Stephanie and I were babysitting our two grandkids a couple of weeks ago, and we took the boys to a park so they would burn off some energy. The 2-year-old wanted to climb on the tall, arched monkey bars. After going about ¾ of the way up, he suddenly cried for help out of fear. 
I pulled him off the bars and put him back on solid ground. As we made eye contact, a smile crossed his face, and within a couple of seconds, he was off running to the next piece of playground equipment. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of reassurance knowing that someone’s got your back.
Fear is that unpleasant emotion caused by the anticipation or awareness of danger – and it can prevent us from heading where we desire to go.
For us fathers, there are many fears we have for our children. We worry about accidents, violence, or dangerous situations. We fear for them navigating the risks of social media and being exposed to harmful content and cyberbullying. We worry about them suffering from anxiety, depression, feeling isolated, and so many other fears.
We even have fears about how we are as a parent, asking: Am I doing enough for them? How can I keep them safe and provide for them? Can I escape my own upbringing and do better for them? Can I parent more with my heart and not just with my head? Can I be the father they need me to be?
Our fears are real and can be overwhelming. But fear doesn’t have to control us because God cares enough to stand by us through it all. That’s the good news that we hear about in today’s readings.
In the gospel, Jesus has just commissioned the twelve and is sending them out to proclaim the good news from the housetops, healing the sick, raising the dead, and casting out demons. As good as that all sounds, Jesus warns them that they will be rejected and may even suffer physical abuse.
But Jesus doesn’t want them to fearful of the mission, so he reassures them of their extreme value in the eyes of God. Therefore, they should not be afraid because the Father will protect them. God’s got their back, and he uses two images to bring home this point. First, if God is aware of the whereabouts of the sparrow, one of the tiniest creatures out there, then the apostles can trust that God will care for them (and us) even more. Second, we can trust that God loves us so much that he’s aware of every single hair on our heads. (In my case, that won’t take up too much of his time.)
Keep in mind that Jesus does not tell the apostles that God will intervene and rescue them from persecution. And it’s the same for us. But if this should happen, we are not to give into fear, because God will be with us and will preserve our life beyond bodily existence.
Jesus reminds us of what is truly important – the soul rather than the body – because the body passes away, but our souls are eternal. So any harm can only reach the body. No one can harm our souls except ourselves, and that happens when we deny Jesus.
We often cry out to Jesus, frequently questioning if he is even there. Honestly, it can be extremely difficult for any of us to follow Jesus when we are faced with fear or suffering. But that’s exactly the time when we need to rely on God’s love to carry us through our hardships, always trusting that God is with us, because he is.
Fear is not only about the presence of or anticipation of danger. It’s also seen as a doorway to a deeper spiritual self-awareness, signaling that we are stepping out of our comfort zones and approaching a meaningful and personal transformation.
There is a method of prayer that has helped me when faced with my own fears. In fact, it is the very same prayer that the prophet Jeremiah used in the first reading.
Jeremiah was complaining about being hounded by his false friends, hitting him up from every side. But he eventually sees his fears and sufferings as a test of his fidelity and perseverance in God. So Jeremiah’s crying out consists of complaints and petition, which is eventually transformed into trust and praise as he places everything into God’s hands. This is a beautiful form of prayer called a lament, which is a prayer of grief, frustration, or sorrow directed straight to God. It is not a sign of diminishing faith or mere complaining, but rather a spiritual discipline of expressing deep pain while ultimately choosing to trust in God’s promises.
Let me teach you how to pray a lament. This method consists of four movements or actions that other biblical laments tend to follow, albeit with a slight Deacon Allen spin. These actions are: Address, Express, Request, and Invest.
We first must Address God, or turn to God in prayer. When we face any form of fear, we need to immediately turn to God. Run, don’t walk! God is anxiously waiting for us to turn to him.
Then we Express, or complain about what we are experiencing. We need to name the problem openly and honestly, telling God what we are angry about or what is eating away at us – for ourself, our family, community or globally. Don’t hold back. God can handle it.
Next comes the Request. After we’ve voiced our complaints, we begin to ask for God’s help. This is the step where most of us typically stop. We ask and then end our prayer. But we need to go further. Yes, God wants to hear our prayers, but then we must be silent and listen, because this is where true spiritual insight occurs.
Finally, we Invest or trust. When we invest in someone, we are dedicating time, energy, and resources so we can strengthen our personal relationship with them. So, we return to that place of trusting God, believing that God will act, comfort, restore, or bring peace – even if the we don’t immediately see a response to our prayer. God is trustworthy, no matter what – and he will answer our prayers in a way that’s best for us. And then we conclude our prayer by praising God and surrendering our struggle to his will.
Remember that fear is an emotion. By itself, it has no power. But when we allow fear to control our actions, that’s when we give it power.
All fear seems to originate from one of two places: either “I am not enough” or “I don’t have enough.” Both of these statements will pull us into a dark abyss, making it impossible for us to climb out.
Think for a moment: what are we afraid of? What fears hold us back from following Jesus? What are the obstacles to proclaiming the gospel more fully with our lives?
Like the disciples, each of us is being commissioned to take the gospel of Jesus out of this building and bring it to the every person we encounter. That’s why at the end of Mass, we send you out saying, “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.” This is our call to bring the gospel out into the world by both our words and actions. We do this in our relationships, treating others as we want to be treated. In our workplaces, insuring that we are acting in ethical ways, even if it makes it harder to make a profit. In our schools, by being the example of how to have dignity and respect for others. And on our streets by living as Jesus lived by loving and caring for all of God’s children.
Today we are reminded to trust in God even when things don’t go according to plan – and that’s scary! But I have learned that God allows me to experience fear so I can fully place my trust in him. And in that trust, I can then, and only then, tackle the messy obstacles of life.
My sisters and brothers, today we are reminded that we are loved, valued, and precious in God’s eyes – and that God is always with us. Do not fear the storms of life; God’s got our back. Moving past our fears is never easy. But if we start listening to our heart and turn to God in prayer, we will begin to feel reassured of his presence – and that will allow us to become the person God calls us to be.
Let me conclude with a beautiful quote from St. Jane Frances de Chantal: “Hold your eyes on God and leave the doing to Him. That is all the doing you have to worry about.”
Happy Father’s Day!
Still filled with fear? Perhaps this post will help.
