“Do not be frightened”

It is very exciting to see the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi or the tallest building of the world in Dubai. We are fascinated by what human skill is able to create in midst of the desert. Sometimes we are overwhelmed with astonishment looking at the luxury we meet in some malls and palaces. Exactly the same thing happened to the disciples when they saw the beauty of the Temple while climbing with the Lord the Mount of Olives. Still nowadays we have the most beautiful sight on old Jerusalem with the Rock Dome and the Temple Square from the Mount of Olives. Yes, there were and there are a lot of beautiful things in this world. However, what happened to the marvellous palaces built three or two thousand years ago? What will remain in 500 years or even much less of what we admire today?

Coming close to the end of the liturgical year, the scripture readings of the Church remind us a dimension of our life that we are often at risk to forget amidst of all our ordinary activities and the fascinating achievements of humanity. What ever we see around us, as beautiful and skilful it may be nothing will last forever. The new world that the Christians are waiting for is not a simple prolongation of the present life. Everything, yes everybody has to pass the threshold of death. Not only the individual human being but also the world as a whole has to undergo a transformation, which passes through the death.

The first Christians didn’t live a time of peace and earthly happiness. They were witnesses and very often victims of war, persecution and other terrible experiences. They found their strength in the faith that Jesus Christ had already passed through the horrible death on the Cross and was now coming again as the risen Lord to take his faithful to him. They remembered the word of Jesus before his death: “Do not be frightened, when all this happens.” Jesus knew that the present time with all its temptations and infestations was also a time of putting to test our faith. Actually, there were always and everywhere many faithful who did not pass the test because they became victims of the bewilderment they had to go through. Looking at their situation we understand the word of Jesus: “Take care not to be deceived!” He knew that there would always be false prophets who tried to seduce the faithful.

I do not think that in this regard the situation has changed a lot since the times of the early Church. So many Christians find it still difficult to profess and to practice a sober faith amidst of a world longing for excitement and entertainment. Are there not many even among us always looking for something extraordinary: a miracle, an apparition, a striking and emotional faith feeling, in a few words: something out of the ordinary?  Those faithful should always remember the word of Jesus: “Take care not to be deceived because many will come using my name and saying, ‘I am he’ and, ‘The time is near at hand.’ Refuse to join them.” Christians should keep cool and sober.

Our Christian life is a time of test and probation in a very challenging and often hostile life-context. We cannot foresee all the difficulties and challenges. Very often we are taken by surprise. I experience it sometimes in interviews with reporters or in Q&A sessions, where I have to speak without being able of preparing carefully the answer to tricky questions. What can we do in such situations? Listen to the word of Jesus: “You are not to prepare your defence, because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict.” We all received in baptism and confirmation the gift of the Holy Spirit. Let us be confident that he inspires us in the right moment the right words when we have to witness our faith and love in Jesus Christ. He encourages us: “Your endurance will win you your lives.”

Dear friends in Christ, I would like to finish with the witness of a martyr who paid with his life for his Christian testimony during the Second World War.  Less than three years before he was executed by the German Nazis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote the following words: “I believe that God has the possibility and the will that even from the worst evil may emerge something good. For this purpose, God needs people who use all things for the best. I believe that God will give to everyone of us in every distress so much power of resistance as we need. But he will not give it in advance, in order that we do not rely on ourselves but on God alone. Whoever has such faith should no more be frightened facing the future. I believe that even our faults and errors will not be in vain and that for God it will not be more difficult to manage them than our pretended good deeds.” This Christian understood the word of Jesus: “Do not be frightened … Take care not to be deceived!” Let us try the same. Amen.