OVERCOMING FEAR AND GUILT

20150711 OVERCOMING FEAR AND GUILT

Readings at Mass

First reading

Genesis 49:29-33,50:15-26 ©

Jacob gave his sons these instructions, ‘I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me near my fathers, in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave in the field at Machpelah, opposite Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial-plot. There Abraham was buried and his wife Sarah. There Isaac was buried and his wife Rebekah. There I buried Leah. I mean the field and the cave in it that were bought from the sons of Heth.’

  When Jacob had finished giving his instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, and breathing his last was gathered to his people.

  Seeing that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, ‘What if Joseph intends to treat us as enemies and repay us in full for all the wrong we did him?’ So they sent this message to Joseph: ‘Before your father died he gave us this order: “You must say to Joseph: Oh forgive your brothers their crime and their sin and all the wrong they did you.” Now therefore, we beg you, forgive the crime of the servants of your father’s God.’ Joseph wept at the message they sent to him.

  His brothers came themselves and fell down before him. ‘We present ourselves before you’ they said ‘as your slaves.’ But Joseph answered them, ‘Do not be afraid; is it for me to put myself in God’s place? The evil you planned to do me has by God’s design been turned to good, that he might bring about, as indeed he has, the deliverance of a numerous people. So you need not be afraid; I myself will provide for you and your dependants.’ In this way he reassured them with words that touched their hearts.

  So Joseph stayed in Egypt with his father’s family; and Joseph lived a hundred and ten years. Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children, as also the children of Machir, Manasseh’s son, who were born on Joseph’s lap. At length Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am about to die; but God will be sure to remember you kindly and take you back from this country to the land that he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ And Joseph made Israel’s sons swear an oath, ‘When God remembers you with kindness be sure to take my bones from here.’

  Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten; they embalmed him and laid him in his coffin in Egypt.

Psalm

Psalm 104:1-4,6-7 ©

Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive.

Give thanks to the Lord, tell his name,

  make known his deeds among the peoples.

O sing to him, sing his praise;

  tell all his wonderful works!

Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive.

Be proud of his holy name,

  let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice.

Consider the Lord and his strength;

  constantly seek his face.

Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive.

O children of Abraham, his servant,

  O sons of the Jacob he chose.

He, the Lord, is our God:

  his judgements prevail in all the earth.

Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive.

Gospel Acclamation

1Jn2:5

Alleluia, alleluia!

Whenever anyone obeys what Christ has said,

God’s love comes to perfection in him.

Alleluia!

Or

1P4:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

It is a blessing for you

when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ,

for the Spirit of God rests on you.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 10:24-33 ©

Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘The disciple is not superior to his teacher, nor the slave to his master. It is enough for the disciple that he should grow to be like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, what will they not say of his household?

  ‘Do not be afraid of them therefore. For everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the housetops.

  ‘Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.

  ‘So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven. But the one who disowns me in the presence of men, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven.’

OVERCOMING FEAR AND GUILT

SCRIPTURE READINGS: GN 49:29-33; 50:15-26; MT 10:24-38

We all live in fear.  We fear rejection, loneliness and suffering.  Most of all, we fear death.  There is in every man the instinct to preserve his life.  No one wants to die if he is assured of love, sustenance and happiness.  In order to protect our interests, we would go to a great extent to perpetuate our existence, sometimes even employing unethical means.   Fear is the cause of many of our sins.

Hence, we should not be surprised to read of how Joseph’s brothers, upon the death of their father, lied to Joseph that their father specifically instructed him thus, “Oh forgive your brothers their crime and their sin and all the wrong they did you.”  They had to use their father’s name because they were still uncertain whether Joseph would take revenge on them after his death.  They said, “Now therefore, we beg you, forgive the crime of the servants of your father’s God.”  This shows that fear still lurked in their hearts in spite of the goodwill and assurance of Joseph.  They still could not believe that their brother had forgiven them.

The real reason was the guilt they still carried in themselves.  They could not believe in forgiveness.  They recognized their crime was unpardonable.  Indeed, most of us cannot forgive ourselves for what we have done.  We labour in the belief that unconditional forgiveness is impossible.  We feel that we should be punished for our sins.  This explains why even after using their father’s name, they were still willing to be punished as they told Joseph, “We present ourselves before you as your slaves.”

