The News.

Where does our fear come from?

Mostly it comes from the television news.

Television creates a distance between us and the people we see on the screen, who are strangers.

Objective reporting does not humanize people.

We hear of people being raped and murdered and our reaction is to be sensible about it and steer clear, not to take any risks, and stay safe.

This combines with our instinctive fear of strangers to create the society that we now live in.

Many people in Church will act according to the news rather than the Gospel.
That is why it does not go past the church's door.

Unless, of course, our fear of God is greater than our fear of others.
This is hypocrisy.
Greater fear is not the answer.

It is the absence of fear in the presence of God that will open our hearts to others.

Then we can love God and our neighbor.