FEAR NOT FOR I AM WITH YOU!

The theme that seems to prevail in our readings today is “Fear not” or “Do not be afraid”. It is hard for me to not fear. Is that a big confession? Sorry! I don’t know about you, but there are situations that throw me off balance, I have never been able to switch off fear! This is mine: I love airplanes! I do! But there are these few minutes after take off when you are tossed around, and my natural reaction is to hold on firmly to my seat in a vain attempt to stabilize the plane!  Eventually the plane does stabilize but it isn’t because of this priest here. However way I would like to claim I did it, I surely was afraid. I couldn’t switch that fear off for the life of me. I surely trust God for my ultimate safety but obviously I still have a long way to go in establishing that trust. Jesus is telling us not to be afraid because it is our Father’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom of God: That means everything including not to fear! and Jesus knows well the conditions that we often face and he is happy to teach us, and to train us on how to overcome fear. He opens our minds to understand the real physics of the Kingdom of God. Would you like to find out what those are? How to train ourselves not to be afraid?

We live in a fast-paced world where expectations get higher and higher. Sometimes this creates a sense of anxiety and fear in us. God never meant for our bodies to experience that. That’s why it makes us sick. Here, Jesus is unhappy that many of us struggle with fear and anxiety. So, He intends to empower us to open our eyes and see a much greater reality with a different perspective. E.g. Servant in the O.T. Jesus says to us: “Do not be afraid!” There are many kinds of real fears: it can be fear of flying, or fear of bugs, the fear of being alone, the fear of losing a job, fear of what other people think of you, or it could be fear of failure or rejection. Jesus who see the real inside us, struggling says to us: Listen to me! Focus on me! Do not fear! Just like he told Peter when he walked on water with him: “Peter, focus on me, walk with me!”, by the way the lake wasn’t frozen! Many of my friends in the north claim they walk on water. Yes, technically that’s true! They even drive trucks on the lake! I was super amazed! But I tell them to try in August when the lake is not frozen!

God knows it’s difficult for us to switch off fear and focus only on him… God also knows how crippling these fears can be in someone’s life. So, Jesus is telling us to learn how to train ourselves to focus on the Kingdom of God; to learn to be over comers, to be faith driven. We have an example from Abram. His fear was about continuing to be childless. So He told God about it and God replied: “Look towards Heaven, Do you see all those stars? Count them if you can! So shall your descendant’s numbers be.” God was not kidding! By faith, we are all descendants of Abraham because he believed, and God credited it to him as righteousness. Believe and join those on the journey to become over-comers!

In the Gospel, Jesus portrays over-comers like people who hold loose to this world and hold tight God’s Kingdom; those who concentrate on the service of Christ rather than the expectations of the world. It’s as if he was saying to us: “Set yourselves apart, you belong to God not to the world, and God is love. In Love there is no fear.” Even though we can’t see with our eyes this Kingdom of God, its presence and its values are so true and very real. Your kindness, your love for each other are evidence that you are a virtual citizen of the Kingdom of God. God is the author of life, and universe in which our planet earth is. What could possibly be hard for God to accomplish?

Now I want us to close our eyes… Think of the fear you might be facing lately… Maybe it’s something that has been particularly hard on you… I want us to take this to God today. Say: Train me, O Lord, to be an over comer, to focus on you in all circumstances, scary or not, to call upon you, for our ultimate safety and protection.

Amen