Fear Not

What do I fear?  Lots of things I suppose, depending on the season of life and the circumstances I find myself facing.  I fear looking bad when I lead a meeting or have to give a presentation.  I fear not being able to make enough money to provide for my family.  I fear that maybe my faith isn’t authentic or that the God I embrace isn’t true.  None of these is overwhelming, though the one that’s probably the most real is the fear of financial provision—what if I lose my job and can’t find another good job?  What if I have to work for half of what I make now?  What if I have to take a manual labor job?  I don’t want to do such things and I pray for God’s mercy that I won’t be placed is such situations.

During the Lenten season, which is penitential by nature, the hymns of the Church focus on how we have turned away from God and squandered our rich heritage.  Now while not being literally true (all of the time), all of us, to some degree or another, has turned away from God.  We don’t love God was we should.  We don’t walk in peace and trust.  We don’t believe the Word of God.  We don’t love our neighbor as God desires.  We don’t pick up our cross and follow Christ passionately.  In short, we have wandered from God’s original intent and design for humanity.  Someone once said that the most repeated command in Scripture is ‘fear not.’  If this is true, then fear is certainly a result of our separation from God and never meant to be a part of God’s original vocabulary.  By the grace of God he has shown us the path to wholeness by becoming Wholeness himself.  Let us not fear the One who faced—and conquered—the greatest of all fears: death itself.  Thanks be to God who has given us the victory through His Son, amen.

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