failed..solo religion is a terminal illness..when you left the divine master plan that dreamed of you billions of years of ago & in a fit of temper depression self-isolation you self-distanced from your constant divine companion caretaker beloved..not 2meters distance but heart distant “I am not afraid!”.. really? who is kidding who?..great homily from Fr Henry on Monday relating Matthews gospel of an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth..always read it as recipe for revenge..he said simply it is realistic caring; one eye for one eye, fair retribution, & then he floored me by explaining pre-Jesus the Jews had no concept of forgiveness..”Father forgive them for they know not what they do” & earlier “how often must I forgive” all news & new to them, & we have had 2020yrs of chronos time & still we don’t get it.. we turn the clock back to Jeremiah & the OT theology of “taking our revenge; hoping they be seduced into error; stumble confounded by their failure, everlasting unforgettable disgrace be theirs” how tragic shameful that such derogatory language & sentiment is so familiar to us..known practised even enjoyed if we are to be honest..”do not be afraid” no wonder we are, if we are still stuck back then rather than living in the here & now..”you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows” & so far, having been spoken to us for years, we haven’t yet come to believe it..low self-worth..& when he calls we ask “not I Lord surely?” & we think of poor me alongside poor Judas.. a story of a farmer who found an eagles egg, picked it up & put it under a chicken & soon the egg hatched. The young eagle grew up with all the chickens & whatever they did he did; he cuckled & clacked like rest & he thought he was a chicken like them. Since chickens could only fly short distance & just off ground, he learned to fly like them, he thought that was what he was supposed to do. One day he saw large bird flying high above him, magnificent wing span as it soared on thermals. “what is that?” he asked his fellow chickens “that is the eagle, the king of the birds.” they told him as they pecked at soil “he belongs to the sky, we belong to the earth, we are just chickens” & the eagle lived & died as a chicken, for that is what he thought he was.” “two sparrows for a penny” worthless, like chickens, & unable to believe the accolade from Our Lord “you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows” chickens..you & I chosen..dreamed of “formed in the womb consecrated appointed to be prophet to the nations” the golden eagle who rides majestically on thermals of divine grace, watching carefully caringly on the others, who look to us for inspiration wise counsel example & reassurance “do not be afraid” We have many blessings & privileges in this, our valley of milk & honey, one of which has been our distance from the coronavirus thus far..& yet four of our parishioners have been, & remain, on the front line working in Covid-19 situations, graphic scenes of which we saw on news bulletins, & we were moved to tears..& now?..media & by connection ourselves, have moved on to economic financial social aspects of it all, our fear sadly so swiftly transferred from Covid-19 wards to happy shoppers wallowing again in retail therapy or commuters like sardines on public transport..”do not be afraid” & they don’t seem to be, as they return to ordinary life & ordinary modes of self-centred behaviour, as sparrows..once aware but no longer of the magnificent golden eagles gracefully, divine grace-fully, working on the front line “do this in memory of me” eucharistic self-sacrifice risking everything “do not be afraid” & they were, & still are, each 12hr shift “when you did this for the least of these brothers & sisters of mine..these labelled sparrows..you did it for me & to me..” “do not be afraid” & He was..remember Gethsemane “Father take this cup of suffering from me” many a doctor or nurses thoughts & prayers on a dark dark shift..& we pray for them that they too will find, in the footsteps of Our Lord himself, the last reserve of oxygen/ grace to whisper his self-surrender which gave him the strength to go forward into Good Friday & eventually eventually the Resurrection..”but let it be done to me as you, not I, would have it!”..the cry of the golden eagle then, & our local golden eagles now..the invitation 2000yrs ago & again here & now, to “do this in memory of me”..ordinary doctors nurses care workers sparrows as we misjudged them for so long, & 4wks ago heroes clapped for, soaring on the thermals of our nations accolades..& now?.. ..still at full wing span inspired by the sparrows they relate to, in word treatment & in example, preparing them for their onward journey out & beyond..41,684 sparrows now golden eagles “do not be afraid”..for them, now safe & well, but be concerned for ourselves, in our seclusion safety & milk & honey..for so long taught to be sparrows & now, through prophet Jeremiah, the priest Fr Henry, & four of our own local front line disciples, we meet our real selves, erstwhile ordinary sparrows, ordinary individuals struggling to get off the ground, years of pecking for scraps, for left overs in our faith, & now being told, & being prepared to believe in what we are being told, that we are, after all, & always have been, golden eagles..found hatched loved taught by our divine farmer/landowner, who invites us to lift up our heads, to lift up our hearts, from stoop of humility shame & unworthiness, to look up in the sky & see.. ..three titles of Our Lord from time immemorial he bequeaths to you & I ..”priest prophet & king”..priest prophet & queen..a priest, to minister to our fellow eagles & especially to our beloved sparrows..a prophet, to speak up & out for what we have come to believe in & which we are now challenged to share convincingly courageously, & lastly kings & queens, soaring high & magnificently on the thermals of divine love, warmth & grace.. ”do not be afraid”..teach sparrows & chickens to believe in their true selves, their self-identity as our fellow golden eagles, through your practice of faith, your self-belief & your forgiveness..& the cautious squawk of fragile chicken or noisy cheep cheep of busy sparrow “do not be afraid” becomes the dependable deep echo & call of the divine eagle, in the daylight, proclaimed from above the housetops.. “we [we] are not afraid” .. [ 12thSun YrA Mt10;26-33 ]
[you might know or want to listen again to the words of Bette Midler's great song of the eagle “the wind beneath my wings” listen on google or words are enclosed with this Outreach]