Daily Catholic Lectio
Friday, 20 October 2023
Friday of the Twenty-Eighth Week of the Year
Romans 4:1-8. Luke 12:1-7
Do not be afraid!
“So many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot” – these opening words of today’s gospel reading tell us how popular Jesus was and how much people needed him. Jesus could attract all people to himself.
Jesus’ words, miracles, and journeys created a lot of positive and negative responses among people. Some opposed Jesus. Some conspired against him. Some murmured and went their way. These negative responses did not affect Jesus; however, they affected his followers—during his time and later. Some left their faith in Jesus. Some accepted Jesus and faced martyrdom. Some kept faith in their internal forum and led a double life – one outside and another inside. Let us keep this background in mind as we approach the gospel reading of the day.
“Beware of the leaven–that is, the hypocrisy–of the Pharisees,” thus begins Jesus’ exhortation. Here, Jesus himself qualifies what the leaven is about, i.e., ‘hypocrisy.’ Earlier, Jesus compared the kingdom of God to leaven (cf. Lk 13:20-21). There, ‘leaven’ is spoken of positively. Paul also uses the metaphor of leaven in a negative way: ‘get rid of the old leaven … let us keep the festival not with the old leaven, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth’ (cf. 1 Cor 5:6-8).
Jesus tells that hypocrisy is like a leaven. It leavens the good dough. The process cannot be undone. And the process is invisible to our eyes. The hypocrisy of the Pharisees should not affect the disciples of Jesus. They must be careful about this invisible disaster.
In the second part, Jesus exhorts his disciples to fear and not to fear. The word ‘fear’ is used five times with its cognate: ‘do not be afraid of those who kill the body,’ ‘whom to fear,’ ‘be afraid of the one who can throw you into Gehenna,’ ‘be afraid of that one,’ ‘do not be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows.’
Fear is a neutral emotion. It can be positive or negative. Positive fear makes us careful and responsible. E.g., fear of being hit makes us be careful when we cross the road; fear of exams makes a student careful in listening; fear of poverty makes a person labour responsibly. Negative fear paralyses us and our movements. E.g., a child who is afraid of public speaking does not face the audience; fear of strangers creates in us prejudices about them.
Jesus tells us whom not to fear, and whom to fear: (a) We need not be afraid of men; for their authority or capacity is limited. (b) God is able to judge us for eternal fire; we must be afraid of him. (c) God provides for us. Jesus asks, ‘Not five sparrows for two pennies?’ Earlier, he says, ‘two sparrows for a penny.’ If two sparrows are there for a penny, we have four for two pennies. Where is the fifth one? The fifth sparrow is the trial sparrow that is used to test the quality of birds in the cage. God takes care of this sparrow which is let open.
Three lessons for us:
(a) We must not let the leaven of hypocrisy permeate our faith life.
(b) We must have fear of God – not slavish fear, but filial fear. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (cf. Prov 9:10). Joseph of the First Testament feared God in all circumstances.
(c) We must develop self-worth. We are worth more than the sparrows. God’s providential hand is on us, so close that he numbers our hairs.
In the first reading, as Paul develops his treatise on ‘faith and justification,’ he presents Abraham as an example of faith. Abraham’s fear of God manifested in his faith and trust.
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
Missionary of Mercy
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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