Jean Améry, a Holocaust survivor tortured by the Nazis, later wrote about the abyss of human evil. He described his reaction as an “indignant despair.” Haven’t we all, to some degree, felt that abyss opened beneath us? A sudden loss, a violent headline, a moment of loneliness or panic, when the world feels fragile and meaning seems to collapse?
It is to this fear that Jesus speaks in today’s Gospel: “Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body.” (Matthew 10:28) He does not deny evil or pretend we will never suffer. Instead, He reframes the abyss: do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Your life is seen, known, and counted by the Father. Even the hairs of your head, even the sparrow’s fall.
This is no superficial comfort. Jesus himself has entered the abyss: suffering, death, even our sense of forsakenness, and he has come through it. That is why his words, “Do not be afraid,” hold such weight. They do not erase the abyss but build a bridge across it.
Faith is not pretending everything is fine. It is staring into the abyss and still choosing trust. And in that trust, we discover we are never alone. Christ stands with us, and the Father’s care surrounds us. That is the only comfort deep enough for our (often fearful) hearts.
— Father John Muir
©LPi
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