Do Not Fear

Do Not Fear

Presented at County Line Brethren Church on January 10, 2010.
Year C, First Sunday after the Epiphany
Scripture passages: Isaiah 43:1-7; Acts 8:14-17; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

On Christmas Day, 2009, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, having sewn an 80 gram packet of PETN explosive into the crotch of his underpants and flown from Nigeria to Amsterdam and was on final approach to Detroit, tried to light himself on fire, in order to ignite the explosives.

In response to this incident, FEAR has risen again, alongside its close cousin, ANGER. Those who fly naturally want to be safe. There are those who are unwilling to fly because of incidents similar to this one. Many would support more intrusive measures, in order to assure our safety when flying in the friendly skies.

Nevertheless, there are those who cast fear aside. Time magazine reports that two people on that flight bound for Detroit, Alain Ghonda, a real estate consultant from Silver Spring, MD and Jasper Schuring, a Dutch video producer, subdued Umar, putting out the fire and securing him in the first-class cabin. Other passengers were afraid, with one saying, “I don’t want to die.”

Looking back we see a similar pattern. For on United Flight 93, passengers prevented the last plane of attack from reaching its target on 9/11.
(In an article written by Amanda Ripley in Time magazine, she writes that 3 months after 9/11), American Airlines passengers wrestled a belligerent, biting Richard Reid to the ground, using their headset cords to restrain him. In 2007, almost a dozen passengers jumped on a gun-wielding hijacker aboard a plane in the Canary Islands. And this past November, passengers rose up against armed hijackers over Somalia. Together, then, a few dozen folks have helped save some 595 lives.

(Amanda Ripley goes on to say this) And yet our collective response to this legacy of ass-kicking is puzzling. Each time, we build a slapdash pedestal for the heroes. Then we go back to blaming the government for failing to keep us safe, and the government goes back to treating us like children. This now familiar ritual distracts us from the real lesson, which is that we are not helpless. (Which leads to what Ms. Ripley wants us to understand) since regular people will always be first on the scene of terrorist attacks, we should perhaps prioritize the public's antiterrorism capability — above and beyond the fancy technology that will never be foolproof.
(Time magazine, January 11, 2010, p.31)

Will we ever be 100% safe as we fly the friendly skies?

There have been many efforts recently to evaluate the years from 2000 to 2010, and to describe it concisely. Indeed, we haven't really figured out what to even call this decade. “The First Decade”, “the Aughts”, the “naughty aughties”, “The Zeros”, “The Zips”, and the “20 oh-oh's” are among the candidates (Time magazine, December 28, 2009, p.30) I am going to suggest to you that this past decade has been the decade of Fear, and it seems to be growing. On September 11, 2001, we were attacked, as we referred to earlier. Since that time we have been searching our elusive enemy and building walls and taking other protective measures to keep out the bad guys, whether they be terrorists or immigrants. We have engaged in two wars. And in the last year and a half we sat by helplessly as our jobs and our retirement savings dwindled precipitously. The economy of the United States as well as most of the global economy teetered in the balance, and for the first time in over 70 years economic depression was a real possibility.

"Sometimes when our life falls apart it is because it is not held together with consciousness, it is held together by illusion, and so it crumbles, and what is left is actually a clearer vision of what is real and of value. So many have found their life path only after what they had formerly perceived as their life crumbles to dust." - Max Strom
(I was sent this quote from a friend of mine on the Internet)

This last quote is from Max Strom, who teaches Yoga around the world. As I read it from my perspective, here’s what I get which is pertinent for me today. When everything seems to be falling apart, such as jobs, social status, plans for the future, financial security, and even relationships – it kind of means that it was not as rock solid as we thought it was in the first place. You’ve heard it said that you really find out who your friends are when you are going through a rough patch. And that seems to be true. Those that leave you and desert you, maybe they really weren’t as close of friends as you thought they were. That old friendship you thought you had – well maybe that was just an illusion. Still, we’re afraid of losing our illusion of friendship, are we not?

By the same token, you may have considered that deflated retirement nest egg to be quite blow, like a punch in the stomach. Well, perhaps that nest egg, which was to provide us with some security, is only the illusion of security. Perhaps all that retirement planning is really no security at all. Still, we’re afraid of losing our illusion of security, are we not?

Fear during this decade precipitated a distrust of strangers not previously warranted and exacerbated a fear of those we have been quietly suspicious of for a long time. This fear exposed our excesses and vulnerability, both individually and as a society in general. Yes indeed, this has been the decade of FEAR.

By my count, using Bible Gateway.com, the phrase, “do not fear”, occurs 57 times in the New American Standard Bible.

