SPEAKER_00: There's something comforting in today's first reading because it shows us that even Saint Paul, one of the greatest missionaries in all of the history of Christianity, struggled with fear.
SPEAKER_00: The Lord appears to him in Corinth and says, Do not be afraid.
SPEAKER_00: Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you.
SPEAKER_00: Why would Jesus say that unless Paul was afraid?
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we mistakenly imagine the saints as people who never struggled, people who never had doubts, never felt exhausted or discouraged.
SPEAKER_00: But the saints were not machines.
SPEAKER_00: They were human beings who learned how to trust God in the middle of weakness.
SPEAKER_00: By this point, Paul has already suffered enormously.
SPEAKER_00: He's been mocked, rejected, beaten, threatened, imprisoned.
SPEAKER_00: Every city carried a risk.
SPEAKER_00: Every sermon could start a riot.
SPEAKER_00: Every public appearance could end in violence.
SPEAKER_00: And now he's standing in Corinth.
SPEAKER_00: Corinth was not an easy place.
SPEAKER_00: It's not an easy place to preach Christianity.
SPEAKER_00: It was wealthy, powerful, morally chaotic, sexually corrupt, spiritually confused.
SPEAKER_00: Imagine trying to preach holiness, purity, self-sacrifice, and the cross and a culture obsessed with pleasure, status, entertainment, and power.
SPEAKER_00: Well, honestly, that sounds a little bit familiar.
SPEAKER_00: But in the middle of all that pressure, Jesus says, do not be afraid.
SPEAKER_00: Notice something important.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus does not say, Paul, there's nothing to fear.
SPEAKER_00: There was something to fear.
SPEAKER_00: Christian courage is not about pretending fear does not exist.
SPEAKER_00: Christian courage is remaining faithful despite fear.
SPEAKER_00: Some people think holiness means becoming emotionally invincible.
SPEAKER_00: That's not true.
SPEAKER_00: Holiness means continuing to trust God even when you're tired, even when you're anxious, uncertain, and afraid.
SPEAKER_00: I think many people today are exhausted from carrying burdens that were never meant to be carried alone.
SPEAKER_00: People are carrying anxiety about the future, about their families, fear about health, and fear about finances, even about the church and the direction the church is heading, fear about culture, fear about loneliness.
SPEAKER_00: And into all of that, Jesus says the same thing he said to Paul.
SPEAKER_00: For I am with you.
SPEAKER_00: That's the difference Christianity makes.
SPEAKER_00: The Christian life is not built on self-confidence, it's built on God's presence.
SPEAKER_00: One of the great lies of modern culture is that salvation comes through radical independence.
SPEAKER_00: Handle everything yourself, rely on nobody, look out for number one, be self-made, be self-sufficient.
SPEAKER_00: But human beings collapse under the weight of trying to be their own savior.
SPEAKER_00: Eventually the soul will break.
SPEAKER_00: The saints understood this.
SPEAKER_00: Strength does not come from self-reliance, it comes from surrender.
SPEAKER_00: And then the gospel today becomes incredibly honest.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus tells his disciples, You will weep and mourn while the world rejoices.
SPEAKER_00: This is such a realistic description of discipleship.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes following Christ hurts.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes being faithful costs you something.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes telling the truth isolates you.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes purity makes you look strange.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes forgiveness feels impossible.
SPEAKER_00: Meanwhile, the world often celebrates the exact opposite of the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: The world celebrates revenge, the gospel commands mercy.
SPEAKER_00: The world celebrates self obsession.
SPEAKER_00: The gospel commands sacrifice.
SPEAKER_00: The world says pleasure is the highest good.
SPEAKER_00: Go for it.
SPEAKER_00: Get it at all cost.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says no, holiness is.
SPEAKER_00: Because of that tension, Christians sometimes feel like strangers in their own culture.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus never hides that reality.
SPEAKER_00: He does not sell a fake prosperity gospel.
SPEAKER_00: He does not promise an easy road.
SPEAKER_00: But then here comes the promise.
SPEAKER_00: Your grief will become joy.
SPEAKER_00: That line is the entire Christian story.
SPEAKER_00: Notice Jesus does not say grief is an illusion.
SPEAKER_00: He does not minimize suffering.
SPEAKER_00: He does not say pain is fake.
SPEAKER_00: No, the cross is real.
SPEAKER_00: The nails were real, the tears were real.
SPEAKER_00: But suffering was not the end of the story.
SPEAKER_00: And then Jesus uses the image of childbirth.
SPEAKER_00: A woman in labor experiences real anguish, but the suffering is leading somewhere.
SPEAKER_00: A new life is being born.
SPEAKER_00: And once that child is placed into her arms, that pain is transformed by loving and meaning.
SPEAKER_00: That's how Christians understand suffering.
SPEAKER_00: Not as meaningless, not as a punishment from God, but as something God can transform.
SPEAKER_00: Because suffering surrender to Christ can either harden the heart or sanctify it.
SPEAKER_00: And then Jesus makes this astonishing promise.
SPEAKER_00: No one will take your joy away from you.
SPEAKER_00: Notice he does not promise comfort, he does not promise ease, he does not promise a pain-free life, he promises joy.
SPEAKER_00: Because Christian joy is rooted in circumstances.
SPEAKER_00: It's rooted in the certainty that Christ is alive, Christ is victorious, and Christ is with us.
SPEAKER_00: That's why the saints could suffer and still radiate peace.
SPEAKER_00: Deep down they knew the world could wound you, could take everything up from you.
SPEAKER_00: The world can attack the church, the world can mock the gospel, the world can conquer, try to conquer Christ, but it cannot.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.