Lk 12:1-7
1So many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot. [Jesus] began to speak, first to his disciples, “Beware of the leaven—that is, the hypocrisy—of the Pharisees.
2“There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. 3Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops. 4I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more. 5I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one. 6Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God. 7Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.”
MORE THAN MANY SPARROWS: In Scriptures, birds symbolize many things. Sacred authors invoke their trust in Providence who supplies them with daily bread. The Lord presents himself thus to Job: “Who provides nourishment for the ravens when their young ones cry out to God, and they rove abroad without food?” (Jb 38:41). Sparrows and swallows build their nests in the Lord’s house and seek the protection of his altar (Ps 84:3). But God, who regularly provides birds with food, also uses them as food for humans. Sparrows are a poor man’s food, selling “five sparrows for two small coins” (v 6). They are also a poor man’s offering in the Temple (Lk 2:24).
Jesus tells his disciples that on account of the Gospel, they will face difficulty, opposition and division, conflict and betrayal. Jesus does not promise to save them from suffering and death. But he assures them of God’s unfailing care. Just as God cares even for the least and most insignificant creatures, like the sparrows which are so common that they have very little commercial value, so does God have all our interests at heart. If God cares for these little birds, how much more will God care for Jesus’ disciples? No disciple need be afraid, then, for he can truly say, “God cares for me.”