Be Not Afraid: Homily for Sunday, June 21, 2026

One phrase, we even heard it today in the gospel, that comes up in the Bible over and over again is God’s saying, “We should not be afraid.” And in today’s first reading from Jeremiah, we are given an example of a person who trusted God completely but endured many hardships in doing so. Readings for Today.

Be Not Afraid

Fear is a powerful thing. An unpleasant feeling, it can be small or great. We can overcome it or we can be paralyzed by it. We can act in spite of it or we can allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by it.

So much of our life can be a choice of facing our fears or overcoming them. Learning to ride a bike, going to school, growing up, asking someone on a date, overcoming the fear that we just won’t measure up.

There is a deeper fear that is much more important to overcome. Ultimately, we can fear things related to bigger questions. Death, standing up for what is right, challenging when important and comforting when needed.

But perhaps the biggest fear is how to become the persons we were created by God to be. At the heart of the challenge is whether we can trust only in ourselves or can we trust in God. Do we trust only in what we can see or can we trust in God’s love for us?

One phrase, we even heard it today in the gospel, that comes up in the Bible over and over again is God’s saying, “We should not be afraid.” And in today’s first reading from Jeremiah, we are given an example of a person who trusted God completely but endured many hardships in doing so.

In the first chapter of Jeremiah, in the fourth verse, we hear the call of God to Jeremiah. “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I dedicated you. A prophet to the nations, I appointed you.

‘Ah, Lord God,’ I said, ‘I do not know how to speak. I am too young.’

But the Lord answered me, ‘Do not say, “I am too young.” To whomever I send you, you shall go. Whatever I command you, you shall speak.

Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver them.”

While the call seems confident on God’s part, Jeremiah immediately expresses his concern about his age. Moreover, while God says to Jeremiah, “Today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to demolish, to build and to plant,” such is not the life that Jeremiah fully experiences on this earth. For throughout the book of the prophet Jeremiah, we see that rather than appearing victorious, Jeremiah faces trouble after trouble, persecution after persecution. He even tries to stop prophesying, only to say, “You seduced me, O Lord, and I let myself be seduced. All day long I am an object of laughter. Everyone mocks me. Whenever I speak, I must cry out. Violence and outrage I proclaim. The Word of the Lord has brought me reproach and derision all the day long. I say, ‘I will not mention him. I will no longer speak in his name.’ But then it is as if fire is burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones. I grow weary holding back. I cannot.”

Jeremiah, despite all of this, finds himself trusting God’s promise to him even to the end. “They will fight against you, but not prevail over you, for I am with you to deliver you.” Jeremiah is sometimes referred to as the “weeping prophet,” because he was the type of person who wore his heart on his sleeve. Given all the hardships he faces, despite his prophecies proving true, he feels loyalty to the people to whom he is sent. By the end of his life, Jeremiah has followed the people on the margins in his day, dying in exile in Egypt. It may be because of his emotions and his sadness that Jeremiah was never married. It would not be fair to put such emotional burden on another.

We know the justice of God is challenging. It can be the case that those who care little about God succeed, while those who give themselves to God appear not to. We know that there are those who seem to care little about God, yet invoke his name, whereas those who have deep faith in God may be humble enough that they only speak about God.

Just like Jeremiah, we are all called to do what God wants. Like Jeremiah, we might put up excuses for why we cannot do what God asks of us. This is normal. Jeremiah tried not to be a prophet. Jesus prayed that God would take away the cup of suffering.

Just as Jeremiah was assured by God of the reliability of the promise God made to him, so too he does with us. Where do you need to feel the love of God welling up in your soul? Where is it you need to ask God for the gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of courage?

In the days of Jeremiah, the people needed to hear a message they did not like. So too in our day, there are many ways in which we live in a world that does not like the message of Christianity.

One way to deal with fear is to name it. What causes you to be afraid of doing God’s will? Ask God to do for you what God did for Jeremiah. Ask God to have his love well up in you because this will help you to overcome your fear.

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