This is also very true of us as well.  Sometimes the wrongs we have done in the past have been forgiven by those whom we have injured but, somehow, we cannot believe that they have forgiven us.  This is also true even in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Some penitents who have already confessed their sins with contrite hearts, continue to feel deep in their hearts they have not been forgiven by God and thus are unworthy to see Him when they die.

More likely, when we feel this way, it is because we ourselves have not truly forgiven those who have hurt us.  The truth is that we tend to project our lack of forgiveness on others.  The inability to accept forgiveness springs from ourselves; not the injured party.

Indeed, more often than not, these fears are unfounded.  Joseph had truly forgiven his brothers and had never had any intention of taking revenge on them.  Similarly too, Jacob was fearful of his future, especially his fidelity to his ancestors.  It was with reluctance that he migrated to Egypt, but his constant thought was to return to the land God had promised to them.  Again, his fears were unfounded because as history would show, his bones including that of Joseph’s would be buried with their ancestors.

So how then can we overcome fear in our lives?  

Firstly, we must overcome fear by living in the truth.  As Jesus warns us “everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear.”  Falsehood and lies are the means by which the devil holds us in bondage.  Many of us live not just in guilt but fear of being exposed for our crimes and lies one day.  We are worried that our past might catch up with us.  This is true especially for crimes concerning breach of trust, theft, cheating, slandering and especially sexual crimes against innocent children or women.  To live a life of freedom, we must now choose to live in the truth, since only the truth can set us free.  People can forgive our past so long as we show sincerity in repentance.

To live in the truth entails being truthful to our identity as the son and daughter of the Father as Jesus did. “So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven.  But the one who disowns me in the presence of men, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven.”  We can only share in the sonship of Jesus provided we recognize Him to be the Son of God and in and through Him, we become adopted sons and daughters in the Spirit too.  To declare our faith in Jesus is more than saying that Jesus is my Lord but to act and live like a child of God.  Our lives must not contradict our identity as the children of God.  We must bear witness to Christ in both word and deed.

Secondly, we must see beyond this life.  Jesus invites us to see death and life in perspective.  He cautioned us saying, “Do not be afraid of those that kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell.”  To live a living death while still on earth because of the incapacity to love and be loved is already an experience of spiritual death.  It would be tragic to perpetuate this kind of hellish life into the next world of eternity.  When we see that eternal life is at stake, we will be able to accept the sufferings of life, even when events appear not to be in our favour.

Thirdly, like Joseph and Jacob, we must learn to trust in divine providence.  Fears are created by man, instigated by the Devil.  The antidote to fear is trust in God and faith in Him whilst doing our best.  It is said that fear knocks at the door, but when faith opens it, no one is out there. Isn’t this what Jesus is assuring us of today?  “Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny?  And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing.  Why, every hair on your head has been counted.  So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.”

Fourthly, we must recognize that suffering is part and parcel of life.  We are called to share in the sufferings of Christ by carrying our cross after Him.  If Jesus our master has suffered and the apostles as well, why do we think we should be exempted from suffering and persecution?  In the gospel, Jesus preempts us, urging the Twelve as follows, “the disciple is not superior to his teacher, nor the slave to his master.  It is enough for the disciple that he should grow to be like his teacher, and the slave like his master.  If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, what will they not say of his household? ‘Do not be afraid of them therefore.“

Yes, when we live in the truth and according to the Spirit, we will find ourselves at peace.  If one is negative towards others and lacking trust in God and man, it has to do with a heart that is lacking in integrity.  Perhaps, this story could serve to illustrate the point.  At the beach, a boy was playing with marbles.  There came a girl with a box of chocolates.  The boy offered to give her his entire collection of marbles if she would give him all her chocolates. And she agreed.  However, the boy did not give her all the marbles.  He kept the biggest and the most beautiful one for himself.  The girl went home and slept peacefully that night whereas the boy was unable to sleep, wondering whether the girl kept any chocolates for herself, just as he did with the marbles.  Those who give themselves totally to their loved ones and to God will in the same measure trust that their loved ones and God will do the same.  Those who cheat in relationships will also think that others are doing the same thing.  In the measure we give is the measure we receive.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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