Ep 93 - The Courage to Let Go

What happens when life forces us to redraw the map we once imagined for ourselves?

In Episode 93 of Brother from Another Father, we reflect on suffering, disappointment, loss, and the difficult grace of surrender. Jesus reminds us that faith is not the certainty that life will unfold according to our plans, but the courage to trust that God is still leading us — even through uncertainty, grief, and letting go.

“The Courage to Let Go” is an invitation to release fear, loosen our grip on the future we expected, and discover the deeper hope that lies beyond our own understanding.

Transcript

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Hello and welcome to episode 93 of Brother from Another Father as we celebrate the 12th Sunday in ordinary time.

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Dear friends, our readings today are about how we are to deal with fear. And we're given the example to begin with of the prophet Jeremiah. The prophet Jeremiah lived during a dark moment of Israel's history. The Babylonians had invaded the nation of Israel, and it was only the capital of Jerusalem that was holding out. But Jeremiah knew that it was only a matter of time before the capital would fall. The king and the military commanders of Israel, though, did not know what to do, and they decided to bury their head in the sand and told everyone living in Jerusalem, Don't worry, it's fine. We have nothing to fear. But Jeremiah called them out and said, You are deceiving the people, you are tricking the people. Our destruction is near at hand. We need to repent. For this, Jeremiah was seized, beaten up, imprisoned, and then thrown into a cistern to rot away. And this is where our first readings begins, where people now start baying for the blood of Jeremiah because of the depressing and unpopular message that he has been preaching. And what really cuts to the heart of Jeremiah is that even his friends, even those he considered were close to him, are now condemning him and saying that he should be lynched. I am sure that each one of us has been in the situation of Jeremiah, where we have encountered opposition, we have encountered hostility, we have encountered criticism, and we're just feeling down in the dumps. And if when we encounter criticism and hostility, we find that we are paralyzed by the fear that this inspires in us. We find that we feel empty inside, that we just want to give up, that we feel completely worthless because of the criticism and hostility that we have encountered. That's a sure indication that something is wrong in our lives. Why? Well, it shows that we have attached our self-worth to the good opinion of others, and that's always going to be dangerous because the good opinion of others comes and goes. It is not a rock on which we should build our self-worth. The only thing that we can build our self-worth on is God's love. And that is why in our gospel today, when Jesus is trying to counsel his disciples on how to deal with opposition, he tells them, do not be afraid of anyone. And then he immediately points them to their value. He says, Consider the fact that two sparrows are sold for a cent, and yet you are worth more than many sparrows. Now, if Jesus was trying to communicate to his disciples their great worth in the eyes of their father in heaven, why did he choose sparrows? Why didn't he choose a more majestic bird? Why didn't he choose an eagle? Why didn't he say to us, You are worth more than many eagles in your father's eye? Sparrows were the food of the poor. They were the cheapest type of meat that could be bought in the market. They're like those rats that people sell on the side of the road here. What are they called? Yeah? That's the equivalent of a sparrow for us. So Jesus is saying you are worth more than many koswe. But you kind of think, why is Jesus saying that to us? Well, what Jesus wants to show us is that everything is valuable in the eyes of our Father in heaven. Everything is valuable, even the things that we consider ordinary and worthless. And in this way, the Father models for us what true fatherhood is about. What fatherhood is all about is about communicating to your children that they are valuable, that they are precious in your eyes, even if they're doing ordinary things. The problem with many earthly fathers is that they are too demanding of their children. They only compliment their children, they only give their approval when their children do spectacular things. Like when they're the star striker of the first team soccer. It's not good enough if they only become a defender of the C team. It's not good enough if their daughters only pass with B's and C's and no A's. And so earthly fathers withhold their approval. And the tragedy is that then children will spend their whole lives trying to win the approval of their fathers. And that is why it is important for fathers to give approval, just like our heavenly father gives his approval. You are worth many sparrows. Even if you do ordinary things, you are precious in my eyes. Thankfully, Jeremiah realizes this. The prophet Jeremiah, coming back to our first reading, he realizes this. He realizes that he is worthwhile, he is valuable in the eyes of God. And that is why he can rejoice and he says, My champion is the Lord. And he does something really bizarre. At this darkest moment of his life, he decides to praise God. He sings God's praises. And I found that in my own life, when I'm feeling down and out, when people have been criticizing me, when I've encountered opposition and hostility, one of the best things I can do, the best antidote to my feeling down is to praise God, is to tell myself, you know, maybe my life's in a mess, maybe I'm feeling down in the dumps, but that doesn't matter. God is in God's heavens, he reigns on high, he is glorious. And I will rejoice in that. Because the good news is that God has promised to share God's glory with us. And when we are feeling down and encountering opposition and hostility in our lives, the best antidote is praise, to praise God, to realize that God's glory still remains the same, always, and we share in that glory. And so we are called as Christians to realize that we have nothing to fear. We should not let fear paralyze us. If you are hesitating to have a difficult conversation with your spouse, maybe because you fear that that difficult conversation is going to bring up other issues that you are not prepared to deal with, you need to overcome that fear and realize that what is backing you up is the fact that you are precious in God's eyes. If you are stuck in an unhealthy relationship, maybe one that is even abusive, you perhaps hesitate to end it because you have the fear that you may end up alone. You are called to overcome that fear and realize that you can never be alone so long as God loves you. If you always find yourself helping other people and never taking time for yourself, perhaps because you fear that if you stop doing things for others, you will lose your worth, you will no longer be valuable. You are called to overcome that fear and realize you are always valuable in your father's eyes. If you are not committing to a certain relationship and not taking an opportunity, because you fear that taking that opportunity will mean that you lose other opportunities or other chances for a relationship. You are called to know that fear is always irrational. Fear always leads us into the hands of Satan. The evil spirit, the enemy of our human nature, St. Ignatius tells us, is always trying to lead us into fear. Because once we are in the grips of fear, this the evil spirit can have its way with us. And we shut out God's voice. And so today the call is to overcome that fear, to set aside our fears, to live bravely and courageously as sons and daughters of our Father in heaven. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.