Fear Not
Rev. Mark Schaefer
Kay Spiritual Life Center
April 16, 2006—Easter Sunday
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Mark 16:1-8
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his steadfast love endures for ever!
Let Israel say,
‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’
The Lord is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.
There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
‘The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;
the right hand of the Lord is exalted;
the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.’
I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord.
The Lord has punished me severely,
but he did not give me over to death.
Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvellous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Now I should remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to someone untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.Mark 16:1-8
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’ So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
I. BEGINNING
For the past three years, this community has offered an alternative spring break trip to Cherokee, North Carolina. One of staples of that trip has been the group’s participation in a sweat lodge ritual. Two out of the three years, we had the privilege of taking part in this ritual at the home of Curtis and Mary Ki Kekahbah. Of all the elements of the sweat that impressed, inspired, and affected me, the portion that spoke to me most was when Curtis spoke about the two main emotions that dominated us. The first one is love. The second one is fear. I was surprised by that—we always think of love and hate as polar opposites—I was challenged in thinking in terms of love and fear.
But the more I reflected on it, the more I realized he was right. “Everything good comes from love,” he said, “and everything evil—anger, hate, greed—comes from fear.” We reside in a world caught between two poles: love and fear.
II. THE TEXT
I am struck by St. Mark’s telling of the Resurrection story. It is the briefest, most abrupt telling of the story. There are actually three different endings to the Gospel of Mark. There is the shorter ending which reads:
And all that had been commanded them they told briefly to those around Peter. And afterwards Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.
And then there is the longer ending, which includes an appearance to Mary Magdalene, then an appearance to two disciples in the countryside, then an appearance to the eleven with a version of the Great Commission (including a strange verse about how the disciples will be able to handle snakes and drink poison without being harmed), and then is followed by the Ascension into heaven.
But the most ancient manuscripts have only eight verses, the eight verses we read earlier. And the great majority of scholars agree that the original ending of Mark is the ending we read, which ends abruptly with the women fleeing from the tomb “for they were afraid.”
It is a curious way to end the Gospel account, particularly the Easter story. There has been much speculation about Mark’s ending. Most seem to think that Mark ends his Gospel that way because it speaks to his audience, to the people reading and hearing his gospel. We’re not sure where they were: traditionally in Rome, perhaps Syria. But it seems clear that Mark’s community was made up of Christians living in fear, persecuted and feeling a sense of loss. The Gospel of Mark is written so that the reader or the listener will be able to identify with it. They will identify with the clueless disciples. Identify with the crowds. And most importantly identify with the suffering Christ.
And so Mark authors for them a gospel that speaks to their experience, their experience of persecution and fear.
III. FEAR
Fear is certainly something we can understand, isn’t it? Because if ever there were a people who lived in fear, it is us. Fear has long been a part of our national life: fear of the Indians who inhabited this land, fear of Catholic immigrants, fear of slave rebellions, fear industrialization, fear of the Communists, fear of the Nazis, fear of the Communists again, fear of the terrorists.
And it seems to be getting worse. Because we’ve also learned that fear sells. Our advertising scares you into thinking you have a problem and then comes along with the solution in the knick of time, that they’re happy to sell you. Look at the things we’re encouraged to be afraid of: off-white teeth, bad breath, carbohydrates, hair loss, impotence, growing older, wrinkles, and a whole host of medical conditions that we’d never heard of but that we’d better run out and buy the drugs for.
It seems like fear is a staple of our national consciousness. And not just ours, of course, but everyone’s. There is fear of immigrants in Germany and France. Fear of Western hegemony in the Arab world. Fear of instability in Russia. Fear of loss of British Identity in the UK. The Israelis fear the Palestinians. The Palestinians fear the Israelis.
And it seems to me that Curtis was right—the very worst of human history is because people succumbed to fear. Could the Germans have supported the Third Reich if they had not been motivated by fear? Was not the entire Soviet system under Stalin built on fear? Did not Saddam rule through fear? Has not even the Church herself succumbed to fear in the Inquisitions and Crusades? Are we human beings not simply fearful creatures, afraid of the dark?
IV. THE GOSPEL
Indeed, it is for people like us that Mark wrote his Gospel. People
overwhelmed by fear and anxiety. Trapped in the darkness, cowering and afraid.
It’s for people like us that Mark wrote his Good News of Jesus Christ
and of his resurrection from the dead. But what does that Resurrection have
to say to us about our fear?
A. Resurrection and Expectation
Strange as it may seem, the idea of “life after death” is something we almost take for granted. But it wasn’t always the case. The ancient Israelites did not believe in life after death. They believed that death was the end—and let us not kid ourselves, it is a very real end. But they did not believe that the person lived on in any meaningful way after death. If anything, the person was a shadow of their former self, not even able to make remembrance of God from the grave.
