Overcoming Fear

Good morning, would you pray with me?

Father, we pray that you would open up our hearts and our minds to hear from you.

Would you speak to us now through your word?

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

It's easy to assume that when great or important things happen in the world,

they happen because of exceptional people who, by a kind of abundance of talent or sheer force of will,

simply make things happen.

I remember when I visited Rome years ago, and I went to see the Sistine Chapel

where Michelangelo painted these incredible frescoes of the biblical narrative on the ceiling.

And when you look at them, it is easy to think of Michelangelo's accomplishment

as this sort of preordained work of genius.

But what people often forget is that when the Pope commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel,

Michelangelo was not interested.

In fact, he didn't think of himself as a painter.

He thought of himself as a sculptor.

And he was so overwhelmed at the thought of this task that he fled from Rome to Florence,

and it took two years before he actually began to commence the work.

And that was under the insistence of the Pope.

And so the Sistine Chapel only happened because somebody made Michelangelo do it.

Or think of Abraham Lincoln.

I was not getting choked up at the thought of Abraham Lincoln there.

Many regard Lincoln as the greatest of all American presidents,

and it's natural to think that what he accomplished was the result of sheer political talent

or this sort of force of vision.

But when historians rate presidents on things like conflict avoidance or people-pleasing,

Lincoln is off the charts.

He's right there at the very top.

He devoted hours each day to holding office hours with citizens.

He pardoned deserters in the Civil War.

He agonized for six months over whether he should actually free the slaves

before he signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

Or think of Martin Luther King, Jr., who only wanted to be a pastor

and eventually a college president but not a civil rights leader.

But after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat at the front of a bus,

an association was formed to launch a bus boycott,

and one of the attendees nominated King to be president of that little association.

And King later wrote,

It happened so quickly that I didn't have time to think it through.

It's probable that if I had, I would have declined the nomination.

King described himself as possessed by fear when he had to start giving speeches to the community.

And his most famous speech, his I Have a Dream speech that he delivered in 1963,

only occurred because a colleague proposed that Dr. King should be the closing speaker of the March on Washington,

and that colleague gathered a coalition of other leaders to advocate on King's behalf.

We love to tell stories about heroes, about larger-than-life figures who make an impact on the world

because of their talent and their drive,

but the reality is that the way that most people impact the world,

including those that we look up to the most,

is often far more complex.

As Church of the Advent moves closer,

we're not there yet,

but moves closer to purchasing a building in the center of the city,

again, hasn't happened yet, we need to keep praying,

the prospect of a permanent church home

has many of us thinking about

what kind of long-term impact

we as a church want to have on the city.

Last week, I had the chance to drive by the outside of the church that we're hoping to buy.

Anybody else done any drive-by viewings?

And I found myself looking not just at the building,

but looking at everything that surrounds it.

The neighborhood streets that are stacked with row houses,

with thousands of people living in them.

The charter school across the street that is serving at-risk kids in our city.

Some of the homeless, or what appear to be people who are homeless,

sitting on the sidewalks just a few streets away.

And standing outside the church,

I found myself wondering,

how should we be thinking about mission in our city?

As we move, hopefully, into a new neighborhood.

Being new kids on the block,

but hopefully being there for a long time.

What should be our mindset?

And if we believe that impact isn't accomplished

simply because talented, driven people show up to make things happen,

how does effective mission occur?

And in particular, how does effective mission occur through the church?

And our gospel lesson from this morning's lectionary readings,

I think, has much to teach us about that.

We are in Matthew chapter 10 this morning,

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

but I want us to take a moment to think back to our lectionary readings

from the past two weeks from Matthew chapter 9.

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

And we might think about Matthew chapter 9

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

as something like a Jesus highlight film.

The chapter is packed with him,

performing one miracle after another,

from one scene to the next.

The chapter opens with Jesus healing a paralytic,

which is right before he invites Matthew to be one of his disciples.

In the next scene, Jesus is being asked to heal a ruler's daughter,

but before he can even get to the man's house,

another woman touches him along the way,

touches the hem of his garment, and he heals her.

