Two days ago, I hired a van for a trip to Newcastle. My daughter has completed her studies at university, and next month, God willing, we shall celebrate her graduation. This journey was to bring her belongings home for what felt like the final chapter before a new season begins.

As Amarachi and I were completing the rental agreement, the attendant asked for an emergency contact number. Having noticed that I was a vicar, I jokingly replied, “Mmmm, God’s number, you mean?”

Before I could finish my sentence, he suddenly leaned right across the counter towards me with a look of genuine excitement and alarm and asked, “Have you got it?”

For a moment I was completely taken aback.

Then Amarachi and I burst into laughter.

The laughter lasted for quite some time.

Yet after we left, I found myself thinking about his question.

“Have you got it?”

Of course, he meant it humorously. But in another sense, it is exactly the question our readings ask us today.

When life becomes difficult, when fear threatens to overwhelm us, when relationships disappoint us, when we face uncertainty about the future—whose number do we have?

Who do we call upon?

Where do we place our trust?

That question lies at the heart of all today’s readings.

Jeremiah certainly knew what it meant to feel abandoned and alone. In today’s reading he begins with startling words:

“O Lord, you have enticed me, and I was enticed.”

Some translations even use the word deceived, which sounds shocking to our ears. Jeremiah is not accusing God of dishonesty. Rather, he is expressing the anguish of a prophet who has discovered that faithfulness to God’s call is far more costly than he imagined.

Jeremiah had expected obedience to bring blessing. Instead, it brought ridicule, rejection, and loneliness. He has become a laughing stock among his own people.

Many faithful Christians know something of that experience. Following Christ does not always make life easier. Sometimes it makes life harder. Faithfulness can be costly.

Yet in the midst of his pain Jeremiah makes one of the greatest declarations of faith in Scripture:

“But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior.”

His circumstances have not changed.

His enemies remain.

His struggles continue.

But his confidence rests not in circumstances but in the presence of God.

The same theme runs through Psalm 69. The psalmist feels rejected, misunderstood, and isolated. Yet he continues to pray because he knows that God hears the cries of His people.

Then we come to the Gospel, where Jesus prepares His disciples for mission.

Significantly, Jesus does not promise them comfort, popularity, or success. Instead, He prepares them for opposition.

Yet woven through this passage is a phrase that appears three times:

“Do not be afraid.”

In Scripture, repetition is never accidental. When Jesus repeats something three times, He wants us to pay attention.

Why should they not be afraid?

Not because suffering is impossible.

Not because hardship is imaginary.

Not because discipleship is easy.

But because God is present.

Jesus points to the sparrows—small birds of little value in the ancient marketplace.

Yet not one of them falls to the ground outside the Father’s care.

Then He says:

“Even the hairs of your head are all counted.”

For some of us, that may be a much easier task for God than it once was!

But the point is deeply theological.

God’s knowledge of us is complete.

God’s care for us is personal.

God’s love for us is intimate.

The God who governs the universe is not distant from our daily lives.

And therefore Jesus says:

“Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

Then Paul takes us even deeper in Romans.

Here he introduces one of the richest themes in Christian theology: our union with Christ.

Paul says that through baptism we have been united with Christ in His death and resurrection.

He does not mean that baptism is merely a symbolic ceremony. He means that believers now share in Christ’s life.

His death becomes our death to sin.

His resurrection becomes our new life.

His victory becomes our victory.

Paul’s point is that Christians are not merely forgiven people trying harder to be good.

They are new people.

The old life has been left behind.

A new creation has begun.

That is why Paul can speak with such confidence:

“If we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.”

This is the foundation of Christian hope.

Fear does not have the final word.

Sin does not have the final word.

Death does not have the final word.

Christ does.

And perhaps that brings us back to Father’s Day.

Today many will celebrate loving fathers, grandfathers, stepfathers, mentors, and father figures who have shaped their lives. We rightly give thanks for their sacrifice, encouragement, wisdom, and love.

At the same time, we recognise that Father’s Day is not easy for everyone. Some grieve fathers who are no longer with them. Some carry painful memories. Some long for relationships that never became what they hoped.

The Gospel speaks into all those experiences by reminding us that behind every earthly father stands the perfect love of our heavenly Father.

A Father who never abandons His children.

A Father who knows every fear.

A Father who hears every prayer.

A Father who sent His Son so that we might become His sons and daughters.

Perhaps that is why the attendant’s unexpected question continues to linger in my mind.

“Have you got it?”

Have you got God’s number?

More importantly, do you know that God already has yours?

The Gospel is not ultimately about finding a way to reach God.

It is about discovering that God has already reached out to us in Jesus Christ.

He knows us.

He calls us.

He loves us.

He stands with us.

And because of that, whatever challenges lie before us this week, we can face them with confidence.

Like Jeremiah, we can say:

“The Lord is with me.”

Like the Psalmist, we can cry out in trust.

Like Paul, we can live in the power of Christ’s resurrection.

And like the disciples, we can go into the world without fear.

For the God who knows the number of hairs on our heads is the same God who holds our lives securely in His hands.

And that is very good news indeed.

Amen.