Saturday in the Second Week of Easter
Acts 6:1-7; Jn 6:16-21
"It is I. Do not be afraid"What powerful words! They are words that we need to hear over and over again. It is I. Do not be afraid!
There are two meanings to the word fear. One of them is fear as we understand it in everyday life. We are afraid of the unknown, afraid of pain and suffering in our life, afraid of being a failure. Fear is normal but we cannot allow it to paralise us.
Think of the young child who cannot go to sleep because he is afraid of the shadows on the wall and of monsters that might be hiding under his bed. Then his mother or father comes and tells him that it is alright and that he can go to sleep.
Sometimes the same thing happens to us. We are afraid of shadows in our life and of monsters that are hidden in places that it is no use checking into: the past or the future.
There is however another meaning to the word fear. It means reverence, awe.
Jesus is there present with us in the present moment even as we face our fears. We see shadows in front of us only when the light is behind us. Likewise, when the Risen Christ is in front of us, all shadows which make us afraid dissolve and fear turns into reverence. When we remember that the Risen Christ is with us now then we can rest assure he was with us in the past when we might have been wounded or hurt. Is he is with us now, then he will also be with us in the future which often scares us. Fear is changed to reverence and awe.
You need a good eyesight to recognise the risen Christ. I mean eyesight of the heart. Sometimes he is there and we do not recognise him. The community of twelve disciples might have felt fear when their nascent community was passing through turmoil because the Hellinists were complaining against the Hebrews they they were being neglected. However their fear changed to reverence when they recognised the Spirit of the Risen Christ among them and they found a solution how to be of service to the poorest and rejected in their community by making sure that even they receive both the Word and bread needed for living.
It is up to us whether we are going to live in fear of the shadows and monsters in our life, or whether we are going to look for the Risen Christ and live in awe and reverence of Him.
"It is I. Do not be afraid"
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