First Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8
In the year King Uzziah died,
I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne,
with the train of his garment filling the temple.
Seraphim were stationed above; each of them had six wings:
with two they veiled their faces,
with two they veiled their feet,
and with two they hovered aloft.
They cried one to the other,
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!
All the earth is filled with his glory!”
At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook
and the house was filled with smoke.
Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed!
For I am a man of unclean lips,
living among a people of unclean lips;
yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me,
holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
He touched my mouth with it and said,
“See, now that this has touched your lips,
your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”
“Here I am,” I said; “send me!”
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 93:1AB, 1CD-2, 5
R. (1a) The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed:
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
Gospel: Matthew 10:24-33
Jesus said to his Apostles:
“No disciple is above his teacher,
no slave above his master.
It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher,
for the slave that he become like his master.
If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul,
how much more those of his household!
“Therefore do not be afraid of them.
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;
what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;
rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy
both soul and body in Gehenna.
Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.
Even all the hairs of your head are counted.
So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Everyone who acknowledges me before others
I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.
But whoever denies me before others,
I will deny before my heavenly Father.”
NAB
God's still on His throne.
It is a phrase that reminds me that while we live and work out our salvation in this messy, crazy world, the Kingdom we truly serve is other-worldly, and in that Kingdom, the battle is won, love reigns, and my King sits steadily on His throne, for ever and ever without end, amen.
It steadies me. It offers me hope when I feel unraveled, and courage when I am afraid.
Jesus was offering that very thing to His apostles in today's Gospel. And it is no silly concern He is responsing to. Many of His disciples would one day give their lives for Him. The danger of "those who can kill the body but not the soul" was literal, real, and ever-present for them.
And yet Jesus encourages them not to be afraid, as, truly, God knows. You face no danger, you manage no trail, and each fear you overcome is with Him there, offering you mercy and love and tenderness.
The world we live in today in increasingly designed to make us afraid, and particularly designed to make us afraid of our faith and the price it might one day cost us. But Jesus tells us not to be afraid to proclaim in the light.
He doesn't promise us it won't cost us, but He does promise us God will still be on His throne and that he sees our every hair, our every effort to make him known, along with every hurt and injury we incur because of it.
And He tells us not to be afraid to give our lives in this world.
I don't know what fears you are praying through today, and what price you might be paying for what you believe right now. But close your eyes, and feel the rush of mighty angel's wings, and see the gleaming beauty of the heavenly throne room for one minute. Feel the shakiness of this side of the veil fade and feel the eternal stability of God's holiness. Rest there as He takes note of every detail about you.
And return to your battles assured and unafraid.
God's still on his throne. And he's got you. Today, tomorrow, and forever. You'll pay no price for Him that he has not already counted, give nothing for Him he has not already given for you.
Today, every time you find fear creeping into your living faith, close your eyes, see God on His throne, and pray with the heavenly hosts, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty."
Colleen Mitchell is wife to Greg and mother to five amazing sons here on earth. They serve in Costa Rica where they run the St. Francis Emmaus Center, a ministry that welcomes indigenous mothers into their home to provide them access to medical care, support and education in the weeks before and after the birth of a child. Find out more about her here.
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