Suddenly Jesus met them and said: "Greetings! And they came to him took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell m brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."
Did you know that the words: "be not afraid" appear 365 times in the Bible? One "be not afraid" for every day of the year. Each place this phrase appears is where something extraordinary has happened or is about to happen. Sometimes "be not afraid" is found when listeners are hearing something contradictory to what they are used to. Given that it appears exactly once for all 365 days of the year, I like to think this is God's way of telling us not to be afraid.
Fear is a very paralyzing emotion. It plagues our world probably more than most of us are willing to admit. Fear is as real of an emotion as being angry. Fear can dominate our unwillingness to act when we should. In order to change the emotion of fear, we need to become courageous in the face of frightening realities. Think of the many people who have faced cancer, HIV/AIDS, heart disease, addictions and we see fear over come by love and courage.
Over these past few weeks we have seen what fear has done when it is created by misleading and very damaging information. The hate rhetoric that happened during the passage of the health care reform bill was due to a fear that had been misplaced and stirred up by unbelievable prejudice and lack of rational thinking. Since the passing of health care reform the violence that has been building will cause many of us to become afraid for the safety of our governmental leaders as well as the rest of us.
Floods have ravaged much of the northeast. An earthquake happened in the south west Pacific into California. Reports of additional abuse by Priests continues to be reported to the Vatican. Many families continue to deal with a future of economic instability. Health insurance companies are searching for as many loopholes as possible to keeping them from having to offer benefits to care for people who are sick and in need of health services, so as to not loose their billion dollar profits. There is a lot going on that makes people afraid.
One of the major contributions of hetero-sexism is fear which creates the atmosphere of homophobia. This is the same fear that causes violence and hate towards homosexuals, bisexuals and transgendered people. Much of the fear comes from the attitude that those men who surrender some of their masculinity to share in any possible appearance of what is feminine is somehow threatening in a masculine driven society. Fear causes division, clashing of cultures, sexes, classes, races and much of the destruction that prejudice produces.
When Jesus Christ rose from the dead he told the women who were the first to see him: "Do not be afraid". There is that fear again. That fear that not only makes it difficult for us to become constructive Easter people. Jesus faced the shame of the cross and rose again from the tomb. Jesus then turns to us and calls us to overcome our fear. God recognizes how fearful we are. But God challenges us in the resurrection to know that somehow God will take care of things and bring them out for our best. But it is difficult to see that when we are facing the paralyzing fear of an addiction, an abusive relationship, depression and that "fear" of things still to come.
In today's Speaking to the Soul we read:
I am the Christ.
It is I who destroyed death,
who triumphed over the enemy,
who trampled Hades underfoot,
who bound the strong one
and snatched man away to the heights of heaven;
I am the Christ.
Come then . . .
It is I who am your ransom, your life,
your resurrection,
your light,
your salvation, your king.
I am bringing you to the heights of heaven,
I will show you the Father who is from all eternity,
I will raise you up with my right hand.
From Melito of Sardis, quoted in Seeking Life: The Baptismal Invitation of the Rule of St. Benedict by Esther de Waal (Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 2009).
The resurrection is the Christian's hope in the midst of our fear. We can face our fear and we can have victory over fear. We can meet our obstacles as difficult and as painful as they may be, but by the grace of God in the risen Christ we can overcome our fear and find hope, strength and courage. The events of what we are facing may not work out exactly the way we would like them to, but God will bring good out of what is not right. Look at what God did when Jesus was raised from the dead. The most awful, terrible act of violence became the victory that would bring about salvation for all who die in Christ. In no way does the resurrection justify violence and discrimination. However, when we face the evils of this world in peaceful and life giving ways believing in the power of Jesus Christ crucified and raised from the dead, we too can be victorious.
Grant, we pray, Almighty God, that we who celebrate with awe the Paschal feast may be found worthy to attain to everlasting joys; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Collect for Monday in Easter Week, Book of Common Prayer, Page 222).
God, the creator and preserver of all, we humbly beseech you for all sorts and conditions of people; that you would be pleased to make your ways known unto them, your saving health unto all nations. More especially we pray for your holy Church universal; that it may be so guided and governed by your good Spirit, that all who profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life. Finally, we commend to your fatherly goodness all those who are in any ways afflicted or distressed, in mind, body, or estate; that it may please you to comfort and relieve them according to their several necessities, giving them patience under their sufferings, and a happy issue out of all their afflictions. And this we beg for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. (Prayer for All Sorts and Conditions, Book of Common Prayer, Page 814).
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