Easter 2C
April 15, 2007
John 20:19-31
“Rising Above the Fear”
There was a beer party out in the woods and, all of a sudden there was a downpour of rain and thunder. Two young men ran for about 10 minutes in the pouring rain, and finally reached their car just as the rain let up. They jumped in the car, started it up and headed down the road, laughing and, of course, still drinking one beer after the other.
All of a sudden an old man’s face appeared outside the passenger window, and he tapped lightly on the window! The man on the passenger side screamed out, "Ahhhhhhh! Look at my window!!! There’s an old guy’s face there!" (Was this a ghost?)
The old man kept knocking, so the driver said, "Well, open the window a little and ask him what he wants!" So, the passenger rolled his window down part way and, scared out of his wits, said, "What do you want?"
The old man softly replied, "Do you have any cigarettes?"
The passenger, terrified, looked at the driver and said, "He wants a cigarette."
"Well, give him a cigarette! HURRY!!" the driver replies.
So he fumbles around with the pack and hands the old man a cigarette and yells to the driver, "Step on it!!!", rolling up the window in terror.
Now going about 80 miles an hour, they calm down, and they start laughing again, and the passenger says, "What do you think of that?"
The driver replies, "I don’t know. How could that be? I am going pretty fast."
Then all of a sudden AGAIN there is a knock, and there is the old man again.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaah, there he is again!" the passenger yells.
"Well, see what he wants now!" yells back the driver.
He rolls down the window a little ways and shakily says, "Yes?"
"Do you have a light?" the old man quietly asks.
The driver throws a lighter out the window at him & rolls up the window & yells, "STEP ON IT!"
They are now going about 100 miles an hour and still guzzling beer, trying to forget what they had just seen and heard, when all of a sudden again there is more knocking!
"OH MY GOD! HE’S BACK!"
The passenger rolls down the window & screams in stark fear, "WHAT DO YOU WANT?"
The old man replies, "You want some help getting out of the mud?"
Since 9/11, I believe that we, the citizens of the U.S. have a better understanding & appreciation for the fear experienced by the disciples in the days following the crucifixion & resurrection of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. Heightened security at airports, courthouses, strategic facilities & schools is, in part, our reaction to those “who are out to get us.” Terrorism scares us, and many people wonder if we will ever truly feel safe again. How will we rise above this fear which permeates the whole fabric of our being?
First of all, I think we need to realize that we all have fears. Dave Berry, the satirist and humorist once noted: “All of us are born w/ a set of instinctive fears - of falling, of the dark, of lobsters, of falling on lobsters in the dark, or speaking before a Rotary Club, & of the words "Some Assembly Required."
Second, there are two kinds of fear: irrational fear – like the fear of facial hair or fear of being attacked by the Village People. I could name more, but I have a fear of making lists, so I can’t. This type of fear keeps us from doing things we might otherwise want to do & it impairs our ability to trust.
The other is healthy fear. Fear doesn’t have to be a bad thing. There are many fears you & I possess that might be looked on positively. Healthy fears that make us sensitive to the dangers that are a part of life, helping us to stay alive, fall into that category. For instance: When driving on the highway, we should be afraid to travel on the side of approaching traffic…or when someone gives up smoking because they are afraid of developing lung cancer… Healthy fear keeps us safe: it keeps us from aimlessly walking out into oncoming traffic or touching the hot burner on a stove.
To a degree, the disciples were engaged in healthy fear. John tells us that “the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews.” They had watched as Jesus, their Master & leader (but more importantly, friend) had been horrendously treated, crucified & died. Is it any wonder that they were concerned for their safety? They didn’t want the same thing to happen to them.
But they were also engaged in an unhealthy fear that trapped & controlled them. Even though they had received Mary’s news of Jesus’ glorious resurrection, here they are confined by their fear. It was a prison of their own making which prevented them from sharing the ministry that had been a part of their live w/.
That is, until Jesus appeared to them. “Peace be w/ you.” he says, & things quickly begin to turn around. These words, combined w/ him “[showing] them his hands & his side”, causes great joy to spread among the assembled disciples. Their fear is relieved as their love for the Lord & new found faith overcomes it & Jesus instructs them to continue the ministry of healing, loving & forgiveness that he had initially prepared them for w/ the words: “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
Don’t sit here moping! Don’t be afraid! You are my witness to Jerusalem & to the rest of the world. So get on w/ it. & the first person they witness to is Thomas, because he wasn’t there. & in the same words Mary had used they proclaim: “We have seen the Lord!” But fear is still controlling him & he believes them no more than they had believed Mary earlier. He requires proof…& it comes in the person of Jesus. It’s Thomas’ time for a revelation. In the presence of Christ, his eyes are opened and his fears relieved. It’s then that Jesus says something to him that could just as well be directed at us: “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
"Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
Arer you one of the blessed? Do you believe in the Lord Jesus, or has some fear led you to grasp onto something, or someone, else for comfort? Even though you haven’t seen him, do you believe that Jesus’ blessing of salvation is upon you, or do you fear what the future holds & search elsewhere for a Savior? If you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord & Savior, say “I believe.” If you believe he is your one & only key to salvation, say “I believe.”
Are you afraid of what the future holds? Do you have some fear which prevents you from being the kind of servant God has called you to be? We read as the disciples went from fearful to faithful in the presence of the Lord. Now, in the presence of his Holy Spirit, we, as modern day disciples, need to break the shackles that might hold us back…might keep us from being the servants of Jesus Christ we’ve been called to be.
In the name of Jesus Christ, cast that fear from your life & speak the word of the Lord in praise & song to the world. Faith in Christ will set you free to live the life abundant as you reach out to others, sharing w/ them what the great & glorious name of Jesus has done for you: How he has helped you overcome the fears that keep you locked away in some self-imposed prison.
In spirit & in truth, God, in Jesus Christ, has opened the door to our prisons & invites us to step out into the light that we might triumph over the darkness of fear. Luke 1:78-79 reminds us: “78By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, 79to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
God sent Jesus Christ to live among us & be our Lord, not just to inspire w/ fine words when we are anxious, although he does that…not just to encourage us w/ his deeds & miracles when we need a lift, although he does that, too. God sent his Son as a reminder that he cares enough for us that he was willing to sacrifice his son for our sake & that, as children of God, he will never leave us. John 14:18-21 contains this promise from Jesus: 18”I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. 20On that day you will know that I am in my Father, & you in me, & I in you. 21They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; & those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”
Have no fear for the love of Christ is already moving toward us, even before we asked. Forgiveness is being carried in the hands of living grace, not some idol or false god, & is being offered to us right now because we are a blessed people…blessed because, in the words of Jesus, we have “not seen [him] and yet have come to believe.”
The good news is that he comes to us; he breaks down our locked doors & shows himself to us, empowers us, & sends us forth w/ these words from John 12: “Whoever serves me must follow me, & where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.”
Jesus will help us to rise up our fears. All he asks is that we have an open heart so he can lead us, and keep leading us, from unhealthy fear & doubt to honest faith. Because of him, our lives won’t be defined by our fears, but by the grace we have received.
