Our generations have never experienced what we experienced this last week.  Schools closing, businesses closing, quarantines, social distancing, and a deathly virus sweeping the earth being passed by people who at times aren’t even aware they carry it. Symptom-free virus runners passing germs and a timeline for chaos that we aren’t sure when will end.

As we are forced into our homes we are left with a blend of cozy rest and fear mongering. We scroll “news feeds” on our mobile devices and tune in to press conferences leaving us with more unprecedented changes and more uncertainty for the months ahead. We sway from the casual “this will all blow over” to “what if I lose my job?” or worse, “what if someone I love gets the virus and dies.” And with the changes happening in real time it feels like if we take a nap for two hours we will awake to find out something else closed or there is a case in our county knocking on our doorstep. People are stocking up and preparing for the worst. People are fighting in aisles of grocery stores for “the essentials to life.” I think it’s safe to say there is some fear in the air.

Jesus had quite a bit to say about fear. In his interaction with his disciples Jesus spent quite a bit of time trying to instill in these people a posture towards fear. In the Bible the phrase “Fear not” shows up 365 times. I think it is safe to say there are some underlying themes in the faith journey that will cause us to confront fear. I think Jesus spent a lot of time trying to teach us the rhythm of relying on our loving father to prepare us for uncertainty and fear. 

I think sometimes we forget the credibility Jesus had when he nudges us with “Do not be afraid.” Sometimes we can tune out his insights in the same way a teenager tunes out their parents wisdom.

“Oh that’s so Jesus. Of course you think we shouldn’t be afraid. You’re so out of touch with reality.”

This isn’t a person who lived a life absent of fear. This isn’t a person who didn’t have to face the realities of life, of friends and family dying, of losing security, of having friends betray him. I am reminded lately of who it is who is telling us to not be afraid. I am reminded of the path he walked, the fear he faced and the promises he gave us. I am reminded of his last night in Gethsemane.

Matthew 26:36-46

36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

The person telling us to not be afraid is someone who has experienced a level of fear few if any have experienced. He is a seasoned veteran in facing fear and the unknown. He feared to a level that caused him to sweat blood. He feared, faced and defeated death itself. He’s not just patting us on our heads and minimizing our fears. He knows what we are experiencing one-hundredfold. He has feared the worst, and came to find there was no way to avoid what he feared the most.

The king with all the credibility to speak on fear in the world, left us with these parting words. Words that should cause our souls to rest a little more in the face of the current uncertainty.

“I have told you these things so that you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! For I have overcome the world.”

- John 16:33

Stay The Course,

JB