20160106 PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR
First
Reading 1JN 4:11-18
12 No
one has ever seen God, but as long as we love one another God remains in
us and his love comes to its perfection in us.
13 This
is the proof that we
remain in him and he in us, that he has given us a share in his Spirit.
14 We
ourselves have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as Saviour of the
world.
16 We
have recognised for ourselves, and put our faith in, the
love God has for us. God is love, and
whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.
17 Love
comes to its perfection in us when we can face the Day of Judgement fearlessly,
because even in this world we have become as he is.
18 In
love there is no room for fear, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear
implies punishment and no one who is afraid has come to perfection in love.
Gospel
MK 6:45-52
45 And
at once he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other
side near Bethsaida, while he himself sent the crowd away.
46
After saying goodbye to them he went off into the hills to pray.
47 When
evening came, the boat was far out on the sea, and he was alone on the land.
48 He
could see that they were hard pressed in their rowing, for the wind was against
them; and about the fourth watch of the night he came towards them, walking on
the sea. He was going to pass them by,
49 but
when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost and cried out;
50 for
they had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke to them and
said, 'Courage! It's me! Don't be afraid.'
51 Then
he got into the boat with them and the wind dropped. They were utterly and
completely dumbfounded,
PERFECT
LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: 1 JN 4:11-18; MK 6:45-52
Fear
is one of the most crippling emotions of human beings. Many of us are ruled by
fear. Fear is the primary reason for our insecurity and anxiety.
The offspring of fear are many. Fear is the root of all sins. It is
because of fear that we are ego-centered and proud. We tell lies and are
envious of others who are perceived to be better than us or have more than
us. It is fear that causes us to take revenge against our enemies or seek
to control them. Fear too gives birth to greed, gambling, cheating, hoarding
and gluttony because we are afraid we do not have enough. Lust is also
the consequence of fear that we might lose the person we love and so we seek to
possess the other person. Among all these fears, the greatest fear is
hunger, pain, suffering, rejection, shame, betrayal in relationship and, most
of all, the fear of death! Indeed, this was the case of the apostles in
today’s gospel when the storm threatened their lives. So fear
dominates our lives.
Yet
the irony of fear is that the so-called defence mechanisms that we use to
overcome fear make us more fearful instead of setting us free. The truth of life is that fear
cannot be overcome by pride, envy, anger, sloth, greed, lust and
gluttony. The more the capital sins consume us, the more fearful we
become. So for those of us who seek to overcome fear through the seven
capital sins are deceived by the Devil because we end up being slaves to
fear! How, then, can we overcome fear?
St John
makes it clear that the only way to overcome fear is to use the antidote of
love. He wrote, “In love there can be no fear, but fear is driven out
by perfect love.” Indeed, when we are loved, there is no fear. A
child in the arms of the mother has no fear. A child fears and cries only
when he or she discovers that mommy is not there for him or her. So, too,
young people fear when they see their parents fighting, quarreling and at war
with each other because they know it is a matter of time before the family will
be broken. So, too, with relationships; isn’t it true that many
relationships cannot survive because there is a lack of assurance of love for
each other, not just in words but in deeds? When such assurances of love
are lacking, or when the actions of the other party show otherwise, then the relationship
tends to be insecure and the couple is suspicious of each other, doubting each
other and lacking trust.
For
this reason, in the Incarnation, which is a prelude to the passion, God became
man in Jesus to reveal to us His unconditional love and mercy for us. God knows that we need
assurances that He loves us and is faithful to us in love. God is aware
that as human beings we need to see, feel, touch and hear the tangible love of
God. This is what St John wrote, “We ourselves have known and put our faith
in God’s love towards ourselves.” Because of Christ’s incarnation, His
life of love and service, His message of love and forgiveness, and most of all
His death on the cross, St John could say, “We ourselves saw and we testify
that the Father sent his Son as saviour of the world.” Truly, the
apostles have seen the love of God in person in Christ.
