There is a wonderful Texas story about two little boys whose mother asked them to chase a chicken snake out of the hen house. They look everywhere for that snake, but can't find it. The more they look, the more afraid they get.
Finally, they stand up on their tiptoes to look on the top nesting shelf and come nose to nose with the snake. They fall all over one another running out of the chicken house. "Don't you know a chicken snake won't hurt you?" their mama asks.
"Yes, ma'am," one of the boys answers, "but there are some things that will scare you so bad you'll hurt yourself."
It's true isn't it? Fear is a power to be reckoned with, a force so strong that when gripped by it, we become like Houdini, under water in a trunk with no key, no light, no air, no freedom, no tomorrow.
Then along comes a counter-claim from
this week's scripture passage: "Perfect love castes out all fear." It's remarkably hopeful, yet hard to trust. What if it doesn't work? What if the things I'm afraid of turn out to be true? How can love cast out fear?
On World Communion Sunday, we'll explore this important topic in depth. Come, and bring a friend.
Warmly,
