Do Not Be Afraid
This is one of, if not the most frequent quotes from the New Testament. Sounds cliché doesn't it? Especially with the state that our world is in today with the COVID-19 situation. People are getting critically ill. Those who were pursuing their studies abroad have been asked to come home. People who have returned to Singapore from other countries have been given a 14-day "stay-at-home" notice to serve. As I was writing this musing, the latest press release from the Ministry of Health came out, ruling that all entertainment venues such as Bars and Night Clubs have also been ordered to close their doors for the time being. And lest we forget, the suspension of the celebration of Liturgies in the parishes is still ongoing. We are certainly in troubled times. Our world really seems to be in turmoil because of this whole pandemic.
Last week, we celebrated the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Tomorrow, the Church rejoices in the great celebration of the Solemnity of the Annunciation, where the Angel of the Lord appears to our Blessed Mother, and she conceives through the power of the Holy Spirit. I find it quite thought-provoking that in the middle of Lent, in the midst of the crisis that the world is facing today, the table of the Word for both these great celebrations gives us the angel of the Lord appearing to both Joseph and Mary, and telling them to not be afraid.
But after he had considered this, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. - Matthew 1:20
But the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. - Luke 1:30-31
Both Joseph and Mary were taking on a tall task in a world of turmoil and despair. In the midst of all the problems that the world had during that time, God sent his angel to assure them that they need not be afraid of saying Yes to what they were being called to do. Right at the beginning of our salvation, we are told not to be afraid, and we are assured that God is on our side. If we know the story, we'd know that the Lord provided for them, and never failed them. He delivered them from the wrath of Herod, who wanted to kill their infant child. He delivered Mary from publicity and the possibility of being stoned to death for being found to be with Child before her marriage to Joseph. And it's because they let go of their fears that God was able to come into this world in a human form, to be with us. Immanuel.
I think it's quite apt during this season that we are all facing with the Health Hazard that our God reminds us of this. The world is indeed in turmoil. We are all living in fear. Fear that our loved ones may contract the virus. Fear that there won't be enough food for our households should the government decide that our country needs to have a lock-down. Fear that our faith may go astray during this period of time where we do not have easy access to the sacraments. And in the midst of all this, the table of the Word reminds and invites us to let go of our fears, because it's especially during this time of pandemic that our God wants to be with us, perhaps in new ways. Immanuel.
However, like Joseph and Mary, we have to be the ones to say Yes to letting him be with us. We must be the ones to make the decision to let God enter into our lives, in whatever way he deems fit. In the book of Revelation, it is written: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." Our God will not force us to open the door for him to enter. We need to make the decision to let him into our lives. And this would require us to take up the call to be not afraid. It would mean letting go of our fears, so that we will not allow ourselves to be consumed by our fears. And we do this so that we can say Yes to a deeper relationship with him.
The call of not being afraid however, does not give us a license to live our lives in a careless and reckless manner. The gospel still invites (and in fact requires) us to take care of our bodies, the living temples of God. Jesus in many of his miracles healed people of their bodily infirmities, and we worship the Lord with our bodies as well as with our souls. The call to not be afraid would still require us to practice social responsibility, out of love for others, while letting go of fears. For example, we may be afraid of missing out on having a good time at a social gathering if we are feeling unwell, and even if we have the mildest signs of a flu, we are called to put that fear aside out of love for our neighbour, and stay at home. We are called to take this situation seriously, without succumbing to the fear of the unknown that this pandemic may bring.
This call invites us to cast aside the fear of the unknown, to lay them down at the feet of Jesus, and to not let our fears consume us or take us away from our relationship with him, or our communion with one another. And it invites us to say Yes to his knock on our doors, in spite of whatever fears we may have. It is a call to focus even harder on building our relationship with him, and to let him be with us in this difficult time, to enter the areas of our lives where we feel most afraid. And a lot of the time, we fear letting him enter these areas of our lives and letting him take the lead because of our need for control. He calls us to surrender this to him. A tall task indeed!
And to be perfectly honest, I too struggle with this. There are many areas in my life where I am pockmarked by fear of what is to come, and I struggle to let God into these areas. And I know that I struggle with this because perhaps, I do not trust the Lord enough. Perhaps I do not love the Lord enough. And as much as there's the temptation to give in to the fear of my inadequacy before the Lord, the good news is that he is patient with us. He knows that purifying ourselves in Holiness is a life-long process. The invitation to put our fears aside, to let him enter, and to walk with him into the unknown is still there. The invitation is there to pray for the grace to love and trust him more each day, to be firmly rooted in his love.
