One of the hallmarks of the 90’s, when I was making the journey from being a child to a teenager, was the No Fear brand. This lifestyle clothing company was founded by race car driver Brian Simo and some friends and their simple slogan was soon plastered on t-shirts, baseball hats, bumper stickers and decals all over the place. The rise of the No Fear brand coincided with the introduction of extreme sports into mainstream culture. So, the basic idea was to go for broke, life is short, win or die, second place is for losers. Not surprisingly, No Fear became the rally sign for anything and anyone full of obnoxious bravado. Its decals were most commonly found on lifted trucks with knobby off-road tires or SUVS which appeared stolen from the set of a Mad Max movie.
The confrontation with fear is something that has haunted humanity from the earliest times. And while the tough and macho claim to be immune to it, fear never seems to be in short supply. Some medical experts estimate that perhaps half of all symptoms have their origin in fear. The patient fears losing a job, being exposed, losing a loved one, betrayal or old age - and the dread manifests itself in medical symptoms such as severe bodily pain. The doctor examines the patient and discovers no physical cause, yet the pain or paralysis is real. The fear that causes such symptoms is called "anxiety" - an unfocused, free-floating fear that won't go away. This is sort of fear and anxiety is harmful in every way. The human body and soul wasn’t made for it and if it isn’t confronted in a healthy way, it will eat us alive.
On the other hand, there are other types of fear that are good, holy, and productive. Fear is meant to protect us from serious threats that could harm us. Only a fool would jump into a enclosure with a wild bear, lion, or gorilla to prove their fearlessness. Only for a noble reason should any person in their right mind enter into a situation where death is a real possibility. It is good and holy to fear offending God by sin. God instilled a healthy fear within us to keep us safe physically and spiritually. It should guide and protect but never rule us.
Each of our readings deals with different expressions of fear. In the passage from Deuteronomy, Moses reminds the people of the Lord’s promise to raise up a prophet to serve as a mediator between the people and God. The people of Israel had asked for this arrangement after experiencing God on Mount Horeb. God’s power and majesty were so terrifying that the people told Moses, “we are too afraid. Talk to God for us and we will do whatever he says.” God doesn’t want his children to live in fear so he agrees but he reminds the people in today’s passage that they have to listen to his prophets as part of the deal.
In the second reading, St. Paul says he would like us to be "free of anxiety." He is giving advice for single people considering marriage, but his wish applies to all Christians. St. Paul would happily join the prayer we say at the conclusion of the Our Father: “Deliver us Lord we pray from every evil and graciously grant peace in our days.”
In the Gospel, Jesus encounters a man with an unclean spirit and the demons possessing this poor man cry out in fear when Jesus speaks to them. They are afraid because they realize Jesus has power over them and they are about to be defeated. Like cowards and sore losers, they make a great commotion until Jesus tells them to be quiet and leave the man, at which point they flee to the great amazement of the onlookers.
Pope Benedict addressed the common problem of fear and anxiety in some of his writings. He began by acknowledging fear as a natural part of life. He then distinguished between imaginary, childhood fears that later disappear and the ones rooted in reality. Realistic fears have to be faced with human commitment and trust in God. However, the Holy Father says there is "a deeper form of fear, of an existential form, which at times borders on anguish: this fear is born from a sense of emptiness, connected with a culture permeated by diffused nihilism. (which simply means that nothing ultimately matters“ To defeat this fear, which borders on despair, we must receive the power of Christ and allow his influence in our lives.
Going back to the Gospel, recall the question the evil spirits ask Jesus. “Have you come to destroy us?” Evidently the unclean spirit had taken over most of the man's personality. These demons were so arrogant as to think if they were cast out, the man would be destroyed. But when the unclean spirits left him he was whole again. What first looked like destruction turned out to be liberation.
All of this begs the question for us as followers of Christ: what role does fear have in our lives? Are we aware of the ways that unhealthy fear and anxiety might dominate our thinking and influence our decision-making? Have we brought our fear to the Lord to be redeemed and healed or do we try and fight it on our own? Just as important, do we have a healthy fear of offending God through sin? Do we allow holy fear to bring us to greater love of God and other people? Or do we give in to a spirit of pride, walking right into situations that could damage our body and soul?
One of the most comforting things about our faith is the promise that evil and death have already been defeated by the passion and death of Christ. In the midst of fearful and terrifying situations, we find supernatural power and authority by praying in the name of Jesus, first for ourselves and then for others. By praying in His Son’s name, God can use any of us to bring liberation to those paralyzed by fear. At Mass today, we ask Jesus to protect us from anxiety - especially the fear that so easily turns into despair. And we give him permission to use our lives and words to help set others free so the world can be a holier and happy place.
