”Do not fear anyone,” says Jesus. WOW, easy for Jesus to say, right? How cruel of Jesus if he were to suggest something impossible of us. Who of us can say that we have been liberated from all our fears, or that we have somehow transcended all of our anxieties?
But Jesus knows this. And he also understood what it felt like to have to acknowledge and wrestle with his own fears, as we witness most vividly in his agony in the garden. However, as he addresses the disciples and the crowds in this passage from Matthew’s Gospel, he is focused on how to manage a few particular fears where with grace, courage, and some discipline, we can grow in freedom.
When he says, “There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, no secret that will not be made known,” one way of interpreting this is that we should exercise integrity and discipline in the area of our intentions, our speech, and our actions. When we harbor ill intentions or self-referential motives, it is very likely that people will perceive them. When we speak critically or negatively of someone behind their backs, we should expect that at some point, they will hear of it. And when we act in such a way as if what we are doing is somehow concealed, or will remain a secret, we better think twice. In each of these cases, the example of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day are the case study for such a gap between appearance and reality. And for this reason, Jesus calls them out as hypocrites who have only the authority of what they say, not what they do.
When I examine my own life, and especially my leadership, I have often learned the hard way that even if I have been invested with formal authority with a title and responsibility for managing others, if I do not have integrity, if I do not constantly mind the gap between my stated values and the way I actually act, then I am sabotaging my own authority. In subtle or obvious ways, living lies creates anxiety within us of being discovered. And our fear is perceptible by others, who have radar for trustworthiness and for deceit. Of course there is a place for discretion and keeping boundaries for the sake of confidentiality, but there is a difference between such discretion and the kind of secrecy that can corrode our integrity or trust.
So, one way of growing in freedom is by minding our integrity, and working toward consistency, self-honestly, and wholeness. Self awareness, supported by the loving grace of God, help us on our journey to deepen this integrity, that our wholeness may be more and more evident to ourselves and others.
Second, when Jesus speaks of not fearing those who can slay the body, but not the soul, he is speaking directly from his own inner experience. As he continued his mission, proclaiming the Good News of God’s mercy, calling people to repentance and to the loving service of their neighbor, he quickly understood that his message was disrupting the status quo. It became clear that if he continued to preach and exercise power in a way that challenged the example of the powers that be, he could be killed off as an example and warning to others. Jesus had to reckon with his fears of suffering and physical death, and find within himself the courage to advance in fulfilling his Father’s will. Every martyr in history has had to do the same, to discern what is more important, one’s life, or one’s fidelity to something greater than oneself. And in Jesus’ case, his belief in the Father’s faithfulness to him, in the enduring life and redemption that he would be given, this carried him past his fears of death.
While I personally have never been in such an extreme situation myself, I have been blessed and inspired by my encounters with people who have, and who have stood ready to give everything for the sake of peace, civil rights, and the protection of those more vulnerable than themselves. One of them, a Jesuit brother, had a humble shyness about his courage in the face of such threats, and when I asked how he was able to take a stand at a particularly dangerous moment in the Civil Rights protests in the US during the late ‘60’s, he simply shrugged his shoulders and said, “everything had led me to that moment. How could I do anything else?”
It is not that he was unafraid. But his love for others, his passion for what was right, and his belief in the resurrection all gave him the courage to transcend his fears.
Jesus tells his disciples and each of us, “does not the Father know when every sparrow falls? And are you not worth more than many sparrows?” He calls each of us to lean into this trusting confidence in the Father’s love for us, for the way in which God sustains the life in us that is not of this world, but which is made for life in his Kingdom.
These days, our world seems more awash with anxiety than at any other time in my lifetime. We feel like we’re on the brink of something. But if we are to lead through and beyond these times, learning to acknowledge and regulate our fears is essential. And it is not enough. We also must exercise care to deepen our integrity and build foundations for trust. And we must lean into what is ultimate for each of us in order to have the courage we need to stay faithful to our missions.
We may never be entirely free of our fears, but we can relieve ourselves of the anxieties rooted in hypocrisy, gossip, or secrecy. We can lean into acting in a spirit of conscious intention, purpose, and mission, rather than reacting out of self referential fears.
Does this resonate with you?
With you in sibling spirit,
