In the short gospel of seven verses today (Luke 12:1-7), the word “fear” or “afraid” is mentioned five times. “Do not be afraid. Fear not…” It must be important.

If there is anything that reigns supreme in the world today, it is fear – fear of the virus, fear of hunger, fear of death, fear for our loved ones, fear from one’s past, fear of the future, etc.

And this is what governments want to instill on their citizens – fear. Stay at home, follow protocols, social distancing, never trust your companion, not even your family, you should be afraid. No questions asked. Just obey. Fear.

To instill fear, they have to project the state of war – new police uniforms, high powered firearms, checkpoints, community lockdowns, detention – the peak of which is the Anti-Terror Law. There should be strict compliance of rules regardless of situation be it hunger or death – like the case of the detained mother Reina Mae Nasino during the funeral of her Baby River we sadly see today.

But fear has been long in the air promoted as it is by populist regimes worldwide – from Trump to Bolsonaro, from Erdogan to Duterte: fear of blacks and Muslims, fear of indigenous peoples and immigrants, fear of drug addicts and dissenters. To instill fear, they expel and exclude them, harass and kill them.

Last year, before COVID-19 came, I received a book-gift entitled "The Monarchy of Fear" by the philosopher Martha Nussbaum – thanks to Sheila Coronel. In one of its pages, she wrote: “fear is the emotion of an absolute monarch, who cares about nothing and nobody else.”

What does fear do? What are its effects? Both paralysis and aggression. On the one hand, because we are afraid, we can hardly think, discuss with others or do something productive. In fact, we stop and just freeze. On the other hand, some go ballistic and destructive; maybe to also protect ourselves.

On the one hand, during the lockdown, many just hide, cry and suffer inside. They are disturbed and does not want to see people; they are slowly dying within. On the other hand, statistics show that domestic violence has been rising. Fear has transformed itself into power, violent abusive power.

If rulers want to instill fear, they impose silence and submission. They stop all discussions. Search for alternatives is not an option. Just obey and take their only solution. Probing questions put one in danger. Ironically, however, the most tyrannical is also the most fearful. The monarch cares about nothing and no one. He is only preoccupied with himself. His fear makes him incapable of compassion.

What is the antidote to fear? Hope.

Even if we cannot be sure that things would work out well in the end, hope is useful to keep us going. It is a "practical postulate”, to use the term of the philosopher Immanuel Kant. It is a helpful tool to survive life’s difficulties.

The gospel today offers hope to counter fear as well. But beyond Kant’s practical tool for survival, hope in Jesus is real, not just practical. It is not something that "might" happen in the future. It is something that is already happening now – “as I am speaking in front of you”, Jesus says about the liberation he is sent to proclaim in his programmatic speech in the synagogue one morning.

“Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4: 20-21).

It is as real as the five small sparrows or the minutest hairs on our heads that do not fall without God’s knowing. It is real because God cares. Hope is God's kingdom already happening in our midst. So, be not afraid, the gospel says.

Teresa of Avila whose feast we celebrated yesterday wrote a famous poem now turned into a popular Taize hymn which we all know: “Nada te turbe. Nada te espante. Solo Dios basta.” Only the real suffices.

Let nothing disturb you;
let nothing frighten you;
everything passes away,
but God does not.
[Through] patience
you will obtain everything;
whoever has God lacks nothing:
Only God suffices. (Teresa of Avila)

Daniel Franklin E. Pilario, CM
St. Vincent School of Theology
Adamson University
danielfranklinpilario@yahoo.com
10.16.2020