One of the deepest desires of the human heart is to be known and loved. We all long for someone who understands us completely and still loves us. In today’s Gospel, Jesus reveals that we already have such a person: God Himself. He tells His disciples: “Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid.”
God’s knowledge of us is so intimate, so complete, that nothing about us escapes His loving attention. God knows us through and through. He knows the wounds we carry from the past. He knows the burdens we carry today. He knows the fears we do not share with anyone. He knows the dreams we barely dare to speak aloud. And yet, knowing everything about us, He still loves us. That is perhaps the most astonishing truth of the Gospel. Human love often depends on what others see in us. God’s love is different. He sees everything, and He loves us anyway.
The first reading presents Jeremiah, surrounded by opposition and betrayal. He feels misunderstood and attacked. Yet he does not lose hope because he knows that God sees what others do not see. God knows the truth of his heart.
Many of us know what it feels like to be misunderstood. Sometimes people judge us based on a single mistake, a rumor, or an outward appearance. But God looks deeper. He sees the person beneath the failures. He sees the child He created and loves. This is why Jesus says repeatedly, “Do not be afraid.” Fear often comes from the feeling that we are alone, forgotten, or abandoned. But if God knows us completely, then we are never alone.
The Cross is the greatest proof that God knows us and loves us. Jesus did not die for an ideal humanity. He died for real sinners. He carried our wounds, our sins, and our suffering. He knows the human condition from the inside. As we continue to celebrate the grace flowing from the consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we remember that His Heart is not indifferent to us. It is a Heart that knows us through and through and loves us without measure.
The Lord is saying to us: “I know your struggles. I know your fears. I know your disappointments. I know your heart. And I have not stopped loving you.” There is great freedom in being known by God. We no longer have to hide behind masks or pretend to be someone we are not. We can come before Him as we are, trusting in His mercy, knowing that our Father knows us through and through, and that we are precious in His eyes.
God is good, all the time!
Father Tony Udoh, MSP
Pastor of Holy Family