And then when Jesus finally gets to the house of the ruler,

the daughter has now died, so Jesus brings her back to life.

And then in the final two scenes,

two blind men approach Jesus, followed by another man with a demon,

and he heals them all.

Now, by the end of Matthew chapter 9,

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

you could just stop the story,

mic drop, and Matthew 9 would be an inspirational success story

with climactic music at the end.

Jesus on a mission.

Jesus impacting the world.

But that would not be the full account.

Because in nearly every single scene in Matthew 9,

Jesus is faced with trouble and difficulty and complaints.

He's teaching, he's healing,

and you would think that everyone would be happy about it, right?

But they're not.

So the chapter opens with Jesus healing the paralytic man,

and the paralytic man is happy,

but the religious officials are not.

And they tell Jesus,

would you please stop announcing to people

that their sins are forgiven when you heal them?

And when Jesus calls Matthew,

Matthew's pretty happy,

but maybe just a little surprised.

And everyone else is upset

that Jesus is overthrowing social conventions

to eat with sinners and tax collectors.

And when Jesus brings the daughters,

the ruler's daughter back to life,

the family is filled with gratitude,

but everyone else who's gathered there

mocks Jesus for his clearly mistaken analysis

that she is merely asleep.

And then when Jesus frees a man from demonic oppression,

rather than celebrating with the man,

those in power question Jesus' motives

and accuse him of using demonic powers

to accomplish such deeds.

In other words, Jesus,

the incarnate Son of God,

going from village to village,

doing amazing stuff,

in nearly every case,

gets decidedly mixed reactions.

People like some parts of his ministry,

but not other parts.

Some want the miracle,

but not the teaching.

Others want the healing,

but not on this day,

or in that way,

or for that person.

Jesus brings a holistic mission

in both word and deed,

and it is never,

never a slam dunk success.

Jesus' mission is always embedded

in difficulty, misunderstanding,

and resistance.

And now,

in our passage from this morning's reading

in Matthew 10,

Jesus warns his disciples

that their ministry

is going to get exactly the same reaction

as his ministry.

He's commissioned them

to do what he's been doing,

teaching and preaching the kingdom of God,

healing the sick,

casting out demons,

and then after commissioning them,

he says in Matthew 10, verse 16,

Matthew 10:16

Behold, I'm sending you out as sheep

in the midst of wolves,

so be wise as serpents

and innocent as doves.

Beware of men,

for they will deliver you over to courts

and flog you in their synagogues,

and you will be dragged before governors

and kings for my sake.

And then in verse 24,

he goes on to say,

A disciple is not above his teacher,

nor a servant above his master.

If they have called the master

of the house Beelzebul,

which is what the Jews refer to as Satan,

how much more will they malign

those of his household?

I want to take seriously

what Jesus is saying here,

that kingdom ministry always occurs

in the midst of resistance and difficulty,

and that what Jesus faced in his ministry

will be faced by those who follow him.

And I want us to reflect for a moment

on what it might mean for us

and for our mission as a church.

And I'd like for us to notice two things.

First, our human tendency

is to want to approach mission

from a position of strength

and effectiveness.

We spend most of our working lives

oriented around competency and success.

But Jesus seems to assume

that when it comes to kingdom mission,

not only is it going to be marked by difficulty

rather than immediate outward success,

but also that true effectiveness

will come from a power

that is beyond our own abilities.

Jesus tells his disciples,

I am sending you out as sheep

in the midst of wolves.

To be a sheep

is to be in a position of powerlessness,

not conquest.

As Woody Allen once said,

the lion may lie down with the lamb,

but the lamb won't get much sleep.

Jesus says his followers

will be delivered over to courts

and dragged before governors.

Now that may literally happen

in some places or in some eras.

It certainly did for the disciples

and in the early church,

and it happens in other parts

of the world today.

But the reality is that

in any era

and in all places,

we can be assured

that kingdom mission

will come into conflict

with systems of power

that oppose that mission.

Not too long ago,

I was sitting down

with the executive director

of one of the largest

faith-based affordable housing

organizations here in Washington, D.C.

and he was describing to me

their newest efforts

to provide affordable housing

specifically for returning citizens.

