Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish

FR MICHAEL BIBLICAL IMAGERY

(Fr Michael Boakye Yeboah: Vice Rector of St Gregory Seminary, Kumasi-Ghana)

FEAR NOT!

            Two decades ago there was a political unrest in one of the African countries that made formation of priests impossible in that country. So, they brought the seminarians to Ghana for formation. Many of them were living in total fear though they were far away from home. Some of them died because of the effects of the war while others survived and are priests now. I remember a story one of them told me. He said: ‘Mike, in life we are all running to shelter because of fear of something. Mine is because of the war in my country; you may also have your own.’ My friend is right because in one way or the other we are all afraid of something. Yours may be the fear of cancer, while another person’s own may be something like: racism, loneliness, failure, rejection, uncertainty, inadequacy, divorce, fear of covid-19, or the fear of death. In Africa today, in the midst of the pandemic especially during the lockdown period, some breadwinners were still going out to find daily manual work. They were aware that there should be fear of contracting covid-19, but what made them go out was the fear of not providing food for their children the next day. The fear of any disease may not be comparable to the fear of hunger. Fear can make one run from one shelter to another until depression finally sets in and destroys his/her life. For one to stop running from one fear to another, (s)he has to give his/her life to Jesus; and today’s readings seem to give that clue.

            “Fear not” occurs three times in the Gospel reading; in one instance we are told what to fear. On the other hand, anything that takes place as part of Jesus’ mission is no cause for fear. Mainly, the disciples ought to proclaim openly “from the rooftops” what the Lord taught them privately, for it is destined to become known to the whole world and nothing can keep it from becoming known. Of course, the person proclaiming it is at risk; he is like a sheep among wolves: he must reckon with martyrdom as the reward for his preaching. Yet even in martyrdom he need not fear, for the enemy cannot harm his soul. Only one is worth fearing, he who can plunge body and soul into hell; but that cannot happen so long as he remains faithful to his mission. Third, the Christian carrying out his apostolate should not fear, for the Father’s hand protects him far better than he realizes: he who cares about the most insignificant of animals, about a single hair, will care all the more about his children. Jesus speaks of “your Father”. The larger context makes clear that a man is safe as long as and to the extent that he carries out his Christian mission, regardless how daring his actions may seem.

            In the first reading Jeremiah expresses the utter limits of being threatened. In whispers people are discussing how to denounce him to the authorities. The worst revenge they could take would be to catch him in a careless expression and then hand him over. His closest acquaintances are among the opposition, so he really is surrounded by “terror on all sides.” This can happen on occasion to a Christian, in which case he must remind himself of Jesus’ threefold “fear not”. The prophet knows he is safe in the midst of terror: the Lord stands by him “like a mighty champion.” He has “entrusted his cause” to the Lord and that is enough to ensure that he, the “poor”, “defenseless” one will be rescued from the grip of evildoers. His security is expressed, in typical Old Testament fashion, in negative terms: his enemies will “blunder” and “get nowhere”, they shall be “put to utter shame.” In the New Covenant, however, the terror extends all the way to the Cross; the hymn of victory that Jeremiah strikes up at the end of the first reading is Easter and Ascension.

            In the second reading, St Paul offer words of confidence to those caught up in fear. St Paul’s song of victory takes on cosmic dimensions. Through Jesus’ redemptive act, grace has finally won the upper hand against sin and its consequences, which means that hope has triumphed over fear. St. Paul, too, will learn first-hand what Jeremiah’s sense of forsakenness is like (2 Cor 1:8-9; 2 Timothy 4:9-16). Yet, like the prophet he adds: “But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength…He will rescue me from every evil threat” (2 Timothy 4:17-18). He knows more than that: his sufferings are absorbed into the Redeemer’s and in his Redeemer’s suffering St Paul’s sufferings acquire salvific significance for the community.

            Across the world many nations are relaxing its restrictions on public worship in Churches. We Christians hold it as a responsibility to “battle” God in prayer to remove the fear that Covid-19 has imprisoned the world in. Many people are afraid to go for breakfast, lunch and dinner at their favorite restaurants; some cannot see family and friends – the jailer by name Covid-19 has imprisoned all of us in our homes. And though the jailer left us with the keys of our house arrest we cannot go out because of fear of contracting the virus. Definitely, we cannot live in this manner. We will not accept it as a new-normal. What is the essence of life, if it is laced with fear? May the Lord stand by us and give us strength. It is our faith in God that will see us through.