CAMPUS MINISTRY

DO NOT BE AFRAID

I read recently that in the King James version of the Bible - the one with thee, thou and thy - you will find the phrase “Do not be afraid” 365 times - a daily reminder! Whether that’s true or not, this Sunday Jesus reminds his friends to trust in God and “Be not afraid”, especially about our status and financial security. Instead, he reminds his followers to always be aware of the quality of our lives and relationships.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus makes it clear that this is about becoming someone who shares themselves and what they have with him in presence of the needy - the hungry, the sick, those in prison, the lonely. But we need to have open minds and open hearts to do this - because we don’t know how or when Jesus will come, but He will come to us today! Can we be looking for Jesus in every person or every situation? Or will we just “go about our business” as usual?

Perhaps the difficulty lies with us. We may not expect Jesus to be present or we may be too busy to notice his coming. 

Maybe our eyes or hearts and eyes find it difficult to recognise him - as Jesus often comes to us in disguise!

When we begin to see Jesus coming to us in our family, our friends, and the stranger, we begin to live our lives fully, freely, generously, fearlessly, responsibly, respectfully, unapologetically, thankfully.

This is the mysteriously, fabulously-amazing life entrusted to us by God to live a day-at-a-time, one step-at-a-time, one breath-at-a-time. 

You don’t want to miss a moment of it!

Mr Chris Kan

Dean of Campus Ministry