by Stephen Fahrig, OMV
Every year on the Second Sunday of Lent, the Church proclaims the gospel of the Transfiguration in the Eucharistic liturgy. This striking episode in the life of Jesus is obviously appropriate for our Lenten meditation insofar as it offers a "sneak preview" of the glory of Easter, a glimpse of our Lord's true glory which shines through as first Moses and Elijah and then God the Father himself bear witness to Jesus' divine and messianic identity. This year, however, as Matthew's account of the Transfiguration was proclaimed last Sunday, I found myself struck by a different aspect of the story. When the voice of God the Father spoke from the cloud, he identified Jesus as his "beloved Son", echoing similar words from the Lord's baptism at the beginning of his public ministry. The Father then added an injunction to the apostles Peter, James, and John: "Listen to him." This command applies to all of Jesus' words, of course, but what struck me with a great intensity was the particular words that Jesus spoke immediately after the Father enjoined his disciples to "listen to him." What were those words? "Rise, and do not be afraid."
These very simple but powerfully reassuring words echo and re-echo throughout the pages of Sacred Scripture. Whether seeking to bolster the courage of Joshua (Joshua 1:9) or Gideon (Judges 6:23) in the face of their call to fight on behalf of their people, or to reassure the Jewish exiles in Babylon of his concern for their plight (Isaiah 43:1), God continually exhorts and consoles his people with the message, "Do not be afraid." He uses these words to strengthen a reluctant prophet (Jeremiah 1:8), to ease a fisherman's sense of unworthiness to accept the call to discipleship (Luke 5:10), and even to encourage our Blessed Mother to utter her "Fiat" to the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:30). And at a watershed moment in our Lord's public ministry, when he is about to embark on his final journey to Jerusalem, he speaks these same words to his three closest associates: "Do not be afraid."
I think it is appropriate that we should be asked to listen to this self-same message as we move forward in our Lenten journey, because fear is perhaps the fundamental element that keeps us from drawing closer to God. This, after all, is the purpose of all our Lenten penances and sacrifices: to draw closer to the God who loves us so intensely. Yet fear can act upon us in many ways to prevent this from happening. For some, fear can keep would-be penitents from approaching the confessional and partaking of the Lord's forgiveness and mercy in the sacrament of reconciliation. For others, fear can serve as a barrier to really quieting down and listening to God's voice in silent moments of prayer. Not long ago a friend told me that he was reluctant to really pray because he feared hearing what God would have to say to him. For still others (and I include myself in this category) fear can prevent us from "letting go and letting God", placing all of our trust in his loving providence. We can let our fears tell us that God is somewhat like Lucy in the old Peanuts cartoons, encouraging Charlie Brown to trust her and then yanking the football away from him at the last moment and letting him fall flat on his back. Whatever form this fear of God may take, we can be sure it is not coming from him, but rather from either our own insecurity or from the evil one. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned and immediately tried to hide from God, we humans have let fear get in the way of developing a relationship of wholeness and intimacy with our Creator.
As we continue with our Lenten journey, we might want to consider doing an "examination of conscience" around the issue of fear. Is fear keeping me from drawing closer to God? If so, what kind of fear am I experiencing? Fear of confessing my sins? Fear of listening for God's voice in the silence of my heart? Let us ask the Lord to take our fears and anxieties away, and to more firmly place our trust in him. The opening lines of the hymn Hosea offer a compelling expression of God's invitation to us this Lent: "Come back to me with all your heart...don't let fear keep us apart."
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