Jeremiah 20:10-13 / Romans 5:12-15 / Matthew 10:26-33
There is a saying that a picture tells a thousand words.
But the world, with the advancement of technology, has moved to more than just pictures.
By pictures, it may mean just depictions of drawings and paintings.
But with photographs, that have high resolution and vibrant colours, lesser words are needed, compared with drawings and paintings.
And when it comes to videos, then there is no need for words, because videos usually come with the audio, and so the words are already there.
So, with videos, we can see moving images and we can hear the sounds and conversations.
And videos have become a daily part of our lives, so much so that we don't pay much attention to the video cameras anymore.
In the vehicles, there are dash cams, security personnel wear jackets with body cams, streets and buildings have CCTV cameras.
Even at home, there are cameras that record and monitor the activity inside as well as outside of the home.
So, at any one time, we may wonder if we are unknowingly being videoed, and also, who is it that is watching us.
So, as much as video cameras are for security, they also provide a means for others to scrutinize us.
In the Gospel, Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows:
Do not be afraid, for everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear.
What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight. What you hear in whispers, proclaim from the housetops.
In other words, Jesus is telling us not to be afraid because God is watching over us.
Yes, God sees, God hears, God knows, and God will act.
In the first reading, God sees the danger that the prophet Jeremiah was in, and He heard the prayer of Jeremiah too.
Jeremiah was surrounded with terror on every side.
But he placed his trust in the Lord, who will deliver him from his enemies,
Jeremiah then says this of the Lord:
But You, Lord of hosts, You who prove with justice, who scrutinize the loins and the heart, let me see the vengeance that You will take on them, for I have committed my cause to You.
Jeremiah believes that God sees, God hears, God knows, and God will act.
And with Jeremiah, we too believe that God also watches over us.
God watches over us because He loves us and He wants to protect us from danger and harm.
God watches over the good, so that they can continue to believe in the goodness of life.
And God looks at the bad and the wicked, and He, the Lord of hosts, the Lord of the heavenly armies, will also stop the bad and the wicked from causing more terror and evil.
So, God watches over us, and we should be consoled and comforted by that.
And with that, we don't have to worry about who is watching us.
And when we walk and live under the watchful eyes of God, there is nothing to hide and there is nothing to fear.
But there is a video camera in our minds that records the moments of our lives when we walk in the light and when we hide in the dark.
For the moments, when our lives were in the light, we give thanks to God for His love and blessings.
But there are moments when we are covered by the darkness of sin, covered by anger, resentment, bitterness, jealousy, lust, and other immoral desires.
We want to hide these moments.
But we must bring these moments to the Lord in prayer.
We let the Lord see and hear, we let the Lord know what we want to hide or even what we want to forget.
But the Lord of love will shine His light into those dark moments of our lives.
God wants us to hide no more, and to fear no more, and to sin no more, because He comes to heal and save us.
So that like the prophet Jeremiah, we can say:
Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for He has delivered the soul of the needy from the hands of sin and evil.