An icon depicts the birth of John the Baptist with his mother Elizabeth, father Zechariah, and Mary present. In Luke 1:12, the priest Zechariah feels great fear when the angel Gabriel appears to him. The greatness of God, seen in his messenger, is overwhelming. Photo: CNS. Maria Morrow The word “fear” has such a negative connotation to us. We fear our kids getting hurt. We fear spiders. We fear failure. We fear a tragic and untimely death. In other words, we fear the things that we don’t like or want. And sometimes our fears stand in the way of our goals…
