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When Fear Becomes Dangerous
For even though they found no grounds for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him put to death, and when they had accomplished all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and placed him in a tomb.
We do not enjoy being afraid for real. (There are some who like horror movies for fear, but that tends not to be real fear. Though, I hate horror movies.) Perhaps this is why that when we are afraid, it does not bring out the best in us.
There are many reasons we can be afraid, but when something we hold very dear, a religion, a political position, a moral principle become challenged in a significant or not so significant way, the reality can be deadly. Literally.
Consider brutal dictatorships. Reporters become prisoners. Protestors are killed. When the truth becomes something that might cause a black and white thinker to in fact, think, fear of the new idea can lead to trying to kill the idea, and sometimes even the person.
This is the reality being described in today’s first reading. With the idea that Jesus is the Messiah, and more, the Divine Son of God, those who viewed their Jewish religion in a black and white way become very afraid.
And when this gets combined with the power of religious leadership, then Jesus must be killed. To be sure, there was a lot of fear to go around. The Jewish leaders were afraid. The Romans were afraid. Those who were challenged by the words of Jesus.
And yet faith is supposed to counter such fear. Time and again we are told in the bible not to be afraid. We are called to trust in God. It could be said that fear arises from a lack of faith. When we do not trust in God, and take matters into our own hands, we are confronted by our own inability to face challenges.
I think this is why Saint Paul traces the divine plan of God’s providence. Rather than being afraid, we are challenged to have faith. Rather than looking to depend only on ourselves, we are challenged to be persons who cooperate with God’s grace.
But in today’s first reading, we also are given some homework. We need to be witnesses to all that God can do for us.
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