Friday — 9^th January Love That Casts Out Fear

St John makes a claim today that sounds simple, but is actually demanding.

“Perfect love casts out fear.”

Not optimism.
Not reassurance.
Not distraction.

Love.

And John is very precise about what kind of fear he means.

John says: “Fear has to do with punishment.”

In other words, fear grows
when we believe God is against us,
watching us,
waiting to catch us out.

That is not the Christian God.

John reminds us of the truth at the heart of the faith: “God loved us first.”

Before we prayed.
Before we repented.
Before we improved.

God’s love does not begin with our effort. It begins with His mercy.

And when that truth takes root, fear loosens its grip.

The Gospel gives us a picture of fear.

The disciples are in the boat.
It is night.
The wind is against them.
They are struggling.

And Jesus is not with them.

Or at least, that is what they think.

Then they see Him walking on the water — and they are terrified.

Why? Because fear distorts perception. They do not recognise Him.

Jesus speaks words that matter deeply: “It is I. Do not be afraid.”

In Greek, those words echo God’s own name: I AM.

Jesus is not just calming them. He is revealing Himself.

And the moment He enters the boat, the wind drops.

Notice something important.

The storm does not stop when the disciples understand everything.

It stops when Jesus is received.

Mark tells us something almost painful:

“They had not understood about the loaves.”

The disciples had already seen Jesus feed thousands.
They had seen abundance where there was scarcity.

But they had not yet learned to trust His presence.

That is often our problem too.

We remember God’s power in theory, but forget His closeness in practice.

So when the wind rises, fear returns.

St John is not idealistic.

He knows that love must grow.

He says: “Love comes to perfection in us.”

That takes time.

It grows when we:

• pray honestly
• repent seriously
• receive the sacraments faithfully
• place fear back into God’s hands

Perfect love does not mean fearless people.
It means people who trust God more than their fear.

Many people today live with quiet fear.

Fear of the future.
Fear of failure.
Fear of being exposed.
Fear of not being enough.

The Gospel does not mock that fear.

It speaks into it.

Christ does not shout across the water. He comes close.

And He still says: “It is I. Do not be afraid.”

Not because storms disappear,
but because He is present.

St John tells us that fear fades
not when life becomes easy,
but when love becomes real.

The Gospel shows us how that happens.

Christ comes toward us
in the dark,
against the wind,
into the struggle.

And when we let Him into the boat,
everything changes.

May we learn to trust His presence,
allow His love to grow in us,
and discover that love — not fear —
has the final word.