Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Lectionary: 94

Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Psychologists tell us that anger is often driven by fear. Responding to dangers, real or imagined, we react with fight or flight; and very often, we prefer to fight. 

Anger seems to justify itself and whatever it does. Under its influence we feel righteous and demand justice. Impelled to resist a perceived evil, we're sure we're fighting God's fight and, "By God, we will win!" 

Anger justifies its excess. If it oversteps boundaries and reacts disproportionately, punishing the enemy beyond all reasonable restraints, it believes it was driven to this excess by the enemy's actions. "It's their own fault for what we did to them! They had it coming!"  

Angry victims are dangerous people. When some people habitually react to fear with anger, the rest of us learn to fear them habitually. We avoid upsetting the one who is too easily upset; tiptoeing around them and speaking quietly; until, finally, we decide to avoid them altogether. We give the angry coward the peace they want in splendid, lonely isolation. Divorce, family breakup, and societal disintegration follow, with all the dangers of chemical addiction, violence, and suicide. 

America's political polarization begins with our fear. The land of the brave is overcome with dread. Conservatives are afraid the progressives will have their way. Liberals are terrified the reactionaries will have their way. Both sides are frightened; both sides are angry. They think all hell will break loose if we compromise. “Give them an inch, they’ll take a mile!” Everyone is suspect; everyone is dangerous. 

Three times in today's Gospel the Lord urges us, "Do not be afraid." Do not respond to threats with fear. You have no cause for fear or anger. Remember to whom you belong, and the One you serve. Your Father will provide for you, and protect you from all harm. You are worth more than many sparrows. 

Remember that God's kingdom of justice and mercy will be built in God's time, and in God's manner, and you have no idea when that might occur. 

You do not know the future. If the Lord could approach Jerusalem and certain death with serenity in his heart, we can live with rancorous controversy, polarization, and the continual threat of violence. If your neighbors have turned their homes into fortresses, take them an apple pie and invite them to come to your barbecue. If they must wear their guns to show how dangerous they are, wear your smile to assure them they have nothing to fear. 

in his Second Letter, Saint Peter described our way of life: 

Now who is going to harm you if you are enthusiastic for what is good? But even if you should suffer because of righteousness, blessed are you. Do not be afraid or terrified with fear of them, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear.

The world will never be safe for cowards and they have reason to fear. It will never be safe for  Christians, but we have nothing  to fear. Every age is violent; every society represses the vulnerable and punishes the innocent. 

But the Lord has sent us to every age and every nation to live peaceably among them. The world and all its people belong to God. Because we belong to God, we are not afraid.