A homily on Luke 12:1–7 : The Holy Fear That Leads to True Freedom (17-10-25)

One night, a man woke up suddenly, he was very much afraid .it was because he heard a strange sound at his window, a soft tapping. His heart started beating fast. He thought that a thief might be there. He sat still, sweating, afraid even to move, and no voice was coming out. After a while, he gathered some courage, lit a candle, and went near the window. When he looked, it was only a small branch of a tree brushing against the glass. He laughed and said to himself, “I was afraid of nothing.”

It is said that many times our life is just like that. Many of us are afraid of things that are not real. There is a tendency for us to worry a lot about what might happen, what might be said, or what others might think. We live half our days inside our own fears.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus looks at His disciples and says something very straight: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. Fear the One who can destroy both body and soul in hell (Luke 12:4–5). These are strong words. Jesus is not frightening us. He is teaching us what kind of fear is right. There is a fear that destroys peace, and there is a fear that saves the soul.

The bad kind of fear makes us pretend. It makes us hide the truth, wear masks, and become slaves to what others think. But the holy kind of fear comes from love. It is the fear of hurting God, the fear of losing His friendship. It is a fear that keeps our soul awake.

In The Imitation of Christ, the author says, “If you are not anxious for your soul now, who else will be anxious for it later?” (Book I, Chapter 23). That’s a simple but powerful question. We worry about our body, our health, our money, our children — but who worries about the soul?

I always think of Joseph in the Old Testament. He was a young man, far from home, in Egypt, with no one to watch over him. The wife of Potiphar tried to tempt him, but Joseph said, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). Nobody would have known. Nobody would have blamed him. But he feared to offend God. That is real holiness. That is what Jesus means when He says, “Fear God.”

Saint Teresa of Avila once said, “True fear of God is not the fear of punishment, but the fear of offending the One who loves us so deeply.” Such fear is not heavy. It does not make us run away from God. It draws us closer to Him.

We see the same in the prophet Daniel. When the king made a law against praying to God, Daniel still opened his window and prayed three times a day (Daniel 6:10). He was not afraid of lions. He only feared to break his friendship with God.

This holy fear is something we need very much today. In our families, in our convents, in our parishes. When parents teach truth to their children, when a priest speaks what is right even when it is not popular, when someone refuses to cheat at work though it costs them, that is holy fear.

Jesus ends the Gospel by saying that even sparrows are not forgotten by God, and that “the hairs of your head are all numbered” (Luke 12:6–7). What a gentle way to say it. If God remembers even a sparrow, will He forget you? Never. So do not fear what man can do. Be afraid only of losing your soul.

My dear friends, if there is one fear that is good, it is the fear that keeps us close to God. All other fears fade away when we trust His love.

Lord, give me a holy fear

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God Bless…