“The enemy is fear.
We think it is hate; but, it is fear.”
Gandhi
I am, by nature, an introvert. I can remember worrying before the first time I preached: Would I be good enough? Would I talk too quickly? Would I preach on the wrong Gospel? “Lord, let your words come from my mouth; let your Spirit reveal your great love and mercy.” Since then, in one form or another, this has been my prayer before every Mass.
We can all relate to being nervous and hesitant. Fear can stop us from reaching out to a lonely classmate (What will others think of me?); it can prevent us from serving those less fortunate than us (I would but the homeless scare me a little); it can withhold understanding (They don’t look/sound/act like me). How can we break these bonds?
We can’t. Not by ourselves.
We know that Christ knew fear. He knew that he would literally have to die to win our eternal life. In today’s Gospel, he tells his disciples and some visiting Greeks, “I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’?” (John 12:27) Then the crowd hears God’s reassuring voice encouraging Jesus, and others, to trust Him.
It is this same voice which calls us to trust today; to go beyond our comfort zone; to be strong in the face of illness, loss or sadness. God calls us, most importantly, to love and to allow others to love us. “There is no fear in love. …perfect love drives out fear.” (1 John 4:18)
Next week we begin the ultimate journey of love. Let us love equally at the foot of the Cross as we do along the streets of Jerusalem.
~Fr. Posey
Ponder this week's theme: Are the knots in your life born of fear or of faith?