Don’t Be Afraid: Isaiah 43: 1-13; Matthew 28: 1-10
A friend said to me the other day, “Well, Will, I think the whole world is going to Hell in a hand basket.” He and I share a similar theology and outlook on life, so with a bit of a smirk, I replied, “Or maybe it’s just a wild ride around the block?” I’ve never liked or appreciated when churches teach faith through fear saying that all is in the proverbial hand basket, or when people live their lives filled with an unnecessary level of fear. It runs so hard against the message of hope and resurrection that Jesus taught and lived. Today we read in the gospel that after Jesus was raised from the dead, the first thing he said to his disciples was: “don’t be afraid.”
More than ever on Easter we need to hear the message of a Savior filled with love, filled with grace, and filled with strength. Yes we are familiar with the Jesus who healed the sick, who taught powerful lessons to the crowds, who walked on water. But today, and especially in our current times, we need to remember the lesson of a Savior who lived and taught resurrection, of life everlasting, and of victory over all things here on earth.
The resurrection of Christ teaches us that we should live without fear here on earth. Now that doesn’t mean living recklessly or dangerously, but instead we live knowing that at the end of our entire journey there is hope, there is resurrection. Many of these lessons on strength and grace in trial, of being resolute in troubling times I learned from folks here at FCC Macon who have since earned their reward.
One that particularly touched me and has stayed with me was Barbara Wright. As she was moved into nursing and hospice care I spent some time with her.. She had an incredibly wicked sense of humor, and I’ll never forget her saying this, “I’m not really all that afraid of death. It’s the whole dying part that bothers me.” That stuck with me. Don’t be afraid, for in death, there is resurrection, there is hope. Don’t be afraid, when there is a rampant disease which brings fear to our lives, our God heals, but if not, we will have life everlasting through a God who has the power of resurrection.
Don’t be afraid. That is one of the reasons I’ve never cared for the phrase that all is going to hell in a hand basket. It says to us that this world is not worth saving, that fundamentally things are wrong and our best bet is to live in fear of everything and everyone out there. And I don’t believe that. People do bad things. People make bad choices, but fundamentally, this earth is populated by children of God, some of whom have strong faith and belief, and some of whom have not found God yet and continue to squander their lives continually seeking what is wrong, following paths of fear, living unholy lives. They may even be the very ones waiting for us to show them of Christ’s saving love.
Others too have taught me courage, and many of you as well. Lois Lantz was the perfect portrait of poised resolution even in the most humbling and trying of circumstances, even as her recall and understand failed, her grace and presence never left her. I could name so many others in this church that taught me, taught us, lessons of hope, of courage, of grace, who reminded us in life and death, “Don’t be afraid.”
When you begin to look at the people here on the earth, and you look at each one, realizing that they, too, are a child of God, beloved by God, conceived in God’s image, it changes one’s outlook on life. We can remember that our God is a God who calls us to repentance on Good Friday, and gives us the hope of resurrection on Easter. And that same lesson of hope is given to the whole earth to hear. God’s message throughout the prophecy of Isaiah was for Israel to trust in God and not fear. Over and over in the story of Jesus’s resurrection we hear those words, “Don’t be afraid.”
Jesus calls us out of those fears whether it is our fear that the world is just done and gone, whether it is our fear of sickness and suffering, whether it is our fear of dying, whether it is our fear of other people who are different in many ways or may be on the wrong pathways of life. Speak a word to them, encourage them. Never be afraid to remind someone who has strayed from God’s pathway that they are still made in the image of God, and they are still loved by God and by God’s church. Never hold back when you can make a difference through your Christ-given courage. You may have been called and equipped for such a time as this.
I pray that this Easter, when we are at home, maybe going a bit stir crazy, maybe worried about being sick, praying for family, friends and loved ones, that we remember the words to the hymn we will soon sing: “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow; because he lives all fear is gone; because I know he holds the future, and life is worth the living, just because he lives.”
Here in Macon, Georgia, it’s a tradition that many churches have a cross in their front yard, and they change the cloth on the cross with the seasons to match the liturgical colors: white at Easter, purple in Lent and so on. Since we have to stay home from our churches for safety, I’ve noticed a new tradition this year. People are putting rough, plain crosses in their yards, on their apartment porches, or elsewhere dressing them up with lilies or palms or lilies, draped cloths and even lights, but all the crosses say the same thing: “Faith over fear.”
And that is the message of Easter, plain and simple. Don’t be afraid. Go and tell everyone else, soon we will be reunited with Christ. It was a simple message Jesus gave to the women at his tomb. It may seem like the hand basket is ready and the world is loaded up inside, but into all that fear and chaos a risen Savior speaks words of hope and courage, “Don’t be afraid.” Let Christ’s resurrection remind you that the greatest power in our life is faith over fear, hope, and resurrection. Amen.