In the
gospel, Jesus demonstrated His faithful love for His disciples who were
going through the storm in the boat. We read that Jesus went away to
the hills to pray as the people wanted to make Him king by force after the
multiplication of the loaves; the religious leaders were planning to get rid of
him; and there was the possibility of King Herod and the Romans reacting to
such revolutionary attempts. Even though Jesus was dealing with His own
inner struggles, yet, when He knew that His disciples were battling a storm in
the boat and were overcome with fear, He came to them to assure them of His
presence. He said, “Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.”
With
Jesus, there is nothing to fear. He will help us to overcome all things. And so we read, “Then he
got into the boat with them, and the wind dropped.” When Jesus is
with us, there is nothing to fear. He will help us to overcome all things
because He Himself as a man had walked through the valley of darkness, the
Garden of Gethsemane, the rejections, the betrayals of His fellowmen, including
His disciples, the false accusations, the humiliation that He suffered on the
cross and the pain of the scourging and the crucifixion. He had gone
through all, more than anyone of us. But He has triumphed and
survived. He did not allow fear to overwhelm Him or, like us, succumb to
sin.
Consequently,
the question is whether we are willing to put our faith and trust in Him. To
surrender our lives to Him, we must acknowledge Him as our Lord and Saviour. St John said, “If anyone
acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him, and he in
God.” So confession of faith in Jesus’ divine sonship is the key to
confidence in Him who can do all things in and through us. The
reason why the disciples were fearful was because they could not see beyond
what Jesus did. We read that “they were utterly and completely
dumbfounded, because they had not seen what the miracle of the loaves meant;
their minds were closed.” Indeed, they were still too dull,
ignorant and blind to who Jesus was until His passion and resurrection.
They saw the signs but they did not get the meaning and the truth beyond what
they saw.
We
too have many signs of God’s love for us. These signs come from the love
of our fellowmen and our love for them. As St John says, “No one has ever seen God; but as
long as we love one another God will live in us and his love will be complete
in us. We can know that we are living in him and he is living in us because he
lets us share his Spirit.” When we are loved unconditionally, we feel the
love of God present in us. God’s love is always mediated through events,
things and people. The Eucharist and the other sacraments are signs par
excellence of His love and mercy. But we also experience His love
through the love that others have showered on us.
However,
it is not enough just to receive the love of God through our brothers and
sisters. If we
want the cycle of love to be complete, we must love others the way God has
loved us. This is the basis of loving others. St John says, “My
dear people, since God has loved us so much, we too should love one
another.” We are called in the final analysis not just to find love by
loving others but to share the love and life of God in us. He said, “We
can know that we are living in him and he is living in us because he lets us
share his Spirit.” When the love of God rests in us, when we share in His
Spirit, our lives will always be one of true joy because we experience true
freedom in love and service. By partaking in the love of God as we love
others, His love will increase in us; and we become more and more identified
with the heart of God.
Indeed,
how do we know that our love has been perfected? St John said, “Love will come to
its perfection in us when we can face the day of Judgement without fear;
because even in this world we have become as he is. In love there can be no
fear, but fear is driven out by perfect love: because to fear is to expect
punishment, and anyone who is afraid still is imperfect in love.” When
we become like Jesus in love, what is there to fear? We will have the
confidence to appear before God our Father and our fellowmen because we know
that we have loved and done what we could, according to the resources we have
been blessed with. So if we are afraid of God’s judgement it is because
we see God as our judge, but when we see God as love and as our beloved, there
is no fear but only the desire to be with Him more and more. Truly,
when there is true love, there is no fear. We are ready to be totally
open, vulnerable, naked and be available to others because we know that we will
be loved, accepted and will never be taken advantage of. Fear is
only for those who do not trust. Where there is no trust, no perfect love
is possible because there is no total openness. So today, let us
trust the Lord and accept His love. And in turn, let us love the way He
has loved us so that His love and Spirit may be in us and we in Him.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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