This past Sunday, Mark Smith, the Methodist pastor who has served both Exeter and Lindsay congregations, preached his last sermon. He called it “Unafraid,” and used texts from both the Old and New Testaments to bring home the primary message of the Bible: that God is in charge and we, the people, should fear not.
His message was more than
comforting. It was, and is, also a
challenge, because we use fear to keep us comfortable. “I can’t do that,” we tell ourselves,
whatever “that” is, “because ____,” and then fill in the blank with some reason
or excuse to cover the fact that, in truth, it’s because we fear the possible
consequences.
Of course, we in the pews as well as
behind the pulpit have had reasons for little bouts of fear since we all heard
the Methodist Conference’s decision to transfer Mark to two churches in Amador
County. Moving a family and facing new
congregations teamed up with finding a new pastor who will preach messages we
can hear (and who knows what else?) have made people on both sides of the aisle
uncertain. Our new minister and his
family are from the tiny South Pacific island of Tonga, where things are very
different than here. But God’s in
charge. We move forward and be grateful.
As I listened to Mark’s sermon
(twice, needing a double dose,) I wished we could apply this message to our
current national conundrums around immigration, international trade, the
budget, even the elections. Stirring up
fear has been this administration’s primary tool for generating votes and
legislation, not to mention executive orders.
The fears being stirred are in us, however. We are responsible for having become a
fearful people.
“Oh, I’m not afraid,” I hear you
protest in my mind. Yes, we have things
we use to protect ourselves: laws and
regulations, firearms and fences, locks and alarms, police and the military
(and of course there’s always location, location, location.) If we’re not afraid, then what is the uproar
over illegal immigration, or school shootings, or the trade deficit with
China? Or North Korea’s challenge to our
nuclear military capability? Or even the
possible elimination of Medicare and Social Security? It’s fear, folks: fear that our comforts, our support systems,
our way(s) of life will be changed or disappear, replaced with something
different, less, or eliminated completely.
It’s no small thing. Even the
small things.
“When did we vote for this?” a
friend’s friend is reported to have said when the Lindsay Public Golf Course
began to be dismantled. I could tell him
it’s when we voted (or didn’t) for the current city council members; I could
tell him it’s when they voted at a city council meeting which he had the right
(unexercised) to attend and to speak against the proposal. But when I have invited people to join me in
the council chambers, most often they look away, check their schedules, mention
how inconvenient it would be to come.
Sometimes they confess they wouldn’t want to say anything for fear of
looking foolish, or out of step with people they admire (or fear), or possibly
for generating consequences that might make their lives more difficult.
It occurs to me that perhaps we have
become a fearful people because we’re afraid, mostly, of fear. It’s uncomfortable: easier to hide from it than meet it
head-on. Perhaps that’s where God works
first: in removing the fear of fear, releasing us from being frozen in the
headlights to meeting the sources of possible danger face to face. It’s an interesting proposition we might
explore – as a people.
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Trudy
Wischemann is an unmethodical person who writes regularly anyway. You can send her your thoughts on fear c/o
P.O. Box 1374, Lindsay CA 93247 or leave a
comment below.
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