Homily.
We just heard an exhortation and a promise given by Jesus—one that is as great as any given by Him. Matthew 10:32. Then comes a serious warning follows right after in Matthew 10:33—to point out just how serious Jesus was talking in his exhortation and promise. He said (vs 32)* “Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. ”Then in (vs. 33) comes: “But whoever denies Me before others, I will deny before My heavenly Father.” Whoa! That is a heavy either/or there! “Would you acknowledge or deny Me?” Jesus asks it to us.
Jesus says that a denial from us brings a denial of Him, when it comes to His presenting us to the Father—of which He has the right and power to do. Deny is a strong word, so we get that the negative response to Jesus very clearly—that it brings pretty dire consequences. That’s quite clear. Yet the acknowledgement word in Matthew 10 may be too light in its English translation. We may undervalue what is asked of us. If, for example, the Maryland State Governor or Lieutenant Governor would come in here to a liturgy with us—then I’d politely would state to the congregation an acknowledgement of their presence. It would amount to just a short sentence of respects and then to move us along in the liturgy. (I’ve actually done it numbers of times in other parishes.) Yet that’s not the type of acknowledgement Jesus is telling about, as in a salute or tip of the hat or a polite “hi there” given! I think you know that.
The Greek word for “acknowledge Me before others” is Homologéō (ὁμολογέω): This means to confess, declare openly, or surely agree with. My acknowledging Jesus here at Mass, or yours, for example, is all of that. We confess, declare openly, or surely agree with Jesus as our Lord, and as the Founder of our Faith and this Church. That’s contrasts with my nod over to the Governor or Lieutenant Governor. Nodding is fine, but Jesus wants us to get to the point, eventually, of identifying ourselves deeply with Him. You may start as an acquaintance to Him or have a gesturing-in-public kind of connection to Him, but He’ll want to love you greater than that. He wants you close into His Sacred Heart.
In a time period when very many spiritual people do diminish or misrepresent Our Lord Jesus Christ as not God, not Eucharist, not true God—true man, nor our Forgiveness of sin and Resurrection hope… and not as the Head of the body, the Church, nor as His stated identity of being “The Way, the Truth and the Life, with His needing to lead us to the Father Almighty, as only by Him….Who has said: “I and the Father are One.” And “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.”
Jesus wants us to acknowledge all of this as our testimony as Catholics.
Jesus will wants us to affirm the sufficiency of His Life as the Mediator of Heaven to earth and earth to Heaven. Jesus Christ would have us to agree with the sufficiency of His sacrifice on Calvary to save us from sin—and to affirm that His sacrifice alone is to be of infinite value, and therefore able to appease the infinite justice of God. This kind of acknowledgement, that, salvation is of Jesus—is the standard. After all, Jesus also said before to them: “Not everyone who calls Me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 7:21)” Jesus has strong words versus lip service faith. He wants a God’s will be done on earth in you kind of faith. It’s in the Lord’s Prayer Jesus taught to them.
What we can say of acknowledging Jesus is of our having what is called a “high Christology” –we are asked to believe in Jesus Christ is what and Who He said He was. As St. John tells us succinctly in an epistle verse, we acknowledge a High Jesus: “We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world (1Jn 2:1-2).” That’s my strong written version of Gospel interpretation today.
Now, I will lighten the tone. (My spoken homily shortened the above, and then went to the below, and later included refs to my dad on this 2026 Father’s Day…)
Today’s Matthew 10 Gospel passage says that Jesus was speaking to His apostles, whom He had just chosen the Twelve. Jesus points out the little sparrow birds to them, and says that God cares for all of them, but even so very much more for the human person. God knows and loves us to the minute detail, as Jesus tells that “even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not (fear, nor) be afraid; (for) I have my watch on you, and you are worth more than many sparrows.”
There are 1.4 billion sparrows globally today, in an approximation by some ornithologists. God still keeps His eye of the sparrow, but even much on our human actions of a free will and a rational mind and a God-shaped place in us called our soul. God knows all about what is going on in us, and Jesus even declares that God (the Barber!) even can easily and quickly count and personally know each of the hairs upon our head. The scientists who are called trichologists tell us today that it averages about 100,000 hairs and follicles that are up on our head. (Now if you are bald and very clean shaven, maybe the count wouldn’t be so hard to make—but the eyebrows would still take a little time to accurately count!)
Matthew’s gospel tells us of what Jesus was getting at—God knows us well, including all our choices to His revelation of the Father. He knows us very well, physically, and spiritually, including all our Jesus choices to His revelation of the Father—of our following Jesus properly or not to the Father. These acknowledgments or choices of the human will and soul, will decide our eternity ahead.
On this earthly Father’s Day in America, it’s curious and ironic that the 12th Sunday Ordinary Time Gospel passage is of Jesus’ teaching about the Heavenly Father’s “Day.” This Day is of when He’ll see of whom will make it into Heaven from the human race. Or who will not. It’s a most different Father’s Day spoken of here! ‘Right?! The Almighty Father will see who gets in by having it being pointed out to Him by the Blessed, Co-Equal Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
The criteria for Heavenly Entrance? The Son will point out who acknowledged Him—the Father’s sent mediator (Jesus).
###
As I finish here, I would like to thank the help of my earthly father in my own keeping to a Catholic Faith and Way of Life. Dad did believe in a High Christ and High Priest Jesus, and held the Church’s view on how to believe and acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and Way to the Father.
As for facing all the deceptions out there and the reductions that people have made upon Jesus through modern times and back through the ages, Dad reminded me of a verse from the Wisdom Scriptures. He wanted me to follow its advice, and therefore not to become a foolish person. Proverbs 16:18 says– “Pride leads to destruction, and a haughty spirit to a fall.” Dad said that all departures from following Jesus properly fit into these two categories of folly: pride and a haughty spirit.
I’ve tried to not fall into those pits. Many pitfalls have taken a possible Jesus affirming person to be turned into a denier. I don’t want happening to me. Nor should you want it, nor even should you be comfortable with others leading people down the antichrist path. Be Catholic. Live your faith. Teach it. Uphold it. Love it. The Ultimate Eternal Father’s Day will come when Jesus is to present us to Him as gifts He won and children of God to be with the Father forever. May we be many.