COURAGE IN THE FACE OF FEAR

Homily for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Fr. Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch

Jeremiah 20:10-13; Romans 5:12-15; Matthew 10:26-33

In last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus called the Twelve, gave them authority, and sent them out on mission (Mt 9:36-10:8). It was a moment filled with excitement and purpose. However, today’s Gospel (Mt 10:26-33) feels like a continuation of that mission discourse - almost a second instruction. Here, Jesus prepares His disciples for what comes after being sent: uncertainty, fear, opposition, and misunderstanding.

It is precisely in this context that Jesus repeats three times: “Do not be afraid.” He is not denying the reality of fear; rather, He is teaching that fear must never have the final word. Yes, the disciples will face rejection, hidden accusations, and even threats. Yet Jesus assures them that nothing hidden will remain hidden forever. Truth may be delayed, but it will never be destroyed. Light will ultimately overcome darkness.

From this Gospel assurance, we are led naturally to the first reading (Jer 20:10-13), where we meet the prophet Jeremiah in the depth of his struggle. He is not a man without fear. He is surrounded by hostility, betrayed by friends, and overwhelmed with anxiety. At one point he cries out, “Terror is on every side.” And yet, immediately after, he confesses his faith: “The Lord is with me like a mighty warrior.” This is the paradox of biblical courage - not the absence of fear, but the discovery of God within fear.

Building on this, the second reading (Rom 5:12-15) gives us a broader theological lens. St. Paul contrasts Adam and Christ. Through Adam, fear entered the human story: fear of God, fear of punishment, fear of death. But in Christ, grace enters more powerfully than fear. Where fear multiplies, grace overflows. Christian courage, therefore, is not self-generated strength; it is grace received. It flows from the certainty that Christ has already won the decisive victory.

Having grounded us in both prophecy and theology, the Gospel then reveals the reason for such courage: God’s intimate attention to every detail of our lives. “Even the hairs of your head are all counted.” This means your life is not accidental. You are not invisible. If God cares for sparrows, then no human life is beneath His concern. Fear grows in the silence of feeling unseen; courage is born when we realize we are fully seen, fully known, and fully loved by God.

From this awareness, Jesus moves to a final and demanding challenge: “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will acknowledge before my Father.” Faith, therefore, is not meant to remain a private silence but becomes a public witness. Following Christ will sometimes bring discomfort, rejection, or misunderstanding. Yet the disciple is called to trust that God’s approval outweighs every human opinion.

So what does all this mean for us today? It means, first of all, that we must be honest enough to name our fears: fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of suffering, fear of speaking the truth. But we do not remain at the level of naming them. We bring them before Christ, who speaks peace into fearful hearts. From there, we are called to choose courage not because we are strong in ourselves, but because we are held by God. Like Jeremiah, like Paul, like the apostles, we discover that mission does not stop because fear is present; rather, mission is purified through fear.

Dear friend, courage in the face of fear is not an emotion. It is a decision: to trust that God is with us, God sees us, and God will sustain us until the end.