In today's gospel, Jesus continues to address and instruct his disciples.

Their mission, as apostles was to continue his work of healing and to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven was close at hand. The words of Jesus “ Do not be afraid ” is repeated throughout this passage and emphasises that this mission will require both courage and confidence.

This passage also reveals that the apostles must trust in the “Father” who knows everything and whose care and love for the apostles was greater than even their deepest fears.

Using the most commonplace example of the purchase of two sparrows, Jesus declares: “ Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing .” He points out further, “ Every hair on your head has been counted…you are worth more than hundreds of sparrow ”.

Reflecting on this gospel, in the light of our ongoing struggle to come to terms with the spiralling crime rate, I recognise a message of hope for us today.

While it is extremely difficult to shift one's focus from the forces that undermine the well being of this nation, we must seek to also recognise that there are positive, nurturing energies that exist within our society.

It may be true that crime dominates our headline because of the harsh reality of the numerous brutal and ruthless murders, yet we as a nation cannot afford to surrender all hope.

To lose hope is to surrender one's soul to the power of the evil of hopelessness.

To give up hope is to give in to “him” who can destroy both our bodies and our souls.

The gospel, therefore, is given to us today as a gift to rescue us from becoming defeated by hopelessness. When we look around us, hope helps us to discern the continuing work of Jesus through the presence of his apostles in our midst. They work openly and fearlessly to bring about healing in the land and proclaim that the kingdom is near.

These apostles are sometimes very ordinary folk like you and me. People we probably overlook in our lives. They are:

•  parents who constantly reach out to sons and daughters whom others consider “lost” and unredeemable.

•  Social, religious and political activists who choose to stand up for the rights of others in our society – AIDS victims, homosexuals, ex-prisoners, disabled persons, or those whom society consider insignificant such as our vagrants.

•  Apostles are sometimes people who have transcended their own negative experiences and have become persons who nurture others with similar problems.

As apostles of Jesus, the Church has the authority to preach the gospel message even to those who have fallen by the wayside, morally or spiritually. Let us therefore bring this Gospel message today to our nation as we grapple to find solutions to our problem of crime.

Let us pray

Lord, we thank you for the gift of hope that comes to us through this gospel passage.

Help us to gain courage and confidence as we listen and heed your words: “Do not be afraid”.

Let us continue the work of the Apostles by openly and fearlessly preaching the good news to all members of society including those who now stand in fear of the death penalty.

Help us through our missionary work as Church to declare Jesus before men so that one day, he will declare us openly before our Father in heaven.

Gospel Meditations for the month of June are by Dianne Diaz, a teacher at Arima Girls' RC.