"Secure in Love": A Reflection on the First Reading for September 9th, 2018: Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Isaiah, 35 :4-7

3 Strengthen all weary hands, steady all trembling knees 4 and say to the faint-hearted, 'Be strong! Do not be afraid. Here is your God, vengeance is coming, divine retribution; he is coming to save you.' 5  Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf unsealed, 6 then the lame will leap like a deer and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy; for water will gush in the desert and streams in the wastelands, 7 the parched ground will become a marsh and the thirsty land springs of water; the lairs where the jackals used to live will become plots of reed and papyrus.

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Scripture researchers have determined, that in one way or another, the phrase: "Do not be afraid" is alluded to 365 times in the Bible. I am not surprised, as I have come to know the power fear has to destroy all that is good and how it can be one of the biggest obstacles to our freedom and peace.

When in the grips of fear, our thinking can become distorted -- causing us to manipulate and control others, as well as our environment and all that is in it. It holds us hostage to patterns of thinking and behaviour that can, and often do create harm in our lives and those of others. 

It is one of the most powerful emotions with some of the most dire affects. It can often destroy relationships, and stunts the growth of the person living in fear as well as those who are in the grip of another’s fear. 

This was evident in my life when I was younger. I was so caught up in the fears of not being able to care for myself and of being alone, that I chose unwisely when it came to love. I wound up becoming a person I didn’t recognize as I foolishly placed my sense of security in another person. For a while, I forgot where my security lay. I tried so hard to manipulate my environment and everyone in it to get my needs met. How foolish I was. I had to get off that bus, or at least get out of the driver’s seat. There is no freedom in fear or worry. It is the enemy’s playground. It deludes us into thinking we are in control, when really there is only one Bus Driver and it’s not me, or you. It’s Jesus. 

We either act out of love or fear. Choose Love — Jesus is love. Put all your trust in Him. It’s no wonder we need God to tell us 365 days a year, "Be strong! Do not be afraid.”
 
This is not to say that fear doesn’t have its purpose: to alert us to danger — but that is not what God is warning us against. He wants us to turn all our fears, all our needs and our complete sense of security over to Him. It is said that fear occurs in the absence of faith and trust. My dear sisters in Christ, take to heart today’s scripture reading from Isaiah, and hear God saying to you: I, the Lord your God have come to save you and all those you love. Be strong! Fear not. Let My love set you free. Amen.

Patricia Cosgrove

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"We either act out of love or fear. Choose Love — Jesus is love."
​- Patricia Cosgrove (Ora Reflections)

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