But a recognition that this was not a world of perfect justice led to a longing for some kind of reckoning, some way for God to bring wholeness and justice to those who had suffered during this life. And the Jews began to look forward to the Resurrection of the dead as vindication and restoration of this life.
B. Easter and the Victory of God
Jesus’ resurrection, then, was vindication of our hopes. It says to a broken and hurting world: Death, and pain, and brokenness, and sorrow do not rule the world: God does! As one of my seminary professors said, the message of the Gospel is God wins!
Injustice does not win. Jesus was unjustly arrested and tried and crucified, yet was raised to Eternal Life in the Resurrection. God wins.
Violence does not win. Jesus was flogged, scourged, beaten, and crucified, yet was raised to Eternal Life in the Resurrection. God wins.
Betrayal does not win. Jesus was betrayed by those closest to him, abandoned and denied by those whom he loved, and yet, was raised to new life for their sake. God wins.
Sin does not win. We sinners, who were in that crowd on Good Friday calling for Jesus’ crucifixion stand amazed at the Empty Tomb. Jesus was raised for our sake. God wins.
Fear does not win. The temple leadership feared Jesus’ popularity and that he would incite rebellion. The Romans feared his potential to incite unrest. Yet Jesus was raised to Eternal Life in the Resurrection. God wins.
Death does not win. Jesus was dead. He was buried. In the ancient understanding, he descended into the realm of the dead. And yet, Jesus was raised to Eternal Life in the Resurrection. God wins. We need no longer fear death or as St. Paul said, “Mourn as others do who have no hope”—we can mourn a death, but always in the sure and confident hope of the Resurrection unto eternal life.
None of the things that dominate the world win. The Resurrection has made frauds of them all. None of the forces that are rampant in the world have the final say. The Resurrection proves to us that God is in charge, that God’s love and God’s purposes have the final say, that in the end God wins.
Nothing can prevail against the love and grace of God. Especially not our fear.
C. The Women
For we know that the Gospel overcomes fear. How do we know this? Because the Gospel was proclaimed in spite of the fact that the women fled from the empty tomb in fear. According to Mark, these are the only witnesses to the resurrection. These are the only ones to whom the message has been proclaimed. And yet, we know that it is through the women that the message of the Resurrection is proclaimed. Had they not shared what they had encountered we would not be here celebrating this day.
We know that in spite of the fearfulness of the women at the tomb and the disciples at the cross, the message of Christ’s resurrection transformed the world. God can bring faith our of our weakness and failure and even our fear. In spite of our weaknesses and our fear of proclaiming the Gospel, God is powerful enough to work miracles among us and heal us.
We will not always respond in courage. Whether we are like Peter, denying Christ three times, or like the disciples, fleeing from the crucifixion, or like the women fleeing the empty tomb, we will often be overwhelmed by our fear. And yet, God is not deterred by our fear. God raises his Son from the dead in spite of Peter’s denial, in spite of the disciples’ abandonment, and in spite of the reaction of the women at the tomb. God confronts our fear and accomplishes his purposes right through it.
St. Paul understood something of this power, for his encounter with the risen Christ was so powerful as to overcome his fear and lead him to a ministry that was fearless. Listen to some of his words from the Letter to the Romans:
Rom. 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
“Perfect love casts out fear” says the first letter of John. What Mark reminds us is that God’s love, grace, and power plow right through our fear. There is no amount of fear that can overpower God’s purposes.
God’s love overcomes our fear of relationship, with God and each other.
God’s mercy overcomes our fear of injustice. God’s light overcomes
our fear of darkness. And God’s grace overcomes our fear of death by confirming
for us the promise of the Resurrection. Through Christ, the grave has lost all
its power.
So we might wonder why we’re holding on to all the fear that we do. What
does it get us in the end? Might we not better say along with the Psalmist “The
Lord is for me, I will not be afraid. What can a human being do to me?”
(Psalm 118:6, Heb 13:6)
V. END
We live our lives between two poles of love and fear. In the brokenness of the world we see fear and all that it brings: anger, hatred, violence, oppression, injustice.
But standing at the empty tomb we see perfect love made real. We see the work of a God who did not stay removed and aloof from our sufferings, but who in the Son of God took our sufferings upon himself. Who suffered our injustices, died our death, in order to be raised to our resurrection so that we might live lives free from fear.
What wondrous love is this, that God should take upon him all the brokenness of the world that we might be freed from sin, freed from guilt, freed from fear?
Freed to love one another extravagantly. Freed from all the things that have kept us from one another and from God. The stone at the door of the tombs of our hearts is rolled away.
We stand at the Empty Tomb, full of fear and wonder. And we hear the words of God coming to us, as the prophet Isaiah spoke:
Do not fear, for I am with you,
do not be afraid, for I am your God; (Isaiah 41:10)
Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen Indeed! Hallelujah!
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Copyright © 2006. Mark A. Schaefer
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