We have
covered a lot of ground in my sermons during this past Lent, when we have tried
to follow Jesus more closely. We have examined ourselves to find out where we
need to improve, and we’ve inspected five different areas where all of us have
room for improvement. Jesus wants us to have more compassion for others, to be
more generous with others, and to include all people in our circle of love. He
wants us to be healthy, too – to care for the brokenness in ourselves even as
we help to heal others. And that starts with truly believing that we have been
forgiven by God for all our mistakes
in the past; and that we can make a fresh start every single day, assured that
God loves us unconditionally. That sounds like a great way to live: healthy,
compassionate, generous, and inclusive! That’s a description of the fullness of
life that Jesus came to offer us! But the reality is that most of us don’t live
that way at all. So… why don’t we
live that way? Jesus offers the fullness of life to us, and we want it, but…
Well, the reality is that we’re afraid. And fear brings all our good intentions
to a screeching halt.
Why is fear
so powerful? “Fear” is a natural response to a perceived threat; it’s
hard-wired into us. There are two natural reactions to fear: to fight, or to
run away. Fear can be very useful. If you’re in the path of a New York taxicab
that is barreling straight towards you with its horn blaring, fear tells you to jump
out of the way. That is certainly a helpful response! But sometimes the fear
that can save us in crisis situations leads us to react in ways that are not
helpful at all. We can see it clearly when we take a close look at the last
week of Jesus’ life. The entire week is a study of the effects of fear. On that
first Palm Sunday, the Pharisees were the ones who were afraid. Throngs of
people had come out to meet Jesus as he entered Jerusalem; and they were
carrying palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel!” (John
12:12-19) As the Pharisees stood on the sidelines watching, they were dismayed
and afraid. “Look at this,” they said to one another, “the whole world has gone
after him!” They were afraid that Pilate, the Roman governor, would blame them
for not keeping the crowd in Jerusalem under control; and if that happened,
those Pharisees risked losing their privilege, their power, maybe even their
lives. And since they couldn’t run away from the threat, they decided to fight
back by getting rid of Jesus any way that they could.
Jesus knew
what was going on. He knew that the Pharisees would figure out a way to get rid
of him. And he also knew that when they did, the disciples, in their turn,
would be afraid. So on the last night of his earthly life, Jesus tried to
prepare them for what was coming. In the upper room, after they had eaten their
last meal together, Jesus taught them one last time. Among the things that he
told them was that soon, they would all desert him for fear of what the Romans might
do to them. He encouraged them by reminding them, “In this world, you will have
trouble. But have courage! I have overcome the world!” (John 16:28-33) Jesus
encouraged his disciples to be brave; but in the end, they weren’t brave at
all. They ran like rabbits when the Romans came with their torches and swords
and clubs to arrest Jesus in Gethsemane. In fact, Peter was so afraid of what
might happen to him that he insisted three separate times that he didn’t know
Jesus! Fear drove the Pharisees to break their own laws and railroad Jesus
through an illegal trail; and fear drove the disciples to desert Jesus when he
needed them the most. Even Pilate, the Roman governor, sentenced Jesus to be
crucified because he was afraid of the mob who was clamoring for his death. Things
never turn out well when fear is in the driver’s seat.
And today,
we’re still afraid even though we live in a country where Christianity is
perfectly legal. Government agents aren’t going to break into our homes at
midnight and drag us away because we follow Jesus; but we still have a laundry
list of fears that keep us from being the generous, compassionate, inclusive
people that Jesus wants us to be. If you don’t believe me, I invite you to complete
the sentence “I don’t do what Jesus asks of me because I’m afraid that…” Here’s
how you might fill in that blank. “I don’t show compassion because I’m afraid
that… if I do, needy people will ask too much of me.” “I don’t give generously
to others because I’m afraid that… I won’t have enough left for myself.” “I don’t
include people who are on the margins of society because I’m afraid that… I
will lose my job