The angel of the Annunciation said to Mary, "do not be afraid." Jesus quite often used the same words. And they're spoken by the Lord, by angels, by ordinary people many times throughout the whole bible. Why are so many people so much afraid? What are we afraid of? Why do we find it so hard to accept and to trust our Lord's own words, telling us not to fear?

In the nine verses of today's gospel reading, Jesus three times repeats those words. He tells us not to be afraid of what people may say about us, of what people may do to us, of what may happen to us. Of course nobody with a healthy mind and body wants to suffer, or be looked down on, or have no control over what happens. But in human life such things do happen, even without any fault on our part. Even Jesus Himself experienced fear at the thought of His coming passion and cross.

The spontaneous emotion of fear is a natural human reaction to certain situations, a kind of protective safety mechanism. But there are also irrational morbid fears that people develop, or allow to grow in their lives. For a Christian who believes in God's unconditional love and trusts in the name and the power of Jesus our Saviour, where do these fears fit in? How truly, passionately and realistically do we believe in God's unconditional love?