Overcoming our Fears 4-7-24
Overcoming Our Fears
Acts 4:32-35; John 20:19-31
Acts 4:32-35
Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
John 20:19-31
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
Prayer – Gracious God, as we gather this week in the afterglow of the resurrection of your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord, we gather in the faith that you have convened us and will graciously come to us once again. Show us your glory, resurrected Christ. Lift our eyes beyond whatever doubts, misgivings and fears grip us. Give us what we need to fully believe in you that we might fearlessly follow you. Be present to us Lord that we might be fully present to you, serving you, and letting the whole world know the truth of your victory – amen.
Rev Otis Moss, senior pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, tells a story about a time when he and his church were under attack, some years ago. They were receiving dozens of death threats every week. “We’re going to kill you.” “We’re going to bomb your church.” At the time, he was a new preacher and a young father. The situation was dire. One night he was awakened by a noise in his house and he fearfully got up to what was going on. He peeked into his daughter’s room and he describes what he saw.
“There was my daughter, Makayla, dancing in the darkness – just spinning around, saying, ‘Look at me Daddy.’ I said, ‘Makayla, you need to go to bed, it is 3 am.’ But she said, ‘No, look at me Daddy. Look at me.’ And she was spinning, barrettes going back and forth, pigtails going back and forth. I was getting huffy and puffy wanting her to go back to bed, but then God spoke in my heart, ‘Look at your daughter! She’s dancing in the dark. The darkness is all around her but it is not in her!’ Makayla reminded me that the weeping may endure for a night, but if you dance long enough joy will come in the morning. It is the job of preachers, to send this word to us in the hardest of times, do not let the darkness find its way to you.” (The Amen Effect, Rabbi Sharon Brous)
As I read this story I was reminded on Sojourner Truth’s wonderful affirmation – “Life is a hard battle anyway. If we laugh and sing a little as we fight the good fight of freedom, it makes it all go easier. I will not allow my life’s light to be determined by the darkness around me.” Rev. Moss writes, “Instead of seeing Makayla as just another addition to the night’s problems, I glimpsed her as a fellow traveler. Like her frightened father, this six year old fellow traveler was awake in the night. Even so, there was a difference. I was caught in a cycle of worry and anger. I was not just walking a dark path. I had let the darkness inside of me. Evil always seeks to obscure the light, because once it has you living in the darkness, that which should not be painful becomes so.
What we forget, faithwise, in our fear – what I was forgetting that night in my daughter’s room – is that even in the darkest night, when we see no light at all, the light is still there. The sun is still shining over the earth even when our side rotates away from it. The stars still shine above us, no matter . . . how thick the clouds above our heads. What we need in the darkest nights is to keep walking our path until we can glimpse the stars again. What we don’t need is to panic and run blindly into the woods. Makayla was just a child, but on that night, she had moved ahead of me on that path. By dancing in the dark, by doing one of the things she most loved, she was making her own light.
The enduring words of Psalm 30 struck me afresh – “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” The eleventh verse of that passage made me shout – ‘You have turned my mourning into dancing.’” (From Dancing in the Darkness: Spiritual Lessons for Thriving in Turbulent Times)
Our gospel passage this morning begins with Jesus’ disciples gathered at a house in the evening of Easter Day in or near Jerusalem. We are told they are huddled behind locked doors, trembling in fear. Why have they gathered you may wonder? Fear, fear that the same authorities who crucified Jesus may be out to crucify them as well? Fear that perhaps as a group they may find ‘strength in numbers.’ And although in John’s gospel, it appears that the Beloved Disciple actually believed in Jesus’ resurrection, Peter and the others were locked up tight with fear that they were next on the crucifixion list.
The disciples are gripped by fear. Now that Jesus has been defeated, what about us is their worry? Will the same murderous authorities who tortured Jesus to death now be looking out for them. The disciples really hoped that Jesus might win over the people and throw off the yoke of Rome but look what the Romans have done to their hopes. Now there’s nothing left but fear.
