In today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles God tells Paul: “Do not be afraid.” This phrase is found often in the Scripture and even in the hymn “Be Not Afraid” that we hear often at Sunday Eucharist and Funeral masses. In this exhortation God calls us to trust in him. Fear is a natural response to the exceptional or unexpected. For example, when the Angel Gabriel appears to Mary in the Annunciation he tells Mary: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” (Luke 1:30). God, indeed, is with Mary in a very special way.
In today’s reading from Acts Paul is reassured that God is indeed with him in his ministry in the city of Corinth: “Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you. No one will attack and harm you, for I have many people in this city.” God was with Paul even when some make accusations against him: “This man is inducing people to worship God contrary to the law.” God was with Paul and he continued his ministry in Corinth for an extended period of time as we hear in Acts: “He settled there for a year and a half and taught the word of God among them.”
God also exhorts us to trust and faith: “Be not afraid.” We cannot eliminate fear and anxiety completely from our lives but particularly in periods of stress, of sadness and loss God speaks his words of comfort to us: “Be not afraid.” Jesus’ last words in the Gospel of Matthew are words of reassurance and promise: “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20). We hear similar reassuring words in the prayers at Mass: “You are indeed Holy and to be glorified, O God, who love the human race and who always walk with us on the journey of life.” (Eucharistic Prayer for Various Occasions IV). God walks with us each day and invites us to trust in him: “Be not afraid.”
Image: “”Saint Paul Preaching in Athens” by Slices of Light is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.