More than many Sparrows
A number of years ago I worked in Oxford Street in Top shop. I was working in the exchange and refund department. I was suprized by the amount of people that used fashion to hide who they really were. The one thing that they would say quite a lot was that they shopped and brought clothes to make them selves feel better. Now this is not a homily against retail therapy or against fashion shops but I have to say I met a lot of people that used this and other things to get over the pain that they did not either like themselves and therefore feel love of another person.
It is true to say that there are many times in our lives where we are afraid to be our true authentic selves. We hide behind the masks that we portray. We are one thing to one person and another to someone else. We try our best and hardest to try and please everyone where we almost become like a camelion. I suppose the question I have is why do we do this. Why do we waste so much energy trying to be all things to all people? It is almost as if we are saying that people would not like our true and authentic selves. We do this I feel because deep down we have a desire and a longing to be loved. We have this feeling in ourselves that if we are our true selves then no one will like us let alone love us.
In todays Gospel we have hear that Jesus says that we are worth more than many sparrows. A Sparrow at the time of Jesus time was the cheapest animal to eat. In the eyes of the Lord we are worth a lot more. We are loved by God therefore we should not be afraid we should be able to stand tall because Jesus loves us. The trouble is and I can hear you say yes I know that of course Father Jesus loves me I know it. And I will say yes I know because it says in the Gospel. And I will say yes we know it intellectually but we may not know it in the heart. For the longest journey that we sometimes take is from the head to the heart.
If we make this journey from the head to the heart and learn how Jesus loves us in the heart as well as the head we are then able to live in freedom we are no longer afraid of who God has made us to be. We live in freedom because we are loved. So how do we know this how do we get from the head knowledge to the heart knowledge. We build a relationship with Jesus we get to know him we learn about him. After all if you are in love with someone or have a friend you want to get to know them you spend time with them and and them. There are many ways that we can do this. One way is to spend time with Jesus in prayer. Just talking to him and listening to him like you would do with a friend over the phone or meeting up for coffee. Another way is to find him in the sacraments especially the sacrament of Reconciliation to come to him with the things that we have done wrong and come to him and ask his forgives and love. But we notice his ultimate love everytime we come into the Church and that is the Crucifix we are loved so much that we were worth dying for.
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