When Fear Speaks… Listen Deeper
It's been one of those weeks.
You know the kind, the ones where things feel stirred up, uncertain, maybe even a little fragile. The kind of week where conversations carry a little more weight, where emotions sit closer to the surface, and where, if we're honest, fear starts whispering a little louder than usual.
And yet… something else is happening too.
This past Sunday, I witnessed something beautiful. Before the service even began, a group of us gathered in a prayer circle. No agenda. No fixing. Just presence. Just a willingness to stand together, breathe together, and remember something deeper than whatever is trying to pull us apart.
And in that moment, I felt it. Not perfection. Not resolution. But healing.
It made me think of something Richard Rohr wrote this week about fear. He reminds us that Jesus didn't build his life on fear, because fear is not a foundation that can hold anything lasting. We can build only on life; only life leads to life.
That line stopped me in my tracks.
Because if I'm honest, fear feels like a foundation sometimes, doesn't it? It feels solid. Convincing. Urgent. It tells us we need to protect, defend, control, fix. It tells us that something is at risk—and we better act quickly.
But Rohr gently invites us into a deeper truth: fear isn't something we conquer by force. It's something we understand by going inward.
We can't simply tell ourselves, “Don't be afraid.” If only it were that easy. Instead, we are invited to get curious.
What am I trying to protect?
What am I afraid might happen?
What feels out of my control right now?
Those are not easy questions. But they are honest ones.
And here's the sacred turn, when we ask those questions, not from panic but from presence, something begins to soften. Fear loosens its grip. Not because the situation has changed, but because we have.
Rohr says that Jesus' courage didn't come from knowing he would win or even from being certain he was right. His courage came from something deeper, trusting who he was in the presence of the Divine. Trusting what he had seen, what he had heard, what he knew to be true at the deepest level of his being.
That kind of trust doesn't erase fear. But it transforms our relationship to it.
And maybe that's where we are right now, not in a place where everything is solved, but in a place where we are being invited to choose something deeper than fear.
To choose presence over panic.
To choose curiosity over control.
To choose love—even when it feels vulnerable to do so.
Because here's what I know: fear contracts, but love expands. And this past Sunday, I saw expansion.
I saw people choosing to show up. To stand together. To be kind. To be open. To lean into something greater than the noise.
That's not small. That's sacred.
So if fear has been whispering to you this week, you're not alone. But maybe instead of trying to silence it, you simply sit with it for a moment… and listen deeper.
There is something underneath it. Something wiser. Something steadier. And that is what will carry us forward.
And this Sunday, we continue that exploration together. We're looking forward to our beloved Rev. Dr. Gerry Boylan as he shares his message, “Is the Universe Friendly?”
I have a feeling… it just might be.
Love and blessings, Rev. Bobby
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