People have been released from prison

and are now returning home

to the district,

often after years of being away.

One of the leading predictors

of whether or not

returning citizens

will be able to rebuild their life

or will re-offend

and return to prison

is whether or not

they can find a place to live.

And often,

they have burned

so many bridges,

he told me,

that they no longer have

family or friends

to stay with

and they need a place

to call home.

But he described to me

the powerful interests,

the economic forces,

the real estate development objectives

that must be overcome

to create such housing.

Now, these powerful barriers

were not erected

by people with evil intentions

or by people

who don't want

returning citizens

to have affordable housing.

And it's not to say

that economics

and real estate interests

don't matter.

It's simply to say

that such barriers

reflect something

that the Apostle Paul

calls in Ephesians

principalities and powers.

Nameless, faceless systems

take on a life of their own,

and even if it wasn't

originally intended,

they act as barriers

to human flourishing.

And it can feel overwhelming

to come up

against these forces,

making you simply

want to give up

or not even try.

Systems,

by their very nature,

encourage passivity.

How do we resist them?

Not from a posture

of conquest,

Jesus says.

We should, of course,

be wise as servants,

Jesus allows.

We should be smart

and thoughtful

and strategic.

But Jesus is also clear

that overcoming

such systems

will not ultimately

be the result

of our own competence.

Instead,

Jesus says in verse 19,

when you are standing

before those in power

and seemingly

at your weakest,

it is at that moment

that what you are to say

will be given to you.

The spirit of your father

speaking through you.

Have you ever had

an experience

when you were given

something

that was beyond you?

Perhaps it was

the right words

at just the right moment.

Perhaps it was

kindness that was

beyond yourself

in the face

of mistreatment.

Perhaps it was strength

to bear something

farther than you could

bear on your own.

Being given something

from the outside

is what life

in the kingdom

is about.

That something

from the outside

inside,

that power

is available

to us.

And our lives

over time

should increasingly

be marked

by an expectation

of

and a reliance

on that power.

as we consider

the prospect

of moving

into a new

neighborhood,

a new era

as a church,

we should remember

that authentic ministry

is never a conquering

crusade.

If Jesus'

ministry

and the experience

of the early church

is any guide,

authentic mission

will almost always

be marked

by difficulty.

in his commentary

on Matthew

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10,

the New Testament

scholar

Dale Bruner

writes that

it is almost

as though

Jesus expects

saving mission

to occur

more often

through bad

things

than through good.

Why is that?

perhaps in part

because in the life

of the church

and in our own

personal lives,

difficulty

and trouble

create

pathways

to reliance

on the Lord.

It is primarily

through difficulty

that we learn

that our strength,

our power,

our competency

is inadequate.

it is through trials

that we learn

humility.

There are some

mountains

that we

just cannot

climb.

And as we

begin to experience

the Lord

providing

what we need,

those experiences

become

part of our

witness.

The Lord

did this,

not me,

not us.

So the first

thing to notice

in Jesus'

teaching on

mission

is that it

almost always

occurs in the

midst of

difficulty

and any

lasting success

will be the

result of

God's power

and not our

competency.

The second

thing I'd like

us to notice

briefly,

however,

is the greatest

barrier

to living out

our mission

and that

barrier

is fear.

We

instinctively

fear

difficulty.

In fact,

sometimes the

fear of

potential

difficulty

is even

worse than

the experience

of difficulty

itself.

Our human

nature is

wired to

seek safety

and protection

and comfort

and to

avoid at

any cost

the prospect

of pain

or trouble.

And thus,

fear may act

as a barrier

to mission,

especially if

we've just

heard Jesus

himself promise

that mission

is going to

be accompanied

by pain

and trouble.

That fear

may show up

in different

ways.

We might

fear that

the comfort

and predictability

of our lives

might be

disrupted

by certain

forms of

ministry.

We might

fear getting

overwhelmed by

taking on

problems that

we know

little about.

We might

fear the

personal

journey that

we would

need to

go on

in order

to live

out some

of the

things that

God has

put in

our hearts

and the

changes that

might require.

