Have No Fear
“But immediately [Jesus] spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; have
no fear.’”
Mark 6:50
It has been apparent to me for some time that “fear sells.” One can’t watch the evening news without being deluged by fear-mongering stories that seem designed to keep people on edge. Whether the story is about the Coronavirus or one of its many variants, hurricane season, road rage, the rising crime rate in many cities across our country, the political donation requests that fear the “other guy” is winning or the rise of China, Russia or Iran as geopolitical opponents, fear sells. It seems to be in our human DNA to fear. We fear appearing foolish, speaking out, being wrong, losing our job, losing our health, and we fear for our children’s safety. Moreover, all this fear, to quote Henry David Thoreau, causes us to, “lead lives of quiet desperation,” or as T.S. Eliot said, “To measure out our lives in coffee spoons.”
Frequently, when people in Scripture encounter God, their response is to fear. When the angel Gabriel approached Mary, she was afraid. When the woman who touched Jesus’ robe and was healed was discovered and brought before Jesus, she came “in fear and trembling.” When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the Sea of Galilee, they were terrified. Yet, fear limits our imagination, hems us in, and gets in the way of our freedom to trust that God is in charge and with us.
So, all through the Bible, we are admonished to “have no fear, be not afraid, and fear not.” Just as Gabriel said to Mary, “Be not afraid,” and Jesus told His disciples on the rough Sea of Galilee not to fear, He says to us, “Take heart, it is I; have no fear.” Fear is the opposite of faith and the opposite of freedom. So, take heart, be of good courage and have no fear, the Lord is with you.
One of my favorite hymns (#594) includes these words in verse two:
Lo! the hosts of evil round us scorn thy Christ, assail his ways!
From the fears that long have bound us free our hearts to faith and praise:
grant us wisdom, grant us courage for the living of these days,
for the living of these days.
Let that be our prayer today!
