Be Not Afraid

Of the many songs that have stuck with me since my childhood, one is from a Salvation Army Musical titled Glory. The song is called “The Name of Jesus,” and I think of it sometimes when I read Orthodox teaching about the Jesus prayer, because the song’s lyrics mention that “the powers of darkness in vain oppose you when you but whisper His powerful name,” and that the “name of Jesus will scatter your shadows.” There is, of course, plenty of Biblical examples of such things being true, so it is also an idea reflected in many of the Church Fathers’ writings, especially one we celebrate this Sunday.

On the Fifth Sunday of Holy Lent, we remember St. John Climacus, known primarily for his book The Ladder of Divine Ascent, one of the most beloved works of Orthodox Christian spirituality, which describes the thirty steps by which, according to St. John, we climb from earth to heaven. On the rungs we move from Renunciation, through Penitence and Affliction, to Defeat of Vices and Acquisition of Virtue, on past Avoidance of the Traps of Asceticism, to finally arrive at the Acquisition of Hesychia (stillness) and Apatheia (freedom from passions). Along the journey we hit step 21, On Unmanly and Puerile Cowardice.

The Saint writes, “the man who spends his time in more solitary places should make every effort to avoid being overcome by that offspring of vainglory, that daughter of unbelief, cowardice.” I add the emphasis because this truth meshes perfectly with our Gospel lesson this Sunday. The hapless father cries to Jesus, “I believe! Help my unbelief!” because he realizes that his unbelief was holding back the miracle, it planted the seed of doubt which crippled his prayers. “Fear is a rehearsing of danger beforehand,” says St. John, “a trembling sensation of the heart, alarmed and troubled by unknown misfortunes. Fear is a loss of conviction.” When we worry about what could go wrong, it steals our focus from the hope of what can go right.

St. John offers a solution to cowardice. “Do not hesitate to go late at night to those places where you usually feel afraid…As you go on your way, arm yourself with prayer. When you reach the place, stretch out your hands. Flog your enemies with the name of Jesus, for there is no stronger weapon in heaven or earth. When you get rid of the disease (of fear), praise Him who has delivered you. If you continue to be thankful, He will protect you forever.” We must go to our dark, scary place armed with the Jesus prayer and the certainty that Christ can provide for that which we lack. In Glory, a character was in a bar about to fall back into his destructive addiction until he prayed the Name of Jesus and received the power to flee his temptation.

As we approach Pascha, I pray we might all overcome our fear and cowardice by going to our dark and scary places where we usually feel afraid. It might be to the house of someone who is lonely, or maybe it’s calling and talking with someone you find frustrating. It might even be going to confession. Whatever we are afraid of, with prayer and fasting, placing our trust and hope in our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, Who destroyed death and grants us life, we can overcome that fear and acquire a miracle-working faith.