"Do not be afraid" ...

"Do not be afraid." Througout the New Testament, this is Jesus's oft given greeting. In His life and times, to his followers, the rag-tag band of his apostles - this is excellent advice. After all, think of what the apostles had to deal with - living oppressed in their homeland with an occupying Roman army, a puppet Jewish government and following a self-professed Messiah. As the apostles bore human witness that all that Jesus said and did - his many miracles, curing the sick, calming the winds and seas, raising the dead - and His own death and resurrection! Let's face it, folks. This stuff is not for the faint of heart!

Do not be afraid. This, like most everything that Jesus said and did, really goes beyond the time and place of His earthly existence. I'm a big believer that most of our sins stem from fear - fear of physical or emotional harm. Fear of sickness or hunger. Fear of death.

But we have other "modern-day" fears as well. Fear of failure, fear that we won't achieve financial security. Fear that we will not be accepted and loved. We have to look hard and what Jesus was actually saying - because the words, "Do not be afraid" can imply a whole approach to living today. What it means to me is that Jesus wants me to stick my neck out. I think anyone who has ever loved someone knows what I'm talking about. That moment when you are with another person and throw caution to the wind and reveal your inner-most thoughts and dreams. Jesus knew what he was asking of his followers - and we should know that living our lives according to His word involves risk. Do not be afraid.

My daughter is dating some fellow now who claims to be an agnostic. The difference between an agnostic and an atheist is at least the atheist is willing to go on record that "There is no God." The agnostic, on the other hand, is hedging his bets. Who's taking the bigger risk? The reason that I get so ticked off by evangelical Protestants is that most of them have that insufferable smugness of certainty - certain that they know the score, certain that Jesus is on their side, certain that they are "saved". One of the good things about Catholicism (in my view) is that we are never certain about our own salvation. I don't think that's a bad thing. I think that Jesus wants us to risk uncertainty, wants us to question, wants us to risk. After all, as the book of Job says, Who can know the mind of God? Do not be afraid. In the end, we cannot love God and love one another without a certain element of risk. These are essentially what our faith boils down to. Do not be afraid.