Today's Gospel in Art - Fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell

Last Judgment (detail), by Michelangelo © Sistine Chapel

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 10th July 2021 - Matthew 10:24-33

Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: 'The disciple is not superior to his teacher, nor the slave to his master. It is enough for the disciple that he should grow to be like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, what will they not say of his household?

'Do not be afraid of them therefore. 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.

'Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. 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.

'So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven. But the one who disowns me in the presence of men, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven.'

Reflection on the Fresco

Our artwork today is a detail of Michelangelo's Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel. It shows a group of the damned being pulled down into hell. It is inspired by Dante's Inferno, with which Michelangelo would have been very familiar. The judgment passed on these figures has put fear into them, powerfully represented here in our figure who seems to be in complete inner torment. He expresses remorse, anxiety, despair and the fear of what may happen to him now.

Jesus is telling His disciples not to respond to the persecutions they will face with misplaced fear. He makes the point that those in authority can just kill off the bodies but not their souls or spirit. Whilst it would be easy for us to think that this reading was meant for first-century Christians in the face of cruel persecution, it is also a reading which is applicable for us now. Jesus is prompting us to have a healthy 'fear of the Lord' as described in the Old Testament. This fear is not an invitation to panic or to be terrified of God. No, the fear Jesus describes is one that expresses a deep respect for God. It is a fear rooted in love, whilst also acknowledging that God has the ultimate power to do what He wants, such as sending people to the Inferno, as depicted in Michelangelo's fresco.

In past times committed Christians were known as 'God-fearing people'. It was probably meant as compliment. Maybe now we have swung too much the other way, where 'fearing God' is looked upon as being just an old-fashioned concept? A different way to look at it is that if we fear God, then we know there is nothing else or no-one else to fear…

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/863
Christian Art - www.christian.art