When the Going Gets Tough

You may have heard Fr. Jim and other preachers say that some version of the words “Do not be afraid” are mentioned 365 times in the Bible.  That’s one for every day of the year.  And we have one of those in the gospel today.

But before we get to the gospel, however, I want to briefly mention the other two readings because I think all three readings offer related messages.

In Genesis, Abram (who will later be re-named Abraham) is told by God to leave his home and set forth for an unknown territory that God will show him.

In the letter to Timothy, Paul encourages him to bear their hardships for the sake of the gospel and to rely on the strength that comes from God for the journey.

Then in the gospel, Jesus takes a few disciples up on a mountain and is “transfigured” before them. It’s an otherworldly moment where Jesus is radiating light and appears with the figures of Moses and Elijah.  Then the words he heard at his baptism are repeated, “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased,”  and the disciples, of course, are scared out of their minds. So Jesus reassures them by saying, “Rise and do not be afraid.”

While the focus of this passage is often on Jesus’ glorious moment, I think we miss something essential if we don’t read this in context of the passage that comes right before it in Matthew’s gospel.  Just before they go up on the mountain, Jesus is talking about the likelihood of his own death and the path of letting go and surrender.  He could see and feel the net tightening with the religious and political authorities.  He knew that they were threatened by him and his message.  And I’m guessing that he felt some insecurity and anxiety about continuing down this path.

He needed some reassurance.

We all do when the going gets hard or when we are faced with uncertainty.

That’s what I hear in today’s readings.  Abram leaves all that he knows trusting in a plan he can’t see.  Paul is suffering in jail and encourages others to bear the hardships that come from trying to live the life of a disciple.  And Jesus knows that he is walking into a difficult time and tries to trust the plan.  Not much different from our lives, is it?

What is always important to remember is that the stories we read in the bible are written after everything worked out.  It can be easy to think that these people had it all together or had faith that is bigger or better than ours.  But the reality is that they did not know how everything was going to work out and had to trust and pray for strength.

We might also notice that Abram had his family by his side, Paul had his friends and Jesus had his inner circle of folks with him and also talked to his ancestors.  These are not incidental details.  This is how we get through things – with the help of others.  Some of those folks are living and around us.  Some of those folks have passed on and are around us.  And some of those folks are not folks – they are mountains, rivers, trees and all of the created world which are around us and offer us guidance and support (if we can learn to listen to them).

We are not alone on this journey (even thought it can feel that way sometimes), and part of our calling as disciples is to be there for each other on the journey. My friend and mentor Ched Myers often reminds people of a lesson he learned long ago at Jonah House (a Baltimore, MD Catholic Worker House) that, “the most apostolic duty of all is to keep one another’s courage up.”

Whatever you are going through today – whether you have left behind a land you knew for some new territory in life, whether you are enduring a hard time trying to stay strong or whether you know something is coming that you need to prepare for – remember that you are beloved by God, that you are not alone and that you do not need to be afraid.