“Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.” – Matthew 25:24-25
Fear holds us back from love. It is a stumbling block to serving and loving others in many ways. We can be afraid of being rejected or hurt. It can hold us back from reaching out to the poor and needy. We can also be afraid of being punished for not performing perfectly. In this Sunday’s Gospel reading (Matthew 25: 14-30), the third servant was afraid of disappointing his master, so he hid the money (talent) that the master gave him instead of putting it to use. Fear kept him from doing great things, both for his own good and the good of his master, his “lord.”
Scripture tells us that the antidote to fear is love: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love” (1 John 4:18). When we receive love from God and then seek to pour it out to others through works of mercy and love, fear is “pushed out” of our hearts. When we move our gaze away from ourselves and out toward other people who need and deserve to be loved, we become free to love without fear holding us back.
Has fear ever held you back from serving the Lord in some way? Has fear ever kept you from offering some corporal or spiritual work of mercy, such as serving those who are homeless or imprisoned? Ask Jesus to reveal your fears to you in order to help you move past them and love your neighbor even more boldly. This is especially fitting, as the Church observes the World Day of the Poor this Sunday. Ask God to fill your heart with His love in order to drive out the fear that might be holding you back from loving your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39)
Jesus, please drive any fear in my heart with your perfect love. Help me to love God and others through works of mercy and love.