March 2006

Matthew 8:23-27

I wonder how much life we are missing because of our fears, how many dimensions of life are never experienced, how many achievements never made, because we were afraid to try. Or if we tried, we were afraid to follow through.

There is the fear of rejection, which can really stop us cold. When I was in my teens and early twenties and single, the biggest fear I had was picking up the phone and calling a girl for a date. I was afraid of the word no.

There is the fear of disease. How often, when somebody in our family line has had cancer or some other serious disease, and we have a symptom that might suggest that same disease, are we gripped with fear? Even sometimes when an acquaintance has a disease, we find ourselves thinking, "Maybe I am going to get it too." I wonder how often the fear itself opens the door for that disease to happen to us.

There is the fear of change. We might be living in an unhappy circumstance. We might be very uncomfortable or even miserable. We know we want to change things, we know we have to, but we are afraid. We actually choose misery over change. Strangely, even an unhappy situation is, for us, a comfort zone.

There is the fear of aging and death--even though we do know what will inevitably happen: we will get older and older, and then our lives will come to an end. We can become particularly horrified when milestone birthdays roll around.

There is a fear of intimacy, closeness to others. Each one of us wants more than anything else to be close to other people and to be in safe and trusting relationships, and yet, think of all the psychological devices we use to keep people away and not allow them into our secret inner space.

Then there is the fear that somebody very special and important to us, whom we love and depend on, will die. I could go on and on with a list of fears. You know your fears.

Fears can do terrible things to us. They hold us back. They stifle us. Sometimes fear will grab hold and dramatically freeze us in place, rendering us ineffective. But most of the time fears work in subtler ways. They are clouds that hover over our spirits, saying no, holding us back. Fear may well be the strongest negative force in our lives.

You know, human beings are an interesting lot when it comes to fear. We are all a little bit different. My three Massachusetts grandchildren, a girl of 10, a boy of 8, and a 4-year-old girl, live in a very safe and nurturing environment. They know it is safe for them to express themselves. Yet the 10-year-old girl has her set of apprehensions and worries and fears, and the 8-year-old boy has his own, different fears and worries. Their 4-year-old sister, however, seems to be fearless. She charges ahead. Everything is there for her to do what she wants. Eventually she will learn some healthy caution so she can regulate and balance her life.

One of the wisest things we can do is to see each fear as a teacher. What does this fear teach me about myself? What can I learn from it? How can I learn to manage the fear so it does not stop my moving ahead in ways I need to?

The best place I know to go to learn what to do about fear is the New Testament. It is a book that helps us to stare down our fears. It inspires us to look our fears in the eye and say, "You are not bigger than I am, and you have no power over me."

Some time ago I was in Memphis, Tennessee, in the office of a friend, the very dynamic head of a large family business. On one wall was a framed saying which I think of often and has served me well: "God, there isn't anything that you and I cannot do together."

I also think about the wonderful insight, "One with God is a majority." And I remember how the Apostle Paul said in his book to the Romans, "If God is for me, who then can be against me?" When you think about it, there is no power or presence greater than God.

Jesus' life and ministry had two major themes. One was love and the other was faith. Faith, of course, is what we are focusing on today, because faith is the most effective antidote to fear. When Jesus talked about faith He didn't philosophize, theorize, intellectualize, or theologize. He spoke straight. He said to the people and to His disciples, "Believe, and your life will find strength and power. If you believe and if you trust in God, you will have enormous resources. Your life will be more wonderful than you ever imagined."

You know that dramatic story about the night Jesus was in the boat with His disciples on the Sea of Galilee. He had had a long day and was tired, so He put His head down and went to sleep. This is one of many examples in the New Testament where Jesus seemed to be completely unafraid. He had learned how to master fear.

A sudden squall arose. If you have ever been in a squall, you know how frightening it can be. The wind blows and blows, and whips up the waves. That little boat was being tossed about. The disciples had never seen winds so violent. The water was beginning to pour over the gunnels, and they were scared to death. And there was Jesus, sleeping! They woke Him up. "Master, Master! We are drowning! We are going to die!"

Jesus quietly assessed the scene. Then He stood up. "Peace. Be still," He said, and the wind stopped blowing. The waves calmed down and all was at peace.

Some theologians say that in the original translation Jesus is not so much calming the storm as He is calming His frightened disciples. In the storms of life, when everything is whipping around you and you are scared to death, Jesus is saying to you, "Peace. Be still. Don't be afraid."

Then Jesus turned to the disciples and said, "Why are you afraid, you of little faith?" In effect, He was saying, "Where is your faith? How long have you been with me? Do you not remember the many, many times when I would say to people, 'If you have faith the size of a mustard seed you can say to that mountain over there move and it will move?' Have you not seen that happen in people's lives?"

Then I imagine that He said, "Don't you remember the times when I was teaching people about prayer? I would say to them, 'Pray as if you have already received and it will be yours.' Have you not seen the effects of faithful prayer in other people's lives?" Then He might have continued, "Remember the many, many times that people have come to me to be healed and after they were healed, when they tried to thank me, what would I say? ?It is your faith that has made you well.'"

