19 LECTIONARY                                            GLORIA DEI, ANCHORAGE

AUG 12, 2007                                                               PASTOR SCOTT FULLER

GEN 15:1-6;  PSALM 33:12-22;  HEB 11:1-3, 8-16;  LUKE 12:32-40

Faith vs. Fear

Prepare our hearts, Lord, to receive your Word.  Silence in us any voice but your own that in hearing we may believe and in believing we may obey your will revealed to us in Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Dear friends in Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

In our Gospel for today, Jesus says to his followers, Do not be afraid…It’s an admonition that we’ve heard, said and read many times before…  These words are familiar for many reasons, not the least of which is that, as we’re told, hundreds of people in the Bible find themselves filled with fear. 

From Adam and Eve who hid from God,

to the aged-and-soon-to-be-pregnant Sarah who laughed at God,

to Moses who dare not even look at the burning presence of God,

to Mary when called by the angel to be the mother of God,

to Jesus’ followers on Good Friday who felt like they’d been

abandoned by God, all the way to some day in the future

when the world will stand before the throne of God,

these words have been and will be said again and again, Do not be afraid.

What’s it like to be afraid?  Let’s take a moment and think of some times when people in our lifetimes have been frightened. 

Was anyone here in Anchorage during the 1964 earthquake?

Other public events: Viet Nam, riots of the sixties, Arab-Israeli wars, cold war, nuclear destruction, The Exorcist, AIDS, Enron…

Some private experiences: accidents, illnesses, deaths, divorces, the loss of a job, conflict, things that go bump in the night, needles, heights…

Are there any medical people here who can describe the effects of fear (worry, anxiety) on our bodies/spirits/minds?

When I was in Seminary, Carolyn and I got to know a couple who had their first baby…a beautiful girl who was perfect in every way.  Her parents had been blessed with an incredible gift from God…yet her mother soon became consumed with fear – about all the bad things that could happen to this innocent little life now introduced to a big, bad world. 

Fear can cause us to become twisted up in knots, locked away in a prison of our own making.  It’s a demon whose strength is legion and whose efforts are doubly effective.  Fear is the enemy of faith - it drains us of the spiritual energy we need to function in the midst of life’s everyday challenges.  Plus it makes us ineffective as God’s helpers in a world that is dying: to hear a word of good news, to see the blessings of good works, to believe that, indeed, God is in our midst – guiding, protecting, and caring for us as we dare to shine our little lights in the darkness all around.  

As you heard and can see, the theme of Vacation Bible School this week was centered on water: The Great Bible Reef.  Day after day we sang songs, told stories and made crafts that remind us of how God has worked and is working through Jesus to bless all people of the world.  You can see the daily themes posted on the wall over by the baptismal font: Care, Help, Trust, Believe, Listen.  As you can see, fear is not one of them.

In fact, just the opposite is true: each word actually carries with it a very real tie to faith.  Faith, the state of trusting and believing in God, is the opposite of fear and fills us with every good thing we need to live life to the fullest, to enjoy God’s gifts and put them to work in the service of the Lord – even, or especially, when the fear factor is high.

Author and Teacher Tony Campolo tells the story of a Bulgarian man during WWII who let his faith overcome his fear (www.csec.org/sermon/campolo_4313.htm).

Though his country was an ally of Germany, no Jewish person was ever deported to a concentration camp from Bulgaria.  Here’s why. 

One night the Nazis had rounded up a crowd of Jews and was getting ready to force them onto a to Auschwitz.  Suddenly, up the street came marching a crowd of a thousand church people behind the imposing figure of their spiritual leader, Metropolitan Cyril. 

Though the SS Troops tried to turn them away, Metropolitan did not stop.  He pushed his way through the soldiers and into that crowd of frightened people.  He raised his hands and quoted one verse of Scripture that saved the lives of so many.  Projecting his voice over the noise of the crowd, Cyril said from the Book of Ruth, Wherever you go, I will go.  Your people will be my people.  Your God will be my God (Ruth 1:16).  And they were saved.

Now we can’t all be that brave, nor will most of us ever have to endure such a test of faith.  But, we will face those moments when fear will threaten to undo us – and those are the times when God assures us that we can trust the Spirit to put our ordinary faith to work doing extraordinary things.

Today we all get to help little Hawke Hansen take his first step of faith in Baptism.  He won’t remember it, or us, but through the power of the Holy Spirit, our prayers, and the love of his family, the miracle of faith will be firmly planted in his heart.  His whole life long, he will be taught, and one day come to trust, that he is God’s beloved child, claimed and called by the One who came that we might have a river of life, and have it abundantly.

To him and to us, Jesus says, Do not be afraid…for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom (Lk. 12:32).  So, to all you heirs of this fortune, dare to live by faith – trust that God has claimed you and will provide all that you need to love God and care for your neighbors.  Amen.