Homily originally presented June 21, 2020

Be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna!

There are two 12-foot-tall Stained Glass Windows in our beautiful Church ...

that I’ll bet most of you good people ... have never seen!

12 foot tall ... yeah ... and 4 foot wide!

And you’re probably wondering ... well where are they hidden?

They’re hidden on each side of the high altar that supports the Gold Tabernacle!

(Please feel free to reverently come up into the Sanctuary after Mass

to admire these two beautiful Stained Glass images.)

The right-side window is a beautiful image of St. Paul holding the Bible in one hand, showing that he wrote almost half of the New Testament, 13 of the 27 books.  and holding a large sword in his other hand,

indicating the kind of death he underwent ... they cut off his head.

The left-side window is a beautiful image of St. Peter holding 2 big Keys symbolizing that Jesus figuratively gave him the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Peter died by crucifixion ... he was nailed to a Cross like Jesus.

These two Leaders of the Early Church are referred to as Princes of the Church and being martyred for their faith in Jesus within 2 years of each other (65 - 67 AD) they share a common Feast Day that we will celebrate... on Monday, June 29^th.

Peter and Paul ... two of many in the early Church ... who died as Martyrs.

A martyr is someone who chooses to die ...

rather than deny a strongly held belief, especially a religious belief.

Peter and Paul chose to die, rather than deny their belief in Jesus, the Son of God.

You know, most of the early Popes and a great many of the early Christians ...

were martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ.

How were they able to do that?

How could they be willing to give their lives for their beliefs?

It had to be ... that they had a clear understanding of the distinction between:

life in the body ...  and ...  life in the spirit.

Our bodies are mortal and will one day die.

While, our spirits are immortal and will never die; they will live on forever!

Peter and Paul and the many other early Martyrs of the Church understood this.

Do you?  

Do you see the distinction between ... life in the body ... and life in the spirit?

Seeing this moved many of the early Christians

to undergo suffering and even death … rather than betray their belief in Jesus.

This is what Our Lord is trying to get across to His 12 Apostles in today’s Gospel.

Jesus says, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”

“Rather”, He says,

“be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.”

What is Gehenna?         Gehenna is Hell ...

that place of eternal fire ... eternal suffering ... and eternal separation from God!

It doesn’t take but a second to realize how awful it would be ...

to be separated from God ... forever.

God is love. And since we’re made in His image and likeness, we’re made for love.

So, we’re made for God!

Therefore, to think that we could possibly be deprived of our destiny ...

which is union with God ... is just too horrible to consider.

That’s why so many of the early Christians were able to choose to be martyred rather than deny their belief in Jesus.

They understood that their earthly life was finite anyway,

whereas their spiritual life was eternal ...

and eternal separation from love would be more horrible than death.  

Many of the early Christians suffered terrible deaths rather than deny their faith in Jesus.           During the 300 years immediately following Jesus’ Resurrection several Emperors such as Trajan, Hadrian, Decius and Valerian endorsed harsh persecution of Christians ... with many of them

being thrown to wild animals in the Coliseum, or be-headed or crucified.

And many of these Martyrs went to their death while singing their praises to God!

There’s no way in the world that a person could face certain death with a song on their lips unless they really believed that the death of their mortal body was not really the end of them … and that their soul was really going to live on with God.

What powerful witnesses the Martyrs were to God’s promise ... that there really is an Eternal Reward for all those who love Him and remain true to Him.

Jesus emphasized this today when He declared:

“Everyone who acknowledges Me before others,

I will acknowledge before my Heavenly Father!”

That’s quite a promise! Imagine coming to the end of your life in this world and being personally introduced to the Father by the Son. There’s no way you could ever have a better reference than to have the endorsement of God’s Beloved Son!

So what does it take to get Jesus to acknowledge us before the Father?

It takes us acknowledging Jesus before others!

Yes, Jesus wants us to be His witnesses in this world. ...

and we’re well prepared to do this.

• We have the Holy Scriptures, which tell us of God’s plans and promises.
• We have The Holy Spirit, who reminds us and guides us in all truth
• We have the Church, which forms our minds and hearts in the Law of God
• We have the Mass, which nourishes us in the Body and Blood of Jesus.
• We have the Sacraments, which empower us with God’s grace and mercy.

We’re better prepared to witness to Jesus than the early martyrs were!

