"Do Not Be Afraid!"

These words have been striking me in recent days...

Sunday's gospel told of the angel's appearance to Mary, and his subsequent exhortation: "Do not be afraid..."  In a book I picked up for spiritual reading during my convalescence, the author spoke of the power of St. John Paul II's use of this same phrase (found elsewhere in scripture).

In looking back at the year 2020, however, the sentiment of fear has been (and continues to be) a dominant one for many.  

Last night on the news broadcast, the fear was very pronounced, in the tone of the newscaster's voice and in the messages conveyed.  The fear was so thick you could almost cut it with a knife!  

And...there has been cause for fear: a deadly virus running rampant, rioting, violence, and unrest all over, and the list goes on.  

These problems really aren't new, however; they can even be read about in the scriptures.  Nonetheless, I can't recall one scripture verse telling us to be afraid of these threats.  In fact, the psalmist says "....therefore we do not fear, though the earth should rock or the mountains be cast into the sea."  (There are many other verses that stir our hearts to courage and confidence.)

Why shouldn't we fear?  Why do we not need to be anxious in the midst of so many terrible situations in our own lives, in our country, and around the world?  Because Jesus is our HOPE!  He's got this!

Recently, in another news report (I've seen a few of these lately), a woman being interviewed stated that the CoronaVirus vaccine was our hope.  This gave me pause; I thought, "No, these vaccines are not our hope; they may be wonderful tools, helping in this fight, but they are not our hope.  Jesus is our hope."  He is the one who tells us not to be afraid.

The author in the above-mentioned spiritual book talked about how instrumental JPII's words to the people of Poland were in the collapse of the communist regime in the 1980s.  This made me think.  Looking to Jesus, hoping in Him, and entrusting Him with our present causes of fear can be instrumental in our journey, too, out of this time of pandemic.  

"So we do not fear, though the earth shall rock..." "[for perfect love casts out fear."

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