PRAYER MOMENT
Saturday
12 July 2014
DO NOT BE AFRAID
Pause. Recall
that you are in the presence of God.
Reading: “Do not
be afraid. For everything that is now hidden will be uncovered.” (Matt 10:24-33)
Reflection. I
have not counted the number of times Jesus says, “Do not be afraid.” He says it
often in many different ways. Fear is our constant companion. If we live in a
society like Zimbabwe fear follows us around. It is the companion that stops us
speaking when we want to and holds us back from actions which we would like to
take. It makes us deeply uncomfortable and we push it away, often with laughter.
Why does fear have such a grip on us? We fear pain. We fear death. We fear annihilation,
a word which means being made into nothing. Who was it who said, “We have nothing
to fear except fear itself”? We sense that fear blocks our progress, our
salvation. Will it really be so terrible if I take a step in overcoming my
fears? All literature, including the bible, describes people overcoming fear.
The bird has to leave the nest or it will die.
Prayer. Lord
Jesus, you call us to overcome our fear. You had to do this in Gethsemane. Help
us in our many little Gethsemanes to rise above our fears and become in engaged
in the issues we face. Amen.
David Harold-Barry SJ
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