The Rev’d Jim Lam

Sermon on 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 21 June, 2026. Year A

Readings: Genesis 21:8-21, Psalm 69:8-20, Romans 6:1b-11, Matthew 10:24-39

Perhaps it is a bit early in the day to ask this question: Have you ever been afraid of the dark? If you have, here’s a little story that I hope would lighten your mood.
A little boy was terrified of the dark. One evening, his mother asked him to go out onto the back porch and bring her the broom.
The little boy said, “Mama, please don’t make me go out there. It’s dark and you know I’m scared!”
His mother smiled and said reassuringly, “There’s no need to be afraid of the dark. Jesus is out there, and He will protect you.”
The little boy still looked unsure, cracked open the back door about two inches, stuck his hand out into the pitch black, and whimpered, “Jesus? If You’re out there, would You please hand me that broom?”
If you have ever been frightened, know that you are not alone. According to psychologists, fear is a universal human emotion. It is a built-in survival mechanism that triggers a person’s “fight or flight” response to keep one safe from danger. But if we are easily frightened by troubles we meet, or stressed by “what-if” thoughts, our life would be a mess. So, let’s ponder the topic of “fear”, or, to be exact, the topic of “do not fear”, since it is mentioned four times in our readings today.
The first time occurs in the reading from the book of Genesis. Hagar and her child Ishmael were sent away. They wandered about in the wilderness. When the water they brought along was finished, Hagar could not suppress her feeling of frustration and despair any more. Fearing for the life of her child and herself, she wept aloud. God heard them and comforted them. He said to her, “Do not be afraid”, and showed her a well of water.
Although Ishmael was Abraham’s first born, he was not the child of promise chosen by God to inherit the family’s fortune and blessings. Even so, when he and his mother’s life was in peril, God sent them help so that they could live on. God was with Ishmael. When he grew up, he became an expert archer and the father of a great nation.
How about Isaac the chosen one? He grew up in the protection of his family, but his life was not totally plain sailing. As a child, he almost got sacrificed as a burnt offering on the altar. And his descendants? Although they are God’s chosen people, they had been slaves. They have their Promised Land, but they have been displaced from this homeland multiple times throughout history.
Just like he heard Ishmael in the wilderness, God heard Isaac’s descendants’ groaning when they were enslaved and maltreated in Egypt. So, he took the initiative to deliver them from the hands of their oppressors. People’s fate might be different, but when we are in the time of suffering, when we are in dire straits, God will hear our moaning and extend his salvation in his special way.
From this, we can see that the chosen ones do not necessarily live a life of ease and comfort. Whether people are “chosen” or not, they have to go through some form of tribulations and trials. In other words, experience life in the wilderness. God has his plan for every person. Whether it is a life of hardship or happiness, we know that we are in God’s hands.
The other three “do not fear” were spoken by Jesus in the Gospel reading. Jesus was sending out his disciples to proclaim the good news of the coming of the kingdom of heaven among the people of Israel. The Gospel according to Matthew places special emphasis on the concept of disciples, which means “followers” as well as “persons on a mission”.
When Jesus said “a disciple is not above the teacher”, he was not referring to their level of achievements, but rather, the fact that since the teacher had gone through much suffering, so must his followers. In other word, he was warning them of the persecution they were about to face. If the teacher had been misunderstood, slandered against, tortured and crucified, then there was a high chance that his followers would also face similar abuses as they carried out the mission their teacher commanded them to do. This was the price of discipleship.
But then, Jesus told them that they need not fear. He foresaw the spread of the gospel to a wider world through the work of his followers, just like the revealing of a covered up secret to the whole wide world. Although in that process, the disciples would inevitably be oppressed, Jesus assured them that they should be of good cheer and take courage in professing and spreading their faith.
Still, it would only be human to feel threatened and frightened in the face of grim suffering. At such times, one might wonder why God seems to be passively keeping his silence. But we can be confident that God is listening. He is watching. He always does. And his salvation plan is operating. It is only that we might need time to comprehend. And waiting is often a process that requires faith, but also filled with fear. Those who choose to trust despite their doubts and dread would someday be pleasantly surprised by God’s wonderous work when it would be revealed.
And so, Jesus urged his followers not to fear those who could only inflict corporeal and transitory harm but unable to ruin a person’s whole being, body and soul. He further reassured them that God cared, even for his creatures as humble as sparrows. Therefore, those who feared God in awe and reverence had nothing to fear from humans. Moreover, Jesus promised that they would be spoken for before God the Father.
Now that we are convinced that we are safe in God’s hands no matter what would happen to us, what are the lessons for us to learn? Let us consider the time when Ishmael was cast out from his father’s household. Or, when the Israelites escaped from Egypt and wandered around in the wilderness. It is true that they had to live a much humbler, less stable, and even more dangerous life. And yet, God was there with them. Although they had to survive in a harsh environment, they developed the strength to thrive and mature.
Do you still live in fear? What are you afraid of? Or, let me put it this way, what are the things that you would compromise because of fear? Life is full of choices that we must make. Would we always choose to follow Jesus despite the price? This is a lesson in faith. Fear is not something that should have a place in our hearts while we live in God’s grace. May God grant us peace that we can put down our fears while we follow closely in Christ’s footstep. Amen.