And it was to these fearful, anxious ones that the risen Christ appeared. He miraculously slipped through their locked doors. He met them with words of assurance, words of comfort, words to take away their fears – Peace be with you – Shalom – which means may it all be well with you, your soul, your family, your life. Jesus showed himself, in all his resurrected glory, standing undeniably before them. He showed them the wounds that took his life and those wounds didn’t have the last word any more than death has the last word.
How many times as we read or hear scripture does Jesus say to his friends, his disciples, do not be afraid. It seems that there is a message within a message from him. There seems to be so many things that scare us these days. If you listen to the news or read something on the internet it is more than likely that when you get done, you have a little anxiety pumping in your blood stream. Fear based news always leads, whether it is scorching temperatures from climate change to another random shooting in a neighborhood; fear of immigrants and people of different faiths; fear of people with a different sexual orientation to fear that you may not have enough. Children and teens who are afraid to go to school because another school had a mass shooting. Parents who are afraid to let their children get in the car with a friend that just got their license, or sign on to a social media account, or go to a party of parents they don’t know. We also have a fear that there is not enough of . . . pick it . . . to go around. The threat of snow – everyone goes to the store for milk and bread. The threat of job security means we fear we have not saved enough for a rainy day. Fear seems to be something we have difficulty overcoming.
And Jesus’ first words so many times to his disciples, to us, is don’t be afraid, or peace be unto you. And yet, we remain scared, afraid, uncertain. And yet I wonder, how on earth did that fearful little huddle of disheartened followers of Jesus become a band of brothers that exploded into every corner of the world as courageous witnesses to the resurrection? What happened that transformed their fear into passionate conviction? How did they overcome their fears? How do we overcome our fears?
And that may be the question that is most important. How do we overcome our fears in a world that pours so much energy into creating and sustaining fears? What can we learn from the group of followers some 2000 years ago? What did Jesus do that helped them to overcome their fears that may help us overcome ours?
Looking at our passage this morning we may find a clue. Those disciples who were locked in the upper room, scared half out of their wits, had no intention of coming to God in those moments. And still God came to them. To those who were gathered in the upper room, not in the hopes of making contact with God, God in Christ came through their locked doors, perhaps their locked hearts, and opened it all up. Jesus came to them. The risen Christ found a way to get through to them, to appear before them, to stand among them and to bless them. These half-hearted, frightened followers were transformed into believing, active followers. How? Jesus came and stood among them.
And so my question for myself, and for you, how did, how does Jesus come to us when we are afraid? What demons and dragons have you locked up behind tall brick walls hoping they won’t break through and continue to cast shadows over your life, leaving you wound tight and afraid. What moment in time when you were afraid, uncertain, filled with doubts, did Jesus show up, slipping through your locked doors and free you from fear. Our 21st century world makes me think more often than not that I can deal with my own stuff, and don’t need or want any help. Or it could be my male identity that makes me assume that I need to handle it on my own and not accept help from Jesus or a friend or even an enemy. I can think of several times in my life when Jesus broke through my walls and stood with outstretched hands to pull me deeper into the faith. It seems that for me I had to give up thinking that I could do this on my own before I could accept that Jesus was there the whole time, carrying me through those fearful times unknowingly and faithfully. But Jesus came, showed up and empowered me with his help to overcome those fears, those demons, those dragons that I locked up and hid from the world.
Just as the risen Christ came to his disciples with all their fear and misunderstanding, disbelief and confusion, Jesus comes to us as well. That’s the way Christ comes to us. Christ doesn’t wait for you or me to get our heads on straight on what we believe and doesn’t hold back until we are in the right frame of mind or have our lives all figured out and in order. Jesus come to you, comes to me, with all of our shortcomings, bad habits, misunderstandings and brokenness. Jesus comes to us and says with the deepest feeling on earth – Do not be afraid, peace be with you. I got this, you don’t have to do this by yourself. And that is how we can overcome our fears – trust that Jesus loves each of us enough, meaning with abundance – and that there is nothing that God won’t do through Jesus for you, for me, for all of humankind, for all of creation – that God’s love can and has overcome our fears so that we can dance in the dark, bringing joy in the morning – thanks be to God – amen.