See Paris First

In the wake of Jesus’ crucifixion, the Apostles are in hiding, fearing the worst: they could be next. For them, the great adventure was over. They had left everything to follow Jesus. They had given up everything for the Cause of Christ. The Father, whom Jesus had said would never abandon them, had forsaken Jesus Himself. They were in a state of mental fear: scared to death!

There are times in our own life experience that we can identify with those Apostles in that upper room — times when all sense of meaning and purpose is absent from our lives; times when we are down, depressed and dejected; times when we feel abandoned and forsaken; times when life itself seems absurd. And we’re in mortal fear: scared to death. In such times as these, what to do? Where to begin? We can find an answer, perhaps, in the poetic metaphor that follows:

Suppose that what you fear
could be trapped,
and held in…