Epiphany of the Lord
On
a most cloudy, 42-degree day, on Saturday, 4 March 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt
was sworn in for his first term as president of the United States of
America. After taking the oath of
office, President Roosevelt gave his first inaugural address, including one of
the most famous phrases he ever uttered: “let me assert my firm belief that the
only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
Fear
is a very powerful motivator and catalyst. Think of the small child, lying in bed in the dark, not able
to sleep, heart pounding almost out of his chest at the thought that the
creaking of the house is actually a monster waiting to get him. Think of the adolescent, willing to try
any illicit activity because he is afraid of not being popular if he doesn’t do
what the crowd wants. Think of an
adult, tossing and turning in bed, afraid that he will lose his job and afraid
of what that will mean for his family.
Fear can really make us act.
Fear
is what overtook King Herod. He
was afraid that his kingdom was threatened by this newborn King of the Jews, as
made known to him by the magi from the East. His rule was already quite tenuous, as it was under the
benevolence of the Romans, and amidst a people who did not accept him as their
king. He was afraid of losing all
that he had built for himself. And
so he tries to use the Magi as his spies, to find the place of the newborn king
so that Herod can kill the child and eliminate His reign. And we all know the story: after the
magi return by a different route, and Herod hears nothing, he orders the death
of all male children ages 2 and younger, in the slaughter of the Holy
Innocents, those first ones who died in place of Christ.
And
yet, as Jesus reveals Himself today in the Solemnity of the Epiphany; as He
makes Himself known not just to the Chosen People but also to the Gentiles, to
those outside of the Chosen People, represented by the magi, His message is not
one of fear. The magi come, and
they see the Mighty God in the body of a little child. This same child, after many years,
proclaims to the apostles, the disciples, and to us today: “Do not be
afraid!” Herod had nothing to
fear, if only he truly would have done Jesus homage as the King of Kings.
And
yet, even though Jesus tells us to be not afraid, as He reveals Himself to us,
we still fear. And the fear can
lead us to do many things that we otherwise wouldn’t. Think back 13 years ago to the fear that permeated society because
the computers couldn’t handle the number 2000 for the year. Or more recently, the perceived danger
due to the end of the Mayan calendar on 21 December. Or the recently averted so-called fiscal cliff. Despite Jesus telling us year after
year, “Be Not Afraid,” we still seem to act in fear, and it causes us to act in
ways of which we would otherwise be ashamed.
Of
what are we afraid? What personal
kingdoms do we fear losing that we think Jesus is going to make us give
up? What things are we so afraid
to lose if we lay them down at the feet of Jesus, the King of Kings? Power? Control?
Wealth? Security? Lifestyle? A grudge? How
hard it can be to trust Jesus and not be afraid to put everything at His feet!
I
know it’s certainly hard for me.
I’m a type A personality (no shock for most of you, I’m sure!), and I
love to have things under control.
I love to plan out events and how they’re going to go. I like to have contingency plans in
case something goes wrong. It’s
not wrong to want to keep things ordered, but they have to be ordered according
to the will of God, not my will. And
it is hard to let Jesus have control, because, it means that I might have to
change. And nobody likes change.
But
the happiest people in life are those who laid their kingdom, whatever it was
they were attached to, at the feet of Jesus and did not let their fear keep
them from letting Jesus direct their lives. Look at St. Ignatius of Loyola: he had everything figured
out as a mercenary. Then his leg
was severely damaged in battle, and while recuperating he was eventually to not
let his fear control him (though this took a great deal of battling with
himself), and he became a knight for God.
Or American’s own St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, who gave up a life of
great wealth in order to serve the Church in American, especially the African
Americans and Native Americans who did not receive the same level of education
because they were on the fringes of society. It would have been so much easier for St. Ignatius to
continue his soldiering; it would have been so much easier for St. Frances to
live in the lap of luxury in Italy.
But they were able to conquer their fear with the help of God, and even
though it meant that they had to abandon familiar people, places, and lives,
they found life so much better in serving Jesus.
When
King Herod feared a rival power, it led him away from God. When we act out of fear, especially
fear of having to make changes in our life because we are more devoted to
Jesus, we move away from God.
When, instead, we choose to trust God in the face of fear and allow Him
to truly be King of our hearts, we find that we lose nothing of who we are
meant to be, and gain everything, because we have Jesus. Do not be afraid to trust Jesus and
give Him control of your life!
Will you have to change?
Jesus calls all of us to conversion. But that relationship with Jesus, no matter what we have to
abandon in order to follow Him, is the pearl of great price, which is worth
more than anything the world could ever offer us. “Do not be afraid!”
