Do not be afraid to do it!

Luke 1:26-38

26 Now in the sixth month [after that], the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 To a girl never having been married and a virgin engaged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, Hail, O favored one [ endued with grace]! The Lord is with you! Blessed (favored of God) are you before all other women! 29 But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled and disturbed and confused at what he said and kept revolving in her mind what such a greeting might mean. 30 And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace ( free, spontaneous, absolute favor and loving- kindness) with God. 31 And listen! You will become pregnant and will give birth to a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great (eminent) and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His forefather David, 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob throughout the ages; and of His reign there will be no end. 34 And Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I have no [intimacy with any man as a] husband? 35 Then the angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [like a shining cloud]; and so the holy (pure, sinless) Thing (Offspring) which shall be born of you will be called the Son of God. 36 And listen! Your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is now the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment. 38 Then Mary said, Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be done to me according to what you have said. And the angel left her.

Food for thought!

Have you been noticing, during this week, that there is so much fear in the gospel? let us begin with Joseph who, on Tuesday, was afraid to take Mary as his wife. The angel told him,  “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife”. Then came Zacharias, who also feared; the angel told him, “Zechariah, do not be afraid, your prayer has been heard.” Today, it is Mary, who gets afraid. Again the angel has to strengthen her, “And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace.”

What does all this mean? It means that life is so often filled with fear — of ourself, of others, of unknown things, of what we regard as obstacles, of what we may feel as “being outside of God.” (As if we ever could be!) Fear thwarts happiness. Fear is the most destructive of emotions, surpassing even jealousy in its corrosiveness. And it’s totally unnecessary! “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32).

Fear is one of the greatest challenges we face today, as individuals and as a society. Fear holds us back from the fullest expression of ourselves; it prevents us from pursuing our God given destinies. How many times have you missed out on an opportunity because, you were afraid of making a mistake? How many times have you limited yourself because you were afraid you might appear foolish in the eyes of your peers? Self-imposed limitations based on fear can be very difficult to break. The sooner you learn to cope constructively with such fears, the better off you’ll be, for “those who seldom make mistakes, seldom make discoveries.”

Whether you fully realize it or not, you are like the men in the parable. You have been given many “talents” that can take you as far as you want to go in life. Don’t make the mistake of burying them for fear of making a mistake. You don’t want to look back over your life one day with regret that you did not pursue an opportunity because you were afraid of making a blunder. Instead, develop your talents wisely, confidently, to the best of your understanding and with self-trust, and you are likely to enjoy a profitable and exciting life!