Do you know why I’m not yet on Twitter (to share God’s Word)? Do you know why I hesitate in making some decisions here at the parish? Why I am not able to say ‘No’ sometimes, and slow to start some things and leave them to the last minute? It’s because I’m afraid. I’m worried about making mistakes, about things that I’ve never done before, about doing a bad job. I have many fears. They’re in the back of my mind, and I guess I’ve learned to live with them. But they hold me back.

Do you know your fears? Very common ones include speaking in public, being in new situations, being judged or rejected. Most people have a fear of failure, embarrassment, being inadequate, being alone. We ask, “Will my family be okay? My parents’ health isn’t good.” Parents worry about their children. Students wonder if they’re smart enough, worry about fitting in. Adults worry about finances, paying off bills, finding a job, and having direction in life.

Today, Jesus asks us what He asked the disciples, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mk 4:40). I love these questions because they make us realize: why are we afraid when Jesus is in control? Why are we afraid when He can control things that are impossible for us to control?

I’d like to give you some reasons why we shouldn’t be afraid and so stressed out. I’ve divided them up into two kinds: supernatural reasons and natural reasons. Here are two supernatural ones:

1) We often say Jesus conquered death. What does that mean? It means the greatest fear everyone should have, the fear of dying, of being killed, of losing someone to death has no power over us.

One of the greatest saints ever, when he was on trial for being a Christian, said, “You can kill us, but you cannot hurt us.” That was St. Justin. It really puts things in perspective: we can fail at work and at school, we can get embarrassed and be made fun of, but we really can’t get hurt. “You can kill us, but you cannot hurt us.” Nothing bad can ultimately hurt me. Now this only works if we have faith, and if we’re close to God.

We have the dialogue between the Roman prefect and St. Justin, when he was on trial. The prefect basically says: let’s get to the point, if you don’t offer sacrifice to the gods, you’ll be tortured without mercy. And St. Justin says: bring it on! Just kidding. He says: “Do what you will. We are Christians; we don’t offer sacrifice to idols.” Imagine if we had that faith, we’d have so much confidence.

Notice that, when we’re so stressed out about money, expectations, health, all our focus is on the here and now. This spiritual truth tells us: think in a different way; life isn’t just about the here and now.

Have you ever noticed the big difference between the disciples before the Resurrection and after the Resurrection? Before the Resurrection, they’re afraid, they abandon Jesus, they watch Him get crucified from a distance and they’re no match for Roman soldiers! But after the Resurrection they’re brave and fearless; they start talking about Jesus everywhere. St. Peter stands up in a crowd and converts 3000. When he gets brought before the Jewish leaders, they torture him but it doesn’t faze him because he’s not afraid! The Acts of the Apostles is an incredibly joyful and upbeat book, because the disciples have no fear. Now how did they change so much? Because they realized nothing could really hurt them. They were thinking bigger than the here and now. And we need to think this way too.

2) God doesn’t allow anything to happen to us that isn’t ultimately for our good. God’s the master planner, arranging everything for our good, and so He can use even bad things for our good. Jesus says, “If you, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things” (Mt 7:11). When we’re afraid, we have to ask, “Is it possible that my Father will allow something to happen to me that will ultimately hurt me?”

There’s that great line that Jesus says as He’s being arrested in Gethsemane. St. Peter tries to defend Him and Jesus says, “Put your sword back into its sheath…. Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father and he will not provide me at this moment with more than twelve legions of angels?” In other words, if God wants to rescue us, He can do it; but if He doesn’t, then it’s part of His plan and He’ll bring good out of it. We have no need to fear.

Clayton Imoo’s dream job was to become an accountant. Being so successful in high school as the student council president, being extremely gifted in music, sports, school, and everything, his dream was clearly attainable. But he failed his accountant exam. No problem; he studied harder, trusted in God, and did it a second time. This time, he failed again. That’s when he woke up and stopped taking things for granted. He studied even harder, prayed hard and this time… failed a third time. Yeah, that’s right, he’s a loser—well, that’s how he felt. He saw his friends get ahead of him, and money was important to him. But he told me afterwards that he stayed rooted in the Lord, in youth ministry rather than blaming God—brilliant. And not immediately, but in time God redirected him to youth ministry. And now he’s been in charge of youth ministry for the whole archdiocese for over 10 years. Many young people are thankful that he failed so that God could put him where he is now, helping people, and his failure brought himself closer to God.

Fr. Spitzer is a brilliant priest and scholar. If ever you see him speak, you’ll notice that he has an eye problem. He says, “I first became aware of my serious eye problem, retinitis pigmentosa, six months before my ordination. I was completely baffled, but I knew God’s providential love would be operative through this challenge…. I began to pray, ‘Don’t waste… this suffering. Make some good come of it.’ The Lord answered that prayer by deepening my gratitude for what I do have and my understanding of what matters and what doesn’t. He helped me to see that every moment counts in manifesting His love and presence, and gave me a deep appreciation for the Beatitudes. I frankly cannot imagine what my priesthood and apostolic zeal would be like without my little challenge.” God drew something good out of something bad.

Those are the supernatural reasons. I’ve got five natural reasons why we shouldn’t be afraid. We’ll go through them quickly.

1) If we’re wondering how we’re going to get by in life, or how things are going to work, look at other people. If God gave them the grace, He’ll give us the grace.

In the seminary the toughest course in philosophy was called “Metaphysics.” It deals was the most abstract concepts you could ever come up with. We had to write ten-page essays every two weeks. But we all told ourselves, “If the other guys ahead of us got through it, and they weren’t that smart, then so will we.” So, talk to other people who have survived what you’re afraid of and ask, “How did they do it?” God helped them, He’ll help us.

I used the same technique while flying: when the turbulence bothered me, I looked at the flight attendants, and saw how they weren’t worried at all! “If they’re not worried, why should I be? They just continue with their job as if nothing’s happening.” That gives us a healthy perspective.

2) Everyone fails, everyone makes mistakes. Don’t expect to be perfect. Even the saints made mistakes. Even I made mistakes… sometimes.

3) We’re often worried how people will look at us. I think it’s safe to say that most people don’t make as big a deal out of something as we think. We may think everyone’s watching us, but that’s not true.

Trust in the good will of other people. One spiritual writer says faith in God assumes a prudent faith in other people (Segundo Galilea, Temptation and Discernment, 23). Our friends are here to help us, not to mock us.

4) Fear is useless; it’s actually counter-productive. What a waste of time and energy. E.g. I’ve been so afraid before speeches, talks, meeting the pope, taking tests. After a while, realizing that this is so silly and that I’m being excessive about it, I just say, “Who cares? This isn’t worth it.” –I’m being silly with a worry that’s silly. It’s not worth the stress I put myself under. I’m not saying, for example, “Don’t study.” What I’m saying is, “Study hard, but don’t worry about the outcome.”

5) Say to yourself: “I’ve been here before.” We’ve all panicked before in the face of problems and then we’ve gotten through it! And we’ll get through it again. How many times have we had health problems, family problems, financial problems, and God saw us through them? If He got us through those problems, He’ll get us through these ones.

It’s such a blessing that I named some of my fears at the beginning of the homily because that way I can identify them better and then work through them and meditate on these truths of faith.

With prayer and God’s grace, we can overcome these irrational fears. God gives us everything we truly need, He arranges everything for our good. Jesus says, “In the world you will have trouble, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33).