In our Gospel today, Jesus tells us three times to not be afraid. We are told to not be afraid and not to fear more than 300 times throughout Sacred Scripture. Fear can be a powerful emotion that we feel in life at different times. I think of how in our Gospel reading in Pentecost the disciples were huddled in fear in a locked room when Jesus suddenly appeared to them and breathed the peace of the Holy Spirit upon them. Sometime our fears can be legitimate, like how those disciples had just seen Jesus put to death and they legitimately feared for their lives. In fact, almost all of that group of apostles would be put to death for their faith as martyrs. However, sometimes we can create fear in our minds and be crippled and seized by that fear, even when that fear is not founded.
Jesus gives his disciples the necessary courage in the face of persecution or attacks. Jesus assures us that we have the continuing love of the Father to accompany us. Jeremiah today gives us a great example of confidence in the Lord in the face of the violence and opposition that confronts him at every side: “The Lord is with me, like a mighty champion; my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.” Jesus tells us that if acknowledge him and follow him, he will be forever at our side and acknowledge us to his Father.
Jesus advises us that we should fear only the one who can destroy both body and soul. I think fear of God in this sense can be misconstrued. We are to fear God and to respect him above all earthy powers and human opinions. But fear of God in this sense is not a terror of punishment we could receive from God. But rather it is to approach God in awe, respect, and wonder. To acknowledge him as our creator who hold our existence in his hands.
I was recently reading a book by the Jesuit priest John Croiset, who served as spiritual adviser to St Margaret Mary in the 17th century, to whom the visions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus appeared. In writing about obstacles to devotion to the Sacred Heart, he spoke about the danger of a tepid lukewarm faith. A lukewarm faith is neither passionate nor completely indifferent, a complacency that can take over our lives of faith. A lukewarm faith puts us in a perilous condition, replacing the fervor and boldness that should characterize our relationship with God. When we are lukewarm, our lives of faith are rendered ineffective and we become vulnerable to temptation and to sin. We lose sight of God’s truth in the world and of the purpose he has for us in life. Being lukewarm is a big danger and impediment on our journey of faith, worse than being cold.
Jesus tells us that we are proclaim from the light of the rooftops that which he teaches us in the dark. This goes hand-in-hand to what St Francis of Assisi taught: to proclaim the Gospel always in our lives, and when necessary, to use words. Our actions and our very lives should epitomize our proclamation of the Gospel message. Pope Francis always said that we should go forth into the world with our faith with a message that is welcoming and inviting, to never be afraid to walk the streets, to enter the different corners of society, to reach the limits of our city, and to touch the wounds of the people. We are to continuously be witnesses of the faith before others, even in the midst of challenges and adversity.
I would like to end with a prayers that address any fears we might have on our journey of faith: “Merciful Jesus, When fear rises within me, let your words echo within me each day: “Do not let your heart be troubled.” Let this truth become my strength, my refuge, my peace, and my living hope. And when my journey is complete, bring me to the place you have prepared for me, where there is no fear, no sorrow, no trouble, only the everlasting peace of your presence. For you are my peace, my hope, and my eternal rest. Jesus, I place all my trust in you. All my hope is in your mercy. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. AMEN.”
