“Everything I was afraid of happening, happened and I did not die!” is a meme that I recently saw on social media. Fear is a cage that prevents us from doing what we want or realizing our potential. Though mostly thought of in a negative way, fear can also be positive when it tells us when we are in danger, and also reminds us of what caused us hurt in the past. Before the Pentecost, the apostles were in hiding shrouded by fear; they did not have the courage to preach the Gospel of God. But on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit endowed them with the gift of courage and they strongly preached to all nations despite the trials and tribulations they faced. That, my brothers and sisters, is the effect of God taking control of a situation. Before God coming into the equation, fear can hold us back from going out and realizing what God created us to accomplish in life. But when God takes charge of our situation, the walls of fear that imprison us come tumbling down, and we are freed to be what God created us to be.
The past few years have been filled with so much fear and anxiety coming directly or indirectly from the Covid 19 pandemic. Fear of catching the virus, fear of losing one’s life or the life of close person, fear of prolonged lockdowns, fear of prolonged closure of Churches and schools, fear of coming together in big numbers as before, fear of losing jobs due to the scaling down of staff in almost every organization and many others. The young ones and little ones were not spared of the anxiety. When they returned to school early this year after so long, most carried anxiety and uncertainty concerning the future with them. Thus at UMSS, we chose the theme “Fear not, rise up for excellence” to guide us through this year.
Fear is as old as humanity. It is one of the basic human emotions. Our great grandparents had their fears too. But what kept them going forward was this – Faith over Fear. What led Abraham to a land he did not know about was Faith over Fear, what moved Moses to go back, confront Pharoah and liberate the Israelites; Faith over Fear. What motivated a young David to face the big Goliath; Faith over Fear. Daniel in the lions’ den, Faith over Fear. Mother Mary to willingly and wholly accept the message of the angel; Faith over Fear. Our patron saints; the Uganda Martyrs to go through the terrifying experiences of humiliation, torture and death that they were subjected to, Faith over Fear. What you feed is what grows. Therefore, I invite you to choose to feed your Faith daily instead of your fears.
When Peter focused on Jesus (faith), he was able to walk on water and only drowned when he lost focus on God (fear). When Jesus wanted to feed the multitudes, the apostles fronted fear of the insufficiency of what they had vis-à-vis the big numbers but Jesus nullified their fears and fed them with so little in a human’s eye. “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith…” was Jesus’ response to the plight and fear of the drowning the apostles expressed when faced with a terrible strong storm on the sea (Mt 8:23-27). The expression “Do not fear” is mentioned a number of times in the Bible. Every time humans think as human beings and magnify or focus only on their fears, relying solely on their capability, God comes in assuring His children of ever His ever-comforting presence. Fear not!
Fr. Alex Ssemogerere
Chaplain