There's a

psychologist named

Julie Norum

who has

studied

strategies for

handling fear

in different

scenarios.

One strategy

she calls

strategic

optimism.

Strategic

optimists

look at

something fearful

and they

do their

best to

ignore the

bad things

that might

happen and

instead focus

their attention

on best

case scenarios.

But another

approach she

describes is

what we might

call strategic

pessimism.

Strategic

pessimists

imagine certain

scenarios and

then they

purposefully

consider the

worst that

might happen.

When they have

to give a speech

they imagine

themselves not

only doing a

poor job giving

the speech but

tripping on the

stage and then

forgetting all

their lines.

Now most

people assume

it's better to

be a strategic

optimist.

But in fact

her studies

show that if

approached in

the right way

strategic pessimism

can sometimes

result in better

outcomes.

Because when

fear begins to

creep in

rather than

denying what

we fear or

pretending it's

not there or

looking away

only at best

case scenarios

one way to

diminish its

power is to

lean into the

fear to sit

with it and to

consider the

other side of

even the worst

happening.

And I wonder

when he begins

addressing his

disciples fear as

they head out

into mission.

If Jesus might

be employing a

bit of strategic

pessimism.

He says to his

disciples when you

go out to do

kingdom ministry

you're going to

run into trouble

just expected.

But he doesn't

stop there.

Rather than offer

false encouragement

he goes on to

say in verse 28

and you don't even

need to fear those

who are going to

kill you.

There is nothing

to suggest that

the disciples had

up until that

moment even been

considering that

possibility.

And so perhaps it

raised new questions

in their mind that

they didn't have

moments before.

But now having

presented the very

worst case scenario

having leaned fully

into the ultimate

fear of every

person including

his disciples that

my very life might

be at risk.

Jesus is ready to

provide a different

way of thinking.

He says you don't

need to fear because

God your heavenly

father is actively

and personally

caring for you.

Even the very hairs

on your head are

numbered.

He says in verse

29 not even a

sparrow can fall to

the ground apart

from your father.

One of the biggest

lies that we

believe and what

ultimately leads us

to live in fear

is the belief that

not only does God

not notice

sparrows,

God is not

watching out for me.

God doesn't have my

best interests at heart.

And if I am going

to be safe

and happy

in this world

it is up to me

to make that happen.

And we live in fear

of anything

that might threaten

those efforts.

And on one level

this is entirely

rational

because the world

on its own

is not a safe place.

Jesus says that

people in power

brother may harm us.

He says that even

family members

may betray us.

Brother will deliver

brother over to death.

He says

even those

who are close

to us

might hurt us.

But what Jesus

is teaching here

and one of the

most radical things

that we can learn

is that even

amidst the very

worst things

in the world

we are not

outside of God's care.

A sparrow

cannot fall

to the ground

Jesus says

apart from the

Father.

The hard

but ultimately

comforting truth

is that there

is nothing

that happens

in this life

that is outside

of God's

providential

care.

this does not

mean that God

is somehow

behind the bad

things that happen

to us

that come as

the result

of living

in a fallen

world.

But the mystery

of God's providence

is that he is able

to take

anything

that happens

in our lives

and use it

for our good

and for his

good purposes.

we are safe

with God.

And the more

deeply that we

are able to

take that in

the more

possible it

is for us

to live

free of the

fear that

drives us

to arrange

our lives

in ways that

are apart

from God.

And the more

freedom

we will find

to live

our lives

as on a

mission.

And thus

we might ask

ourselves

as a church

as we think

about our

mission in

this city

if we were

to trust

God's power

and not our

own competence

if we were

to accept

the difficulty

and troubles

that are the

norm

and if we

were to

increasingly

live free

from fear

what does

God want

to do

through Church

of the

Advent?

And we

might ask

the same

question

of ourselves

personally.

How might

I allow

the difficulties

the barriers

the mountains

in my life

that I cannot

climb

to lead me

into greater

reliance

on the Lord?

how might

I lean

into my

fears

and welcome

God's care?

And how

might I

follow Jesus

into the

world

more fully

relying

on the power

of the Holy

Spirit?

Amen.