Sunday 15th

The Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord….. all very aplaudable, all very well, but we must not forget something.
We hear a lot about Mary’s devotion, her assumption, her saintliness, the way which she is seen down the ages as a God bearer but what about her fear?
Yes, Mary was filled with fear, we here what are familiar words on the lips of Gabriel…. Do not be afraid.
It is a natural reaction and one perhaps we should be more willing to own up to in our faith and in our believing.
We are told in the bible not to be afraid more than any other action…. It is the most popular commandment. Some how though it seems God may recognise our humanity we sometimes do not!
The disciples were also filled with fear from time to time, not least in the accounts of both crucifixion (natural maybe) but also resurrection.
It is not unusual to be filled with a sense of real fear, a dark cloud may descend on us, a mire, a complete losing of a sense of direction, a sense of abandonment. Many things can cause this…. A change, a death, an illness, a seperation, a divorce, a disaster….. many things.
The feeling can even come about by the result of things that may on one level seem happy… a birth, an adoption, moving to a new home, getting married.
In short fear can accompany most times of living. For some it may be more significant than others. We are not all the same.
Strange also but God is sometimes the cause of this fear…which is perhaps why his messengers and even himself often say “Do not be afraid.”
We need to hear these words… do not be afraid I have not left you
Do not be afraid I am with you in your trials.
As I said even the disciples were huddled in fear after the resurrection…. Even the Day of Pentecost had the accompanying words do not be afraid.
For Mary the key to fear was belief. She was able we learn through quiet dedication to put herself into God’s hands, even though she was not sure where this would lead.
For Jesus, the key to fear was again belief… He put his trust in God into your hands I commit my spirit…. He came through the suffering.
For us too I suspect the key to our fear is again belief. Belief and faith in God who never leaves us, whether we look on the crucified or the risen
So today we hold Mary in our thoughts…. Though she proclaimed that her soul delights in God, it was not without holding on to and seeing beyond the fear. We cannot just sweep it under the carpet..
God still says to us “Do not be afraid”