Fear not!

“Fear no one.  Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known…” (Matthew 10:26)

At one point or another, most people go through a period of sadness, trial, loss, frustration, or failure that’s so disturbing and long-lasting, that it can be called a Dark Night of the Soul (St. John of the Cross, 16th c. Spanish mystic).

Depression is a psychological malady; the dark night is a spiritual trial. The gospel I reflected on today (Matthew 10:26-33) challenges us to shift from a therapeutic to a faith model and offers us a guide for dwelling in our 21st century world, a world saturated with violence and fear.

If your main interest in life is health, or comfort, convenience, or pleasure, you may quickly try to overcome the darkness.  But if you’re looking for meaning, character, personal substance, you discover that a dark night has important gifts for you.  Every human life is made up of the light and the dark, the happy and the sad, the vital and the deadening.  How we think about this rhythm makes all the difference.  Will we hide out in self-delusion or distracting entertainment?  Or are we willing to embrace the mystery?

Many people think that the point in life is to solve their problems and be happy.  But happiness is a fleeting sensation, and we never get rid of problems.  Maybe my purpose in life is to become more of who I am, more engaged with the people and life around me now; to really LIVE life.  It may sound obvious, yet many people spend their time avoiding life.  When we’re afraid to let life flow through us, our vitality can get channeled into ambitions, preoccupations, addictions, all of which can (and usually do) lead to jealousy, envy, apathy, and cynicism; fear, racism, violence, and hate are never far behind.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.  Even all the hairs of your head are counted.  So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”  (Matthew 10:29-31)

It’s comforting to know that the All-Powerful God of the Universe knows every detail about our lives and is deeply concerned about every single detail.  He knows us infinitely better than we know ourselves and He loves each one of us more deeply than we could ever love ourselves.  These facts should give us much peace.

When we can come to the realization of the Father’s perfect knowledge of us AND His perfect love of us, we’ll be in a position to put our complete trust in Him.  Trust in God is only possible when we understand who we are trusting.  And when we do begin to completely understand who God is and how much He cares about every detail of our lives, we’ll more easily entrust to Him those details, allowing Him to take control of all.