When I was growing up in the 90’s there was this ultra-cool clothing line called “No Fear.”
Wearing “No Fear” shirts broadcasted that you were a fearless individual who was up for any crazy idea. The clothing line was trendy among those who took part in extreme sports, like skateboarding, and was widely worn by many of my friends and peers, and this “No Fear” marketing also had a strong influence on the young and impressionable teenage Fr. Wood.
A friend of mine had a basketball hoop attached to his garage, and he dared me to jump off the garage from behind the hoop, catch a ball and perform a slam dunk into the hoop. I was about 14 years old at the time, and I was wearing a shirt that said “No Fear” so naturally, I accepted the challenge.
I climbed on top of the flat-roofed garage and was behind the backboard of the basketball hoop. My friend said he was ready, so I took a few steps back ran forward jumped over the backboard, spun 45 degrees to the right, caught the ball, looked down and slammed it right through the hoop. I can remember thinking to myself, I am going to be a legend for this, but then, as my hands gripped the hoop, I felt my body swinging wildly into a horizontal position, and once there, I lost my grip and fell 10 feet flat on my back onto the concrete driveway. Luckily, I wasn’t injured, but oh did my pride take a hit!
I tell you all this story because I think that a good subtitle for Mark’s Gospel account is “The Story of Jesus: The Man with No Fear.” Jesus’ lack of fear was not brought on by a feeble teenage-brain. His “no fear’” attitude was because he had total faith on the mission God the Father gave him. We read in last week’s Gospel lesson that Jesus had just gone head to head with the Pharisees who had been watching Jesus from afar and finally confronted him. Because of that confrontation, the Pharisees got together with the Herodians to plot a way to stop what Jesus was doing, to prevent Jesus from bringing the power and grace of the kingdom of God to the people who were so in need of that power and grace.
We pick up today, and Jesus has returned home after much public preaching and healing, and his fame is spreading rapidly, and widely. A crowd so large gathered that Jesus and his disciples could not even eat. Jesus’ family heard all this was going on, and his family also heard that many people were saying that Jesus was out of his mind. We see the scribes challenge Jesus and claim that a demon possesses him, and then we see Jesus’ mother and brothers arrive to collect him, and we hear Jesus say something that seems quite terse when he is told of his family’s arrival; Jesus asks, who are my mother and brothers? And then he answers his question by pointing out that those who are with him, learning from him, and doing the will of God, are his family.
I have heard people interpret this as a lack of faith on the part of Jesus’ family, and that Jesus is rebuking his family. I don’t think that is the case. The fact is, Mark reveals to us that Jesus’ family knows that there are people saying things about Jesus and plotting to get Jesus. They see him teaching non-stop and healing people, they are afraid for him, they are gripped with fear, they think Jesus does not know about the brooding plot to discredit him, and if need be to destroy him. So, they arrive to warn him, to protect him. When Jesus hears of their arrival, knowing why they are there, he dismisses them, as if to say to them fear not, I am here where I am supposed to be, and I know what is, and I am not afraid of what is inevitably coming my way.
Jesus lived a life without fear, as is evident in today’s Gospel lesson. According to Rick Warren, God uses some form of the command “Do not be afraid” or “Fear not” in the Bible 365 times. Warren argues that is because we have 365 days in the year, and we need to be reminded every single one of those days not to be afraid, for God is on our side.
Can you imagine what we could accomplish if we put our fears aside and allowed the spirit of God to lead us, to be driven by the word of God, in all our actions? We would set this world on fire, with the spirit of truth and love, if we ceased to fear the things we cannot control and controlled our fear by relying on God, and His promises to us.
I imagine that when FDR gave his famous first inaugural address and said, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” he was inspired by God to do so. Think about what fruit the human race has produced because of fear, classism, racism, sexism, genocide, war, corruption, suicide, hatred of the unknown, and so much more – all the result of Satan’s most potent tool, fear.
Fear paralyzes us, it stops us from introducing ourselves to the newcomer in church, it prevents us from learning the story of the person sitting next to us in these pews, who might not fit the mold of who we think should be sitting next to us. Fear stops us from learning about the those who are in need around us, it prevents us from feeling empathy for the people we disagree with, because we are afraid their opinions might change the way our society thinks causing us to be the outcast instead of them. You know Christians were outcasts for hundreds of years, living lives contrary to the society they found themselves in, and they survived, if we must, through the power of God we will do it again. Fear is powerful. We must not let ourselves fall into the paralyzing condition of fear, and if we find ourselves gripped by fear, we must reach out to Jesus, whose continuous message to us is “Fear not.” We must allow him to pull us out of our fear. Fear prevents the Church from bringing the power and grace of the kingdom of God to the people who are so in need of that power and grace.
Think about it this way; God is sovereign over all. And there is nothing, that can separate any of us from the love of Christ, unless we choose ourselves to blaspheme the Holy Spirit and reject God’s sovereignty, to reject the kingdom of God that Jesus has won for us all. Whatever condition you find yourself in, fear not. If you are abused fear not, if you have been broken by something, fear not, if you are dying fear not, if someone you love is sick, fear not. Trust our Lord, trust Jesus Christ, and go to him, go to the church, and lay all your fear down at the foot of the cross. Jesus has modeled for us the kind of faith that spits in the face of fear, and He has won for all of us eternal joy, don’t allow fear to keep you from it. Live the Christian life, live life with “no fear.”
Sermon preached by the Rev. Christian M. Wood
Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota Florida
3 Pentecost
10 June 2018