There are at least a couple of very important conclusions we can draw from this long list of “don’t be afraid” passages. The first, and I would like to encourage you to take some consolation in this, the people in the Bible were frequently afraid!! God made this statement to Abraham, Hagar, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Daniel, Paul and John.
Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Elijah, Hezekiah, and Nehemiah told this to the people.
These people experienced fear! It is a common theme in the Old Testament prophets. Have you experienced fear sometime in the last decade? Have you been confused and lost and afraid? You are not alone!

THE ANSWER

So, what is the answer? How do we deal with fear?

I like the recent Allstate TV advertisement entitled, “Back to Basics.” The commercial begins by saying that Allstate began in 1931, when the economy was not that good. They noticed “one thing in the 12 recessions since – after the fears subside, people start enjoying the small things in life: a home-cooked meal, time with loved ones, appreciating the things we do have, the things we can count on. It’s back to basics and the basics are good.”

We have lost touch with what is really important. It is not the things we have. It is not our net worth. It is not our houses or even our jobs. What is really important are our relationships.

Let’s go back to the scripture passages in which we are admonished not to be afraid. Here are a few I would like you to take note of.

Isaiah 41:10
'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'

Daniel 10:12
Then he said to me, " Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words.

Haggai 2:5
'As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!'

The second conclusion we can draw from these passages is this: the reason given for God’s telling the people not to be afraid is: “For I am with you.” It is the RELATIONSHIP.

In our Old Testament passage today from Isaiah 43, God reminds the people:
Vs. 1 Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
Vs. 2 I will be with you
Vs. 3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Vs. 4 You are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you
Vs. 5 Do not fear, I will gather you

In the story of Jesus approaching the boat of disciples, he said “do not be afraid” and joined them.
In the story of the Transfiguration, God said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground. Jesus thereupon “came and touched them. “‘Get up,’ he said. ‘Don’t be afraid.’”
The message of the angel to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary was, “don’t be afraid” because Jesus is present with us.
To Zacharias, the angel said not to be afraid because God heard your prayer.
The angels told the shepherds not be afraid because the presence of the Messiah had come.
Matthew informs us, quoting from Isaiah 7:14: " behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel," which translated means, "God with us."
In our gospel lesson for today, Luke seems to specially emphasize that Jesus was baptized alongside others who were being baptized. Jesus joined with us, in our experience in the ritual of baptism. In the words of Walter Brueggemann, Jesus’ baptism signals “submission to God’s intent and solidarity with the human community.” (Fearless Submission, Feasting on the Word, 1-10-10)
It is striking to me that soon after Jesus’ resurrection, he sat beside the sea, sat down, and ate with them.

So, we are able to say that with the birth of Jesus, Immanuel, God is with us. Because of the resurrection we are able to say, God is with us – today.

Richard Rohr talks about our possessions as a source of fear, in part because any time we own something, we have to be on guard to protect it from thievery or loss. He shares how St. Francis shunned owning any possessions at all.
I will still say that "the only cure for possession is repossession." Somehow one must be held and contained in a larger Self that can recognize fears for what they are. We must be "possessed" by a Secure Identity that is not subject to every payoff, momentary reward, false promise, and trumped-up fear. We believers would call that Secure Identity the Godself or the Christself.

Our relationship to God is our only true response to fear. Lessening our grip on things that are temporary and turning to God provide us with our security.

Mitch Albom writes heart-warming stories. Tuesdays with Morrie” was the first. In 2006, he wrote “for one more day.” It’s the story of a down-on-your-luck former baseball player who has lost his family, his pride and his self-respect. He has given up and returns to his hometown with plans to do himself in. But after a crash on an icy road, he staggers to his old house and finds his deceased mother living there – and she welcomes him in as if nothing happened (jacket of the book). Charley (otherwise known as Chick) Benetto lives in fear: fear of being alone, fear of being shut out, fear of being worthless.

His mother takes him to a tree on the corner near the house. She shows him where she enscribed the word, “please.” She tells Chick how she pleaded with God for a child and that Chick was the answer to that prayer.

Later, when Chick was looking at some keepsakes, he came across a letter his mother wrote him when he went to college.

I know you won’t read this until after I have left. But in case I forgot because I was too excited by the whole idea of you being at college, I want to tell you something. I’m so proud of you Charley.
(as she closed the letter, she said) I love you every day.

So, to echo the writer of Hebrews, let us let go of everything that gets in the way of our relationships to one another and to God. Let us let go of our attachment to things. Let us let go of our attachment to illusions of financial security. Let us let go of a false sense of personal safety. Let us let go of our fear of suffering and death. Let us let go of fear and suspicion of others. Let us let go of our fear of discovery and the truth.

I want you to know that God is so proud of you. I want you to know that God loves you every day. Scripture tells us that the antidote for fear is love. Loving one another, spending time with one another, eating together, laughing together, singing together, crying together. That’s how to chase away fear. Love. Recognize how deeply you are loved by God. Allow God to love you. Love one another.