Fear Not!

"Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God..."
Isaiah 35:4

We seem to be hearing that often during Advent--Fear Not! The angel told Mary, "Do not be afraid, Mary..." (Luke 1:30) and so often Jesus told those around him, "Do not be afraid..." What is it about human creatures that we constantly need to be reassured not to fear? I was re-reading the chapter on the Annunciation in "Jesus--A Pilgrimage" yesterday. In it, Fr. James Martin says that fear is a very common and reasonable response when we experience the Divine. God knows us so well that God is constantly reassuring us not to be afraid. What are we not to fear in our little human lives this day? Do we have new challenges in our day today? Are we facing a scary doctor visit or trying to figure out how we can possibly afford the winter?  In our troubled world, in our uneasy country, how can we not fear? There's a lot of scary out there, but God tells us not to be afraid. Our lives are in God's care; we are living in God and God is living within us. God needs us to rise above our own fears and get out there and help in this world. God will strengthen our weary hands and bolster us up to do God's work. We just need to be like Mary and say, "Yes!" Love, heidi