Be Not Afraid: Stories from the New Testament

The Sermon on the Mount contains some of the most radical language ever spoken: blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek. In this 1928 volume, Catharine Shaw invites readers to sit on the shores of Galilee where Jesus first delivered these Beatitudes, and to grapple with what they actually mean. Rather than offering bland reassurance, Shaw treats these teachings as challenging wisdom meant to disrupt comfortable assumptions about faith and human flourishing. She weaves historical context, biblical text, and personal reflection into something that feels less like a devotional and more like a conversation with a thoughtful friend who happen to know scripture intimately. The book pulses with early 20th-century earnestness, the kind of spiritual writing that assumes its readers are capable of genuine reflection. For anyone curious about what Jesus actually taught, or why these strange blessings have shaped two millennia of thought, Shaw provides an entry point that respects the depth while remaining genuinely accessible.