Do not be afraid!

In today's Gospel reading taken from St Matthew we have one of Our Lord's so-called great discourses. This one is often referred to as 'the Mission Discourse'. Here Jesus instructs the disciples on the conditions of authentic discipleship, as well as on the challenges of continuing his mission on earth after he has been visibly departed from them.

Our Lord's instructions here are both sobering and consoling. The disciples will face lethal opposition no less than He did, but "they should not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul". Because they are and will remain under God's loving care, they will continue to have Jesus as their leader and inspirer.

There is much truth in what has often been said that the Church, which is made up of all Christians including ourselves, is today a 'Church of Martyrs', taking this word in its original sense of 'witnesses', witnesses to the living reality of Jesus Christ and to his teachings. This has been so and remains true today no less than when Christians were persecuted and thrown to the lions. Today's lions are powerful figures and institutions, and their victims are often unmasked people who have the courage to imitate the prophets and Christ himself, who never hesitated to face the enemies of his own time even at the cost of shedding his own blood.

Though most of us will not be literally called to give up our lives, the modern martyrs' love for "the least of Jesus' brothers and sisters", and their courageous concern for truth and justice, is still a mandate for all of us as Christians. Who says that the era of persecutions is a matter of the past? A quick look at recent history will make us aware that even today the number of priests and lay people who lost their lives for their courage in preaching Christ and in helping the poor and the oppressed, has been constantly on the increase. Sometimes we hear and read about this; and when we don't, it is often because such things happen so often that they hardly make news any more.

Most of us may not be faced, today or in the future, with a similar life-and-death dilemma, but through our baptism we are nonetheless called to be prophetic witnesses to Christ and his teachings. As Christians, for example, we are all called to be prophetic witnesses to the sanctity and dignity of every human life from conception to the moment of death.

In a world where the sacredness of human life is constantly under threat, it remains our vocation to respect all human life, whether it be in the form of an unwanted foetus or of an incurably deceased and suffering person. These and similar crimes remain abominably so, even when they are ably camouflaged under such expressions as 'therapeutic abortions' or 'genetic engineering'.

Only through a profound regard for the human being created in God's image and likeness can we become true witness of Christ in the society in which we live today and thus give our share for the creation of a society where every human life, no matter what circumstances may surround it, is an image and likeness of God.

"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I too will acknowledge him before my Father who is in heaven! Do not be afraid, then", Jesus says to each one of us, whether it be in our private lives or in our dealings with others in the ever-changing situations of life.

When all is said and done, this is the ultimate test of our genuine and authentic acceptance of Chrst, and of our ability, with God's help, to translate his message into our way of thinking and behaving in our daily life. We call ourselves 'Christian'. But what's in a name?