For they didn’t have many of these things in their fullness ...

such as the New Testament ... for it wasn’t even written yet!

Yes, Jesus has amply equipped us to be His witnesses in this spiritually darkened world. And He wants us to be bold and courageous like the early martyrs.

          He says today, “What you hear whispered, proclaim on the rooftops!”

And what message would that be that we should proclaim from the rooftops?

It’s right there in our Second Reading from Romans where St. Paul points out that God’s gracious gift of Christ is an extravagant response to Adam’s offense.

Paul writes: “But the gift is not like the transgression.

For if by the transgression of the one many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many.”

Paul is explaining that Jesus did more than just free people from the reign of sin and death and make it possible for them to enjoy a full rich life on earth.

He acquitted them of their sins before God and offered to those who believe in him divine companionship and favor on earth, through death, and for all eternity!

Wow!    How generous was God’s response to man’s sinfulness! 

“the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ, (overflowing) for the many”.

This is Good News ... it is the best news ever ... and it’s proclaimed in every Mass … when the Priest ... standing in the place of Jesus says,

“This is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant,

which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

You see, by Jesus atoning for the sins of the whole world ...

 all of us have been offered the prize of Eternal Life with Him.

This is very good News … that the death of our bodies does not mean the end ...

because thanks to our Redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ ...

when our mortal bodies die ...

those souls, who have demonstrated their love for God ...

will go on to live ... in God’s perfect love ... in Heaven … forever!

Please let the immensity of this truth ... this Good News ...

sink into your minds and hearts.

Because when you do, you will naturally want to share it with others.

And you will become zealous advocates of Christ even in the face of persecutions.

The Psalmist referred to this in our Responsorial Psalm today ... saying:

“zeal for your house consumes me.”

And what do you think our destiny will be if we don’t do this?        It’s not good!

Jesus, warns us solemnly:

“Whoever denies Me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.”

Does that make you afraid?              Well, it should!     

It brings us back to the question:  Who are we to be afraid of?

Jesus says, “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 body and soul in Gehenna.

You know, at first blush we might think we have this passage all figured out ...

that Jesus is saying we should be afraid of the Devil ...

who can lead us into sin and send us to hell.

But the devil doesn’t have that kind of power ... only Jesus does!

Jesus is the judge of all and He’s the one who passes judgment on every soul.

So looking at it that way ... we don’t need to be afraid of the devil ...

who can kill the body but not the soul.

The one we need to be afraid of ... is Jesus!

Only He has the power to cast into Gehenna!

Imagine that moment ... when each of us will stand on his or her own ...

before the Father and hear Jesus say, either:

This one is my faithful disciple ...  or ... this one is not mine.

St. Paul refers to this as being in the Judgment Seat of Jesus Christ.

Jesus wants us to be afraid of His just judgment for unforgiven sins ...

and therefore approach Him for mercy and forgiveness.

Jesus warns us today, “There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed,

    nor secret that will not be known.”

How many people take time regularly to confess their sins and beg for forgiveness?

Not many ... because they don’t have holy fear of the judgment seat of Christ.

Jesus says today, “Be afraid of the one ... who has the power to cast into Gehenna.

Holy fear is one of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. So often we soften our description to just wonder and awe of God. No, Jesus wants us to have Holy Fear.

St. Catherine of Siena writes, “Our gentle Savior wants:

that we fear Him and not worldly people ... be immersed in the Blood of God’s Son ... there you will lose all slavish fear and keep only reverential fear.

What can the world or the devil ... do to those who live in this immeasurable love?       Nothing!”

Let’s let zeal for the promise of Heaven consume us!

Let’s contemplate the Good News of our salvation in Christ and allow it to well up inside us and move us to be courageous witnesses of God.

We’re free to acknowledge Him before others or not acknowledge Him before others.  

It’s a choice we make everyday by the way we live,

by the things we say ... and the things we do. 

Are you a witness of Jesus Christ?

Are you courageous enough to speak about Him to others?

Can people tell that you’re in love with Jesus just by being around you?

If not, then through the intercession of St. Peter and St. Paul, ask God for the grace to be able to share the Good News of our salvation in Christ with others.

Jesus calls us to be bold witnesses.

What have you got to lose?      Just your body.

For, your eternal soul ... will be safe with God!