"Do Not Be Afraid" - Sermon for the Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost

Do Not Be Afraid
Pentecost 23 – Narrative Lectionary 1
November 16, 2014
Grace, Mankato, MN
Isaiah 36.1-3, 13-20; 37.1-7; 2.1-4

Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard… Isaiah 37.6

What are the fearful voices whispering in your ear? What are the voices that are so loud that it’s hard to tune them out? The Jewish people holed up behind the walls of Jerusalem cowered at the voice of the Rabshakeh. With the skill that would rival any modern-day political hack or Madison Avenue huckster, Rabshakeh drives fear into their hearts. First, he speaks in their own language, which is beyond their comprehension. Second, he uses small grains of truth, which make the most deadly lies. And last, he knows the buttons to push, elevating their anxieties into the stratosphere.

For most of their existence, the Jews have been bordered by powerful nations with multiple gods. The presence of these other gods continually challenged the Jew’s claim to worship the one and only God. Ironically, Rabshakeh uses both the polytheistic culture and their belief in one God against them. “Look what happened to other nations who trusted in their god,” he says. “Yours isn’t any better. Not only is your God powerless to help, your God doesn’t really care about you and won’t help you.”

Fear mongering was a big business back then and it is just as big or even bigger business today. Advertisers whisper into our ears that the lack of their products in our lives seriously hampers our ability to live, not to mention our identity. I number of years ago I was invited to a “free” dinner, which turned out to be a pretext for a sales pitch for a home fire alarm system. The movie they should and their arguments almost worked; they made me very afraid. Politicians are masters at this, scaring us into voting, mostly against other candidates or other parties. Much of legislation is based on fear. I think that’s what was at heart of the arrest of the men who were feeding the homeless in Florida: fear. Then, the media capitalize on these fears and jack them up. Look and listen to how they report stories and the intonations they use. We saw this in the report out of Minneapolis about the major supposedly making a gang sign. They took a fear and capitalized on it. Fortunately, there was enough sanity so we didn’t play into it. As Amy Oden notes, fear is the strongest human motivation there is – except for love.

So, we also need Isaiah’s words for today: “Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard.” Someone noted that this phrase occurs 365 times in the Bible, and it almost always comes from God’s messenger to us. When we are told not to be afraid, it’s not because there aren’t real dangers in our lives; there are. God’s message to us is that, because of God’s presence and love, we are not to let fear rule us. We trust this message because God is the one who keeps promises. By the way, you may want to not that the Assyrians who were so self-assured are around no more. God, however, is still plugging away.

We meet the fulfillment of that promise most clearly in the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the down payment and the guarantee of Isaiah’s vision of a different future without war. Although we may not see the complete fulfillment in our lifetime, this vision gives shape to our present, to how we live. There is an alternate way of life that stands over and against fear, brutality and intimidation. There is a different voice that speaks hope, mercy and peace; one that does not tear but instead down builds up.

So, what does this mean for us and how does it make a difference in our day to day lives? In some way, we are called to not only “rend our clothes” but also “beat our swords into plows.” Today is Commitment Sunday, where we make our financial promises for the coming year. Our commitments today stand as visible signs that we will not be ruled by the fearful voices in our world. What we do matters, and our generosity flows from the generosity of the one who gave himself. Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard. The Word made flesh, Jesus Christ casts out all fear. Thanks be to God. Amen.