Friday, October 20, 2023

Rom 4:1-8;

Ps 31;

Lk 12:1-7

Feeling fear is typical of human experience. When faced with dangers or unfamiliar situations, humans react by feeling fear. Some people in order to always appear strong and capable in every situation hide the emotion of fear well, yet fail to deny it. Who can say I am never afraid? On the contrary, some people live blocked by fear, for fear of making mistakes (and who doesn’t make mistakes?), or for fear of being judged. The Gospels tell us that even the Lord Jesus was afraid, thus showing us his humanity so close to ours. Jesus Himself today shows us whom to be afraid of, whom to fear: “who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna.” Jesus by pointing us to the devil as the source of all evil points us to the real enemy, caught at the root. The devil with his intelligence undermines every man by driving him as far away from God as possible. He does this by mixing the cards, making what is evil appear as good and deceiving us. His goal is to separate us from God forever, beginning here on earth and continuing into eternity. Today’s warning is important and puts us on guard. It is up to each of us to take it seriously, with an attitude of vigilance but also of awareness, choosing the true good in our lives, knowing through our faith that the Lord Jesus has overcome evil in the most radical way and this victory of his is offered to each of us. This in the end is the main content of the good news of the Gospel.