The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid? …
Psalm 27:1 and following (from the daily Mass reading, February 5, 2021)
The dangerous virus is still out there, among the many other germs. Drivers not paying attention are still driving in residential neighborhoods. High risk jobs still need doing, soldiers have to patrol where sudden death can lurk, knives and risk-taking curiosity are only a few feet from each other…there are plenty of rational reasons for fear.
The Christian sings a psalm.
Not to run away from fear. Not to deny any of the dangers that threaten.
We may not actually “sing” this psalm, but at least we say it out loud, verbalize it. To get out of the black hole of our own inner worry, that mental hand-wringing that can keep us going around in circles inside our own heads. When we say or read aloud the psalm we are joined by the inspirer of the psalm, we are joined in saying His words-for-us. Reminding us that, all things considered, all of our lifetime considered–from our unconscious coming-into-being where there was no-one before, to our passing out of the only life we have known, back into whence we came–we are surrounded and supported by the inspirer of the psalm, the one who illustrated His care for us by offering His own death for us. He is stronger than death, infinitely stronger than our worst fears.
He knows and accepts that we are fearful, honestly so. In a broken world full of damaged people He cannot simply remove all causes of fear. But through the psalm He walks and sings along with us.
Facing his or her fears, the Christian sings a psalm.
Thank you so much for this today, Jim! It is much needed.
YES!
One thing that helps me when I have to take on a challenge that is a little scary is to watch Pope John II’s “Do not be afraid.” speech on YouTube….
That’s a great idea, Gay!
Noli timere.
Thank you, dear friend….hope all is well with you
Jim,
This is truly one of my many favorite scriptures, and you are right in what all we’re being faced with today it’s very easy to become fearful and even weak in our Faith. However, we must remember that The Lord is our light indeed, and that He’s always with us!
Thank you for sharing this wonderful reminder.
Blessings