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In our readings this weekend, we hear about fear. We might be a little confused, though. Because in the Gospel reading, Jesus tells us to not be afraid, but He also tells us to be afraid. So what’s going on? Which one is it? Should we fear, or should we not fear? Let us take a closer look at today’s readings to see what the Lord is saying to us.
First, the Prophet Jeremiah and our Lord tell us to not be afraid of other people. We should not even be afraid of those who can harm us. Because, as Jeremiah says: “the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.” The Lord is our refuge and our strength. As Jesus tells us, in the end God will reveal everything. The just will be vindicated, and the unjust will be discovered. “Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.” “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”
Instead, Jesus tells us, we should be afraid of “the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.” Now, who is the one with this power? Whom is Jesus talking about? Clearly, the answer is God—but there is more to the story. God is the all-powerful Lord of heaven and earth, and He will be our judge at the end of our lives. But this does not mean that we should think of God as an angry tyrant, a vindictive father, or a bully waiting to punish us. God is a loving Father who sent His Son into the world to save us. The right kind of fear of the Lord is not terror. The fear of the Lord is a gift of the Holy Spirit. It is the reverence and awe of a child who loves his father and does not want to be separated from him.
We must remember something important: God does not choose hell for us. We choose. C.S. Lewis wrote that “the gates of hell are locked on the inside.” You see, God respects our freedom so much that He would never force us to spend eternity with Him if we did not want to live with Him and for Him on earth.
So what should we really fear? We should fear our own capacity to drift away from God. We should fear our self-reliance. We should fear our ability to deceive ourselves. We should fear living without God in our daily life to sustain us and guide us. Our eternal destination is determined by how we live here and now.
Recognizing our freedom and our weakness, we should cling to the Lord every day. We should humble ourselves before Him in the sacrament of reconciliation. We should savor His presence within us when we receive Him in the Eucharist. We should ask Him for help and grow in our relationship with Him every day.
I worry about the people who commit serious mortal sins and say: “But God knows my heart.” “I have not gone to confession in a long time… I am going to continue living a sinful lifestyle… but God knows my heart.” “I am going to continue receiving Holy Communion without repentance and confession, but God knows my heart.” Yes. Yes, God knows your heart even better than you know your own heart. Do not rely solely on your own understanding. Do not make yourself the measure of right and wrong. You have the power to determine where you spend eternity.
So… Do not be afraid of other people. Do not be afraid of God as though He were your enemy. Instead, be afraid of life without God—now and for eternity.
Total Surrender 
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