Strong words from St. John today in our first reading from 1 John 4. St. John talks about fear. More on that in a moment. We see fear, too, come into play in our Gospel reading. In Mark 6, we see Jesus walking on the sea. When the disciples see him, they were overcome with fear, thinking they were seeing a ghost. Jesus says to them, “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!” Words for us to live by.
Have you ever heard this acrostic for fear? False Evidence Appearing Real. FEAR. We manufacture things in our mind that have no basis in reality, causing us to fear. St. John says this about fear: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.” We all have fears. Fear of rejection, fear of public speaking, fear of death, etc. Why? We just heard it! Because we are not yet perfect in love. If we loved God perfectly, then we would truly fear nothing.
I often like to think of Mother Theresa when I think of fear and love. She ministered to the poor and sick and dying on the mean streets of Calcutta and around the world. That would scare me to death. Yet she spent her life doing this. Why? Because her great love cast out the fear. The more we love and trust God, the less we will fear.
Father, forgive us for those times when our fears keep us from doing your will. Perfect our love, that our fears will be cast out. Amen.
You can read more about FEAR in Magnetic Christianity, available at www.GusLloyd.com.
I listened to your show while I drive my 14 year old son and his friend to school today. They both listened intently, soaking it in. They go to a Jesuit school so perhaps they will realtor this message in their Theology class today. It was a great way to start the day, thank you Gus!
This one really stuck with me and I made sure to share it with my husband too. I will remember this about fear as I had never heard that acrostic for it before. Focus on love and drive away that fear.
Thank you for this reflection today! We are living in very turbulent times and need to hear more messages like this!
Thank you Gus Lloyd
Thank you for this 60 Second Reflection, I was having a small panic attack on my way to work this morning and I tuned into “Seize the day” just in time to hear you talk about fear and it made all the difference in calming my self down. Thank you again, it is a pleasure and blessing to have you along on my daily commute each day. – Nina