Faith is an incredible, wonderful, and powerful resource. It is the antidote to fear. Remember how Jesus talked about faith. He did not theologize, philosophize, or theorize. He said, "Believe! Trust! Trust God!" Don't allow doubt to crowd inside and take you apart. Don't let your fears get ahold of you and paralyze you. Trust.

Some of you will remember when a dear member of the church, Clarice Simpson, was critically ill in the hospital. The daily reports said she was not doing well. One day Dr. Williams, our minister of Pastoral Care, reported to me that Clarice's bodily systems were beginning to shut down. We thought her life was coming to an end.

Then suddenly she started to improve. She was a bit better, a bit stronger. Clarice went home! A week later she was back in church. I know her well. She has a simple, trusting and direct faith. I believe that deep within the recesses of her soul, when she was critically ill, rather than let fear get ahold of her, she drew on all she had learned about faith from the Bible and from her own experiences. She surely remembered, "If I have faith the size of a mustard seed, that is all I need. I can say to that mountain, move and it will move." She believed. And she trusted.

I know from my own prayer life and the prayer lives of the saints around me that she must have prayed believing she had already received what she prayed for. She knows what it means to say, "One with God is a majority." She understands "God, there isn't anything that you and I cannot do together today." When she was well--and I know this is the way she talks to God--she would have said, "Thank you, Jesus." Jesus would reply, "Clarice, you know better than that. I was there to help you, but it was your faith that made you well."

I believe Clarice is alive and well today because she stared down her fears with a focused faith. We will all do well to emulate Clarice and get to the point where we stare down our fears and let faith do the work of defeating our fears.

There is one last story that illustrates a way fear is at work, stopping us from living fully. It is a story told by Chick Mooman in Chicken Soup for the Soul. He is an educational consultant who gives seminars around the country to teachers and parents. At one of those seminars was a teacher named Donna from a small Michigan town. They became acquainted, and he asked if he could drop in on one of her classes one day.

Class was already in session when Chick came into the back of the room and found an empty chair. He saw the students, 30 fourth-graders, busily writing a list on their papers. He looked over at a little boy's paper and saw, "I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't. I can't hit the soccer ball into the net. I can't do division with more than three numbers. I can't get Glenda to like me."

He looked at another little boy's paper and it read, "I can't hit a home run. I can't do ten sit-ups. I can't eat only one cookie." He thought, "This is strange. This is a negative class." So he went up to the teacher's desk to ask her what was going on. But she was also busily writing, and when he looked at her paper he read, "I can't get Johnny's mother to come to a parent-teacher's meeting. I can't get my daughter to fill the car with gas...."

Puzzled, he went back to his seat, deciding to leave well enough alone and just observe. After a moment, Donna said, "Finished? Write down your last I can't", which the children did. She instructed them to fold their papers and bring them up to her desk. On her desk was a shoebox, into which she put all the papers and then put her own on top. She closed the lid and sealed it. Then she said to the class, "I want you to follow me outside." They went out and down the corridor. She stopped at the custodian's closet and got a shovel. She carried the shovel to the far corner of the playground and said, "Children, we are going to dig a hole and bury this box."

Each kid wanted to participate, so they all dug shovelfuls until they had a hole about three feet deep. Donna placed the box in the hole and covered it with dirt. Then she arranged the children in a circle, and instructed them to hold hands while she delivered the eulogy. "Friends," she said, "we gather in honor of the memory of I can't. While he was with us on earth, he touched the lives of everyone, some more than others. His name, unfortunately, has been spoken in every building: in schools, city halls, state capitols, and yes, even the White House. We have provided I can't with his final resting place. He is survived by his brothers and sisters, I can, I will, and I am going to right away. They are not as well known as their famous relative and certainly not as powerful yet. Perhaps one day, with your help, they will make an even bigger mark on the world.

"May I can't rest in peace. And may everyone present pick up their lives and move forward in his absence. Amen." She brought the kids back in the class. They had a party, with popcorn, punch, and cookies. For the rest of the school year, she had the I can't epitaph up on the wall, hoping to engrain into the depth of those children's psyches that I can't is not a phrase to use.

That was 25 years ago. I wonder what has happened to those children over the years. But I know what can happen to us if we transcend fear of failure and let I can't go out of our lives for good, and the tremendous spiritual resources that will be available to us to work on our behalf if we have faith.

Let me close with a scriptural truth that has probably been stated in this sanctuary in the last 75 years more than any other scripture. It is something Paul wrote to the Philippians. Most of you know it well. "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Have faith. Let us pray.

Lord, give us the power of faith. Help us not to be afraid, but to have the wisdom to stare down our fears and believe, as Jesus has taught us. And help us to understand that our faith, even the size of a mustard seed, is enough to move mountains. AMEN