Faith, Fear, and A Christian Missionary

"Faith is the remedy to fear. If we have faith, there is little we need fear."

It sometimes seems that our pilgrimage here on earth takes us through a landscape of fear. We are surrounded by circumstances and situations we do not understand, and ignorance can lead us to live our lives in fear.

We fear for our livelihood. Loss of income may compromise our ability to provide for our families, even to the point of losing our homes. We fear injustice. We see so much of it everyday and do not understand how it can happen. And we fear the persecution that may descend upon us if we uphold our Catholic identity.

Jesus offers us the key to dispel all our fears. “Do not be afraid, have faith.” If fear is born of ignorance, then knowledge can take it away. Faith is a supernatural knowledge that takes away every fear.

Saint Augustine tells us that understanding is the reward of faith. We should not try to understand so that we may believe, we should believe so that we may understand.

We know that God has prepared a place for us in His heavenly home, so we need not fear poverty and death. We have faith that God will bring good out of evil and so our fear of injustice fades away. Knowledge that God will never abandon us gives us the courage to overcome our fear of persecution and stand for Truth.

The knowledge to overcome every fear comes from our faith.

E. Stanley Jones was a Christian missionary in the early twentieth century. He put it this way.

“I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety. In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath--these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely--these are my native air. A John Hopkins University doctor says, "We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non-worriers, but that is a fact." But I, who am simple of mind, think I know; We are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear. God made us that way. To live by worry is to live against reality.”

We do not need to live our lives timidly; fearful over what may happen next. Faith frees us to live our lives boldly and follow Christ courageously. Armed with faith we can put aside our fears and share our courage with others. Neither should we fear that we might fail because our faith tells us the final outcome. At the end of all things the just will be rewarded and the wicked will be punished. In the end, we know that we will win.

Pax Vobiscum
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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© Lawrence Klimecki

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Deacon Lawrence draws on ancient Christian tradition to create new contemporary art that seeks to connect the physical and the spiritual.. For more information on original art, prints and commissions, Please visit www.DeaconLawrence.org 

Lawrence Klimecki, MSA, is a deacon in the Diocese of Sacramento. He is a public speaker, writer, and artist, reflecting on the intersection of art and faith

"The Annunciation" © lawrence Klimecki