We are precious in God’s eyes

25 June, 2023 12th Sunday Year A

Listen to reflection

When I was a young boy shopping with my mum, she would remind me when we entered a shop to look but not to touch. She would say, “Those things are expensive. They break easily.”

 

Her words have always stayed with me. Expensive items are not to be handled, as high cost equates to fragility. This is a pertinent experience for our everyday lives. When I used to drive an old, damaged car, I didn’t really care where I was parked or who was parked next to me. However later, when driving a much newer and more expensive vehicle, I was very careful not to park near the supermarket trolleys or next to an old, battered car like the one I had before. I treated the newer car like a fragile item that could shatter and break. I was so cautious that, in my mind, I bubble-wrapped my car.

 

So, it is with our lives. Newborn babies are fragile and immensely precious. I have heard young dads and mums share stories about how they held their newborns in their arms or in the palm of their hands and marvelled at their preciousness.

 

As we grow up, our parents naturally try to bubble-wrap us to protect us from dangers around us. Eventually, as we grow and journey through life, the bubble-wrap falls away. But the preciousness of our lives is still there and doesn’t detract from the reality that each of us is precious.

 

That is the message Jesus shares with his disciples in today’s gospel passage. “Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why? Every hair on your head has been counted. So, there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.”

 

Like everyone, I have had hard knocks in my own life. Some of those personal blows were difficult to bounce back from. But, as I recall those times, I remember the pain on my parents’ faces; it said it all. If they could have taken my place and spared me the hurt, they would have. And that love and support is what gave me the strength to stand up again. My parents’ response provides a glimpse of the love and care that God has demonstrated to us through the life and sacrifice of His son, Jesus. Their love for me exemplifies the immense love God has for each one of us.

 

God doesn’t want us in bubble-wrap: to be seen and not touched. God wants us to live our lives to the full and to do the work we are called to do, helping to build a better world. Jesus encouraged his disciples not to be afraid. We are precious in God’s eyes. Even though we can be fragile, precious and vulnerable, God values and loves us and is always by our side.

 

Mark Chia CSsR

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