We are invited to take up this call during this difficult season. The call to not be afraid. The call into a deeper relationship with him. The call to let him be in charge of the areas of our lives where we feel the need to be in control. The call to not worry about what tomorrow may bring, but to take things one day at a time. Will we answer this call?
Come to us, You who say, "I will not forget you",
Be with us, You who say, "Do not be afraid",
Take hold of us, our hearts, our minds, our whole beings,
Make us your own! Now is the time!
- Tom Kendzia
Last week, we celebrated the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Tomorrow, the Church rejoices in the great celebration of the Solemnity of the Annunciation, where the Angel of the Lord appears to our Blessed Mother, and she conceives through the power of the Holy Spirit. I find it quite thought-provoking that in the middle of Lent, in the midst of the crisis that the world is facing today, the table of the Word for both these great celebrations gives us the angel of the Lord appearing to both Joseph and Mary, and telling them to not be afraid.
But after he had considered this, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. - Matthew 1:20
But the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. - Luke 1:30-31
Both Joseph and Mary were taking on a tall task in a world of turmoil and despair. In the midst of all the problems that the world had during that time, God sent his angel to assure them that they need not be afraid of saying Yes to what they were being called to do. Right at the beginning of our salvation, we are told not to be afraid, and we are assured that God is on our side. If we know the story, we'd know that the Lord provided for them, and never failed them. He delivered them from the wrath of Herod, who wanted to kill their infant child. He delivered Mary from publicity and the possibility of being stoned to death for being found to be with Child before her marriage to Joseph. And it's because they let go of their fears that God was able to come into this world in a human form, to be with us. Immanuel.
I think it's quite apt during this season that we are all facing with the Health Hazard that our God reminds us of this. The world is indeed in turmoil. We are all living in fear. Fear that our loved ones may contract the virus. Fear that there won't be enough food for our households should the government decide that our country needs to have a lock-down. Fear that our faith may go astray during this period of time where we do not have easy access to the sacraments. And in the midst of all this, the table of the Word reminds and invites us to let go of our fears, because it's especially during this time of pandemic that our God wants to be with us, perhaps in new ways. Immanuel.
However, like Joseph and Mary, we have to be the ones to say Yes to letting him be with us. We must be the ones to make the decision to let God enter into our lives, in whatever way he deems fit. In the book of Revelation, it is written: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." Our God will not force us to open the door for him to enter. We need to make the decision to let him into our lives. And this would require us to take up the call to be not afraid. It would mean letting go of our fears, so that we will not allow ourselves to be consumed by our fears. And we do this so that we can say Yes to a deeper relationship with him.
The call of not being afraid however, does not give us a license to live our lives in a careless and reckless manner. The gospel still invites (and in fact requires) us to take care of our bodies, the living temples of God. Jesus in many of his miracles healed people of their bodily infirmities, and we worship the Lord with our bodies as well as with our souls. The call to not be afraid would still require us to practice social responsibility, out of love for others, while letting go of fears. For example, we may be afraid of missing out on having a good time at a social gathering if we are feeling unwell, and even if we have the mildest signs of a flu, we are called to put that fear aside out of love for our neighbour, and stay at home. We are called to take this situation seriously, without succumbing to the fear of the unknown that this pandemic may bring.
This call invites us to cast aside the fear of the unknown, to lay them down at the feet of Jesus, and to not let our fears consume us or take us away from our relationship with him, or our communion with one another. And it invites us to say Yes to his knock on our doors, in spite of whatever fears we may have. It is a call to focus even harder on building our relationship with him, and to let him be with us in this difficult time, to enter the areas of our lives where we feel most afraid. And a lot of the time, we fear letting him enter these areas of our lives and letting him take the lead because of our need for control. He calls us to surrender this to him. A tall task indeed!
And to be perfectly honest, I too struggle with this. There are many areas in my life where I am pockmarked by fear of what is to come, and I struggle to let God into these areas. And I know that I struggle with this because perhaps, I do not trust the Lord enough. Perhaps I do not love the Lord enough. And as much as there's the temptation to give in to the fear of my inadequacy before the Lord, the good news is that he is patient with us. He knows that purifying ourselves in Holiness is a life-long process. The invitation to put our fears aside, to let him enter, and to walk with him into the unknown is still there. The invitation is there to pray for the grace to love and trust him more each day, to be firmly rooted in his love.
We are invited to take up this call during this difficult season. The call to not be afraid. The call into a deeper relationship with him. The call to let him be in charge of the areas of our lives where we feel the need to be in control. The call to not worry about what tomorrow may bring, but to take things one day at a time. Will we answer this call?
Come to us, You who say, "I will not forget you",
Be with us, You who say, "Do not be afraid",
Take hold of us, our hearts, our minds, our whole beings,
Make us your own! Now is the time!
- Tom Kendzia
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