Thirteenth Sunday: Fear is useless. What is needed is faith

The great fear that we all must confront is the fear of dying. We know that none of us is going to get out of this life alive, but we fear death.

Jun 26, 2021

This Sunday I would like to consider a difficult topic, but one we all have to confront  — fear. The Miriam Webster’s first definition of fear is  ‘an unpleasant and often strong emotion caused  by the anticipation of danger’. There are many  other ways that fear can be defined including the prudent use of reason, such as “If I don’t study  for that test I’m afraid I might fail the class” or  “If I have another drink, I’m afraid that I might  not be able to drive, might get into an accident  or might get summoned.” Fear is often used in  the Bible as ‘showing reverence’ such as “the  fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,”  Proverbs 9:10. But for this homily I will stick to  the first definition of fear — a strong emotion in  response to an anticipation of danger.

Jairus, the Synagogue official, was afraid. He  came to Jesus with the plea of a desperate father: his daughter was dying. Could Jesus please  come and heal her? Jesus left immediately. He  was momentarily delayed when a lady touched  his cloak and was healed, but that’s a homily for  another day. At Jairus’ house, there was a horrible, pitiful scene. People were wailing because  the girl had died. Jesus knew that her death was  only so people could witness the Power of the  Gospel. He knew He would heal her. What He  said to Jairus was supremely significant: “Do  not be afraid, just have faith.” I love Luke’s  translation in his parallel to Mark’s words:

“Fear is useless, what is needed is trust.” Fear is useless. What has ever been accomplished through fear? How has fear ever helped  a situation, no matter how grave it may be?  Think about this. When has fear ever led to  anything good happening? Again, I don’t mean  fear used as prudence or as reverence, but fear  used as a response to anticipation of danger. A  man or woman is considering getting serious  about a relationship. But he or she is afraid of  getting hurt. So, the opportunity to grow in love  is rejected. A man is afraid that he might not be  a good husband or a good father, a woman is  afraid that she might not be a good wife or a  good mother, so a new relationship of love is  rejected or wonderful reflections of the love of  a husband and wife united to the love of God  are not allowed to come into existence. An intelligent student could take a step into a difficult  career, but is afraid that he or she might not succeed and so a great nurse or doctor or lawyer or  engineer never comes into existence. So much  is lost because of fear. “Fear is useless” the Lord  says, “What is needed is faith.”

Fear destroys our capacity for faith. When we  have faith, we know that no matter what the outcome of a situation may be in this world, there  is infinitely more to life than what our eyes see.  There will be a better outcome than we could  ever imagine. If we have faith, we know that if a  situation does not work out, we will still be a better person for having been in that situation. The  old saying that it is better to love and lose than  never to love is true. People enter into marriage,  or become priests, or become sisters, because  they have faith that God is leading them in a direction which will turn out well in the long run,  no matter what the immediate result is. I spent  14 years in a religious congregation. Priesthood  was always right for me, but I was not a good  fit for the religious congregation. Still, I am a  better priest because of those 14 years and because of that congregation, the Salesians of St  John Bosco. I was blessed by not being afraid  to join the Salesians, and then blessed by not being afraid to take a step from the secure life they  gave me. My story is no different than the story  of anyone who refuses to give in to fear. St John  of the Cross wrote something that every husband and every wife and every one of us must  have the courage to live in our lives. St John of  the Cross wrote, “I went without discerning to  that for which my heart was yearning.” We must  have faith in God to guide us and not be slaves  to fear.

Nothing good ever flows from fear. Fear destroys faith. Fear is an instrument of the devil,  tempting us to give up on God and His Goodness. Fear tells us to give in to a world that  has rejected the Living God. We can easily  become prey to the one who wants to use our  fear against us. The devil wants us to deny the  power of God. He wants us to give up on God.  The devil can’t attack God, but he can attack us,  particularly our trust in God, and he does this  through fear.

In 2 Tim 1:7 we read: God did not give us a  spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power and love  and self-control.

The opposite of fear is courage. The word  courage comes from the Latin word for heart,  cor, and the Latin word for action, acta. Courage  is the action of a heart that has faith, that trusts  in God.

Look at the martyrs. Two of my favourite  saints are women, Perpetua and Felicity. They  were threatened with every conceivable terror if they did not give up their faith in Jesus  Christ. Yes, the thought of being thrown to the  beasts scared them, but they did not fear that  they would be left alone in that horrible arena  in Carthage in 203. Felicity said, “I will suffer  in Christ, and He will suffer in me.” She was a  woman acting with what her heart told her was  true. She was a woman of courage. She was a  woman who rejected fear.

The great fear that we all must confront is the  fear of dying. We know that none of us is going  to get out of this life alive, but we fear death.  The devil uses this particular fear to destroy our  faith. He tells us the lie that all is lost if we die. The evil one is trying to get us to reject God’s  Goodness, to reject heaven. He whispers in our  ears that if God is so good and has such good  things waiting for us, then where is He now  when the doctor says we have only a year or  two to live, maybe less. But if we keep our eyes  focused on heaven, if we reject fear and trust in  the Lord, if we have faith, then our journey to  God will reflect the destination He has prepared  for us.

Melissa and Jonathan David Hesler wrote:
I am no longer a slave to fear. I am a child  of God
You split the sea so I could walk right through  it.
You drown my fear in perfect love.
You rescue me so I can stand and say, “ I am  a child of God.” (©CCLI License #2368115).

From the decisions we must make in life  to the very end of physical life itself, fear is  useless. What is needed is faith. — By Msgr  Joseph A Pellegrino

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