The Fear of Examination?!?

WORD 2day: Tuesday, 29th week in Ordinary time 

October 20, 2020: Ephesians 2:12-22; Luke 12: 35-38

All of us have had, and some would still have, a fear of examinations! And the usual remedy proposed by teachers is, learn your subjects on a daily basis, revise your classes everyday and when the exams come you will be better prepared. The real point is, examinations are not something for which we need to prepare, they are just one specific moment within the long and complex process of learning. At times when we do not have the right study habits and attitudes, exams become a separate entity and a great hurdle to be crossed and not merely a formality to be undergone as part of the process. Now, that was not for a Study-skill session...but to bring out the crux of today's message from the Word. 

The Word reminds us how the Lord has chosen us and given us an identity that is entirely a grace: the identity of being the people of God, of being the offsprings of God, of being God's beloved children. When we are conscious of that identity on a daily basis, conduct our affairs accordingly and gradually keep growing and maturing in that identity, we would not need to prepare, or be afraid of, or fret about what is called the judgment moment! There are people and groups who make a huge issue of the judgement day, when we have to meet the Lord and render an account - let us stop that madness! The Lord did not create us to give an account. The Lord created us to live, live to the full, live with the true identity and inner joy of the children of God.

Added to that judgement is not a matter of merely the last day! Every choice that we make is a judgement we bring on ourselves... whether it is monitored or not! When I know that I am a child of God, that I am a son or a daughter of God and I live, believe and behave worthy of that identity, why should I fear and what should I fear? When God is with us who can be against us! In our daily choices and everyday decisions, if we are against God, who can really help us? 

It is like the Spiritual Master who was asked as he was having his cup of tea, 'what would you do, if the world ends this moment?' The Master calmly said: "I would continue having my tea." That is what our disposition should be, if we are truly children of God. What if!!! What if the world ends now! What if my death comes now! What if I have to stand before the judgement seat of the Lord right now! If I have to be fearless, my choices have to be right every moment. There can be failures, repeat attempts, improvements, reappearances... but fear of examination - no! it never serves the purpose!