FEAR
OR LOVE
INTRODUCTION
Today’s readings - for
this 30th Wednesday in Ordinary Time - triggered for me thoughts about the 2 great
life motives: Fear and Love.
Which is more me? Fear or Love?
I read somewhere that fear and love are the
basic 2 emotions. All the other emotions - are lesser emotions and fall under
either love or fear.
I don’t know if I agree or
disagree with that - but I’ll continue to wonder about that comment.
Moreover when it comes to
emotions, we can have an, “It all depends.”
Take anger. It can be a
powerful emotion. We can get angry out of fear - but also out of love. Don’t forget Jesus getting really angry as he
threw the money changers out of the temple.
TODAY’S GOSPEL
In today’s gospel notice that Jesus uses fear - I sense to scare the hell out of people. Notice Jesus’ words about people not being saved. Notice he says people
choose evil. Notice Jesus saying the words, “Depart from me, all you evil
doers.”
As you know there are two
kinds of people: those who take the narrow gate and those who go by way of Broadway.
Notice Jesus announcing
that people who don’t chose the narrow gate - are going to find the door
to God’s house locked. And there will be
wailing and grinding of teeth - because they have cast themselves into the
wrong group.
Jesus is scary here. He’s
using the motive of fear. And there are people who are scared of not being
saved.
And fear works for getting
people to be good.
Question: which motive is
better?
Question: does today’s
gospel from Luke 13: 22-30 have more
power than Luke 15 when we meet a God of love and mercy.
Which works better: fear
or love?
There are some people
whose whole religious outlook is fear and God is a God of fear to them.
St. Alphonsus reflected on
this question in his writings and he ends up saying the motive of love is
better - because it lasts.
Yet Alphonsus used fear to
motivate - in some of his most powerful sermons and writings.
TODAY’S FIRST
READING ROMANS 8: 26-30
In today’s first reading
from Romans, we have an example of Paul stressing love over fear. He says, “Yes, we are weak, but God comes to
our aid in our weakness.” Paul says,
“all things work for good for those who
love God.”
LOVE OR FEAR
So last night working on
this homily, this reflection, I asked myself whether I was a person of fear or
a person of love?
My first conclusion was
this: I’d assume we’re both people of fear as well as a person of love.
Life is neither black nor
white. It’s has shades - degrees - but I
think we can still ask which one am I more of: love or fear?
My second conclusion was
this: how do I see God? If I am scared
of God - is that something God would want?
In other words, is God the
God I picture or feel God is?
We can get scripture texts
for both understandings of God.
What is God like? Is God a wonderful forgiving, understanding and loving God or is God a God
who is going to zap us like a cook in the kitchen zaps a fly with a fly swatter.
We heard God not answering
his door in today’s gospel - or we can read the
1st Letter of John which says over and over again that God is
Love.
Listen to 1 John 4:18, “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 is still imperfect in
love.”
A third point would be how
we picture and understand others - as well as ourselves.
How many times have we
heard some one talk about how they picture their father? They say: “I was scared of him.”
I have heard people say of
priests: “I was scared of him”
I was once stationed with
a priest who told me he walked around with a book in his hand so nobody will
bother him. He wanted them to say, “I’m scared of bothering him.” And he said, “Wow can I be selfish.”
CONCLUSION
Enough ….
That’s a few thoughts
about love and fear .
the first reading tells us
to groan about all this to the Spirit who searches hearts and knows what’s
going on inside our hearts.
So groan, groan, groan ….
