Do not be afraid.
Fear, Charlie Kirk, and St Matthew's Day
Each week I write a ‘Note from the Vicar’ for the Church’s weekly email update. I was encouraged to share this one more widely so am reproducing here.
“Do not be afraid.”
- Genesis 15.1, Genesis 21.17, Genesis 26.24, Genesis 35.17, Genesis 43.23, Genesis 46.3, Genesis 50.19, Genesis 50.21, Exodus 14.13, Exodus 20.20, Leviticus 26.6, Numbers 14.34. Deuteronomy 1.17, Deuteronomy 1.21, Deuteronomy 3.2, Deuteronomy 3.22, Deuteronomy 7.18, Deuteronomy 20.1, Deuteronomy 20.3, Deuteronomy 31.6, Deuteronomy 31.8, Joshua 1.9, Joshua 8.1, Joshua 10.25, Joshua 11.6, Judges 6.23, 1 Samuel 12.20, 1 Samuel 22.23, 1 Samuel 23.17, 2 Samuel 9.7, 1 Kings 17.13, 2 Kings 1.15, 2 Kings 19.6, 2 Kings 25.24, 1 Chronicles 22.13, 1 Chronicles 28.20, 2 Chronicles 20.15, 2 Chronicles 20.17, 2 Chronicles 32.7, Nehemiah 4.14, Job 5.21, Psalm 3.6, Psalm 4.8, Psalm 16.7-9, Psalm 23.4, Psalm 27.1, Psalm 27.3, Psalm 29.11, Psalm 46.2, Psalm 49.16, Psalm 56.3-4, Psalm 56.11, Psalm 78.53, Psalm 91.5, Psalm 94.19, Psalm 118.6, Psalm 119.165, Proverbs 3.24, Proverbs 3.25, Ecclesiastes 11.10, Isaiah 7.4, Isaiah 8.12, Isaiah 10.24, Isaiah 12.2, Isaiah 17.2, Isaiah 26.3, Isaiah 35.4, Isaiah 37.6, Isaiah 40.9, Isaiah 41.10, Isaiah 41.13, Isaiah 41.14 (x2), Isaiah 43.1, Isaiah 43.5, Isaiah 44.2, Isaiah 44.8, Isaiah 51.7, Isaiah 54.4, Isaiah 54.14, Jeremiah 1.8, Jeremiah 10.5, Jeremiah 17.8, Jeremiah 30.10, Jeremiah 40.9, Jeremiah 42.11, Jeremiah 46.27, Jeremiah 46.28, Jeremiah 51.46, Lamentations 3.57, Ezekiel 3.9, Daniel 10.12, Joel 2.21-22, Zephaniah 3.16, Haggai 2.5, Zechariah 8.13, Zechariah 8.15, Malachi 3.5, Matthew 1.20, Matthew 6.25-34, Matthew 10.19, Matthew 10.26, Matthew 10.31, Matthew 14.27, Matthew 17.7, Matthew 28.5, Matthew 28.10, Mark 5.36, Mark 6.50, Mark 13.11, Luke 1.30, Luke 2.10, Luke 5.10, Luke 8.50, Luke 12.4, Luke 12.7, Luke 12.32, John 12.15, John 14.27, John 16.33, Acts 18.9, Acts 20.10, Acts 27.24, Romans 5.1, Hebrews 13.6, Philippians 4.6, 1 Peter 3.6, 1 Peter 3.14, 1 Peter 5.7, 1 John 4.18, Revelation 1.17, Revelation 2.10
Fear is something that our culture knows a lot about these days.
There’s many things to be afraid of, it seems.
Whether you’re afraid of the people arriving on boats or afraid of the people who are afraid of the people arriving on boats. Whether you’re afraid of the harms of the internet and misinformation or afraid of the policies which are seeking to deal with those issues. Whether you’re afraid for your own health, or the health of loved ones, or the well-being of friends wrestling with their own trials and burdens, the world seems to be filled with fear.
With the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, global leaders amplifying calls for military readiness and preparedness, escalating declarations of sanctions, and the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University it seems as though humanity is struggling to live alongside one another.
And yet when we open our Bibles we see these words, or at least the sentiment, over and over again.
Do not be afraid.
Be bold and courageous.
Do not be afraid.
I am with you.
Do not be afraid.
Even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed.
Do not be afraid.
Say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper”
Do not be afraid.
You are worth more than many sparrows.
Do not be afraid.
This is not to condemn you if you are afraid.
So often these words are said precisely because the hearers were afraid; afraid of their enemies, afraid of the angels they encountered, afraid they would die in the presence of a Holy God far greater than their mortal selves.
Do not hear these words and feel bad for being afraid.
Hear these words and pray to Jesus: “Lord I believe, help me with my unbelief.” (Mark 9.24) ‘Lord, teach me the truth of your words, “Perfect love casts out fear”.’ (1 John 4.18). Hear these words which echo through the ages as a core aspect of the revelation of the eternal God who has chosen us to be his people, who has chosen to be our God; to save us through the death and resurrection of his son Jesus Christ that we might be forgiven of our sins, that we might become children of God and heirs of eternal life.
In the presence of his redeeming and transforming power of life and love over sin and death, we are encouraged, nay commanded “Do not be afraid”. For what can the world, sin and the devil do to the disciples of Jesus in the world today?
We might hear the siren song of fear, it might get under our skin and keep us awake in the night. But we are called to be the light of the world (Matthew 5.14), sharing in the light of Christ and extending the invitation to others that we might live in the reality that although the light shines in the darkness, the darkness shall not overcome it. (John 1.4).
And one of the ways we do this, especially in the world as it is in our present time, is by resolutely refusing to give up on other people. Where there is fear and division we must step into the gap and talk.
“When people stop talking, really bad stuff starts. When marriages stop talking, divorce happens. When civilizations stop talking, war ensues. When you stop having a human connection with someone you disagree with, it becomes a lot easier to want to commit violence against that group. What we as a culture have to get back to is being able to have reasonable disagreement where violence is not an option.” - Charlie Kirk
Or, as Jesus puts it in our Gospel reading for St Matthew’s Day this Sunday:
Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”.
For I have come to call not the righteous, but sinners.
- Matthew 9.13
Remembering that ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’ (1 Timothy 1.15) let us also remember the declaration of God’s love through the scriptures and hear it in our hearts in the midst of our own situations.
“Do not be afraid, for I myself will help you” declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 41.14).
With Every Blessing,
Samuel S. Thorp
ps. The vereses interspersed with ‘Do not be afraid’ above are:
Joshua 1.9, Genesis 26.24, 1 Peter 3.14, Hebrews 13.6, Matthew 10.31