In the past few days I have spent a lot of time reflecting on
the whole notion of fear: what it means, what terms we use - being scared,
terrified, ‘be afraid, be very afraid’ – and what makes one experience tip over
to a different level of fear?
Last Sunday evening some of you may have watched Dr Who Live
– when the actor who is to play the 12th Dr was revealed. Many of
you will, like me, have had the experience as a child, of watching Dr Who from
behind hands cupped over your eyes as the Daleks made yet another unwelcome
appearance on the scene; this was scary stuff – and I was often afraid.
Some of you will recall the fear I experienced when I was
told my father was seriously ill and journeyed with him through his rapid
decline towards. Each time I visited him I feared it would be the last – and I still
weep when I talk of his last days. They were peaceful, but oh, the aching fear
of losing him.
We will each have different experiences of the things that
frighten us – and I think one of the hardest things to admit as a Christian is
that sometimes we are afraid. We know we aren’t meant to be afraid – because ‘God is with us’ and, ‘Jesus has
walked the way before us’. Still though, for many of us there are times when this
emotion dominates all. It is my experience, and I imagine it will be so for
some of you too.
What do we do then with this disparity of what we feel and
what we are apparently told not to feel?
We hear today of God telling Abraham and Jesus telling the disciples
not to be afraid. ‘Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall
be very great.’ ‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good
pleasure to give you the kingdom.’
In context, Abram has already accepted the invitation of God to
journey out into the desert. Abram and his wife Sarai have nowhere else to turn
– except back, perhaps. They are old though, and they have no children; they have
travelled to a different area to their main travelling companion. They are far
from home, in the wilderness with no-one to care for them in their advancing years.
We, with them, might well ask, ''What hope is there for them?'
It is into this situation of apparent hopelessness that God speaks,
‘Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.’ Now
Abram has trusted God already – can he trust him still? Is there enough
evidence to testify to the truth of God’s promises upon which to base an on-going
trust? The promise of descendants more numerous as the stars I find most moving
– and I wonder what Abram made of this. In a nation where the gift of children was
so important, this promise of God’s must have been beguiling. Was there evidence
enough though to trust God – and overcome the fear of death in a desert, fear
of death with no children to follow, fear of appearing foolish to those who
might hear of them in years to come?
Evidence is something we all desire, let’s face it – and I don’t
imagine Abram was any different, nor the disciples either.
The disciples were told, ‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for
it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.’ They are told not
to be afraid in the face of Jesus inviting them to live a different kind of
life, to walk a different pathway and to turn their backs on the ways of the
world that demand treasure and glory in this world rather than in the next.
Rather like the way in which Abram had been asked to step out
into a different kind of existence from the one he knew, the disciples were being
asked to do the same. Giving up their worldly possessions, not relying on the
goods and belongings that this world holds as valuable, trusting in God to
provide for their needs – this was counter-cultural and demanding. How had Jesus
proved himself? What evidence had he given his followers that his word was trustworthy
and that the promises he made were ones that could assist them to put their
fears aside?
These are the kind of questions so many people in our world
ask – and we may well ask them too. What evidence is there? How can I trust
when I am not certain or sure? What do I do when I am afraid?
I offer three points to lead to an answer.
Perhaps the first thing to notice is that God notices: God notices
Abram is afraid and Jesus notices the fear of the disciples. God gives heed to our
experience and faces it head on. God knows Abram must be afraid, Jesus knows
the disciples must be afraid: God knows the reality of our existence and knows
that there will be times of fear and anxiety. I believe it is empathy with our
experience that makes God speak into it.
Secondly, God calls Abram by name and Jesus calls the
disciples his little children. The relationship God has with each of us is one based
on intimacy – where God knows us and responds in love to our needs. Jesus says,
it is the father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom – love and continued
blessing is what God desires to give us – always.
Thirdly and, perhaps, most importantly for us who come after –
God makes good on his promises. God sticks with it and with us and brings good
things to us – in time and in eternity. God doesn’t make the bad things go
away, but God walks with us in the “night time of our fear” as we sing in the
lovely song, ‘Brother, Sister let me serve you.’ Abram received what was promised
to him, and the disciples continued to grow in faith and understanding, as well
as being able to perform amazing miracles and teach people amazing things.
So being afraid is real, being frightened is real, being
scared is real. The call to not be afraid is not a call to dismiss our fears
but rather to let God be in it all, with us – in the messiness and confusion –
for it is where he longs to be and where he has promised to be: “Lo, I am with
you, even to the end of the age” Jesus said to the disciples – knowing something
of what was to come to them as they travelled to share the gospel.
So if you do have times of fear – and I do too – remember these
things: God notices you, God knows you, God wills for your good. Things may not
change quickly; they may not change much at all – but God is right in there
with you, whatever is going on. The reality of our human existence means that fear
is part of life – but we do not have to go it alone.
One of my favourite verses is: 1 Corinthians
10:13 No testing has overtaken you that is not common to
everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your
strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may
be able to endure it.
The ‘way out’
for me is living with the knowledge that God loves me – unutterably and beyond measure.
It doesn’t mean I am never afraid, rather it means that I trust God is on my
side. I pray that, when you are afraid, this is something that you also may be
able to believe. Amen.
