Father Richard responds to the question, “Why was Jesus not afraid?”:
Jesus seemed to know from an early age that we cannot build on fear. We can build only on life; only life leads to life. Jesus went to the deepest source of life. He gazed long and hard into God’s eyes; there, somehow, but most assuredly, he overcame fear. He did not find assurance that he would “win,” because humanly speaking, he didn’t. And I don’t believe that he found assurance that he was right, either, although we tend to think he knew it all.
His only assurance was knowing he spoke only what he had first heard (see John 8:28). He handed over the vision that he had seen in God’s eyes: a love that overcomes fear, and offers a terrible, wonderful courage, allowing us to release our life, to let it fall and go where it might. Jesus’s trust was not in himself but in who he knew he was before God.
When Jesus preaches, he tells others what he first heard: “Do not be afraid.” He learned that well from his own tradition. Those words were communicated again and again, through God, other people, and in prayer: To Abraham and Sarah, God said, “Do not be afraid.” To Moses, “Do not be afraid.” To Joshua and Gideon, “Do not be afraid.” To Samuel and Hannah, “Do not be afraid.” To Judith, “Do not afraid.” To David, in the prayers of his heart, “Do not be afraid.”
To the people of Israel, throughout the prophets again and again, and in every type of cataclysmic situation: “Do not be afraid.” Through Isaiah, “Do not be afraid.” To Joseph, the father of Jesus and husband of Mary, “Do not be afraid.” And, of course, to Mary who said yes, the angel said, “Do not be afraid, Mary.”
Why this word over and over again? Because we’re afraid! We’re wrapped and sometimes even trapped in our fear. We want to go beyond it and yet somehow it controls us. We fear what we do not know and do not understand. We fear that what we are afraid of will control us, while we long to control our own lives.
Deep down, we long for freedom, but if we want to be free from fear, we must be willing to gaze into God’s eyes as Jesus did. We must be willing to ask the same questions Jesus was asking. It’s not important that we get answers. I don’t think Jesus got that many answers, but we need to be asking the right questions: What is it that we desire? What is it that we’re trying to protect? What is it that we’re afraid is going to overtake us and control us?
We can’t attack fear head on. We can’t simply say to ourselves, “Don’t be afraid” because it doesn’t work. It isn’t that simple. We have to go deeper, be curious about where the fear is coming from, and trust God with it.
Reference:
Adapted from Richard Rohr, “Faith or Fear?” The End Time: The Book of Revelation (Credence Cassettes, 1987). Unavailable.
Image credit and inspiration: Pao Dayag, untitled (detail), 2021, photo, Unsplash. Click here to enlarge image. Like a seedling rising out of the earth, we unfold into the brightness of day, knowing that God is a source of protection and life.
Story from Our Community:
Because I have always been a person full of fears, I have kept God close most of my life. Mustering courage is a full-time job for me, so I pray, “Help me, help me, help me” and then “Thank you, thank you, thank you” through many days. Jesus has always been with me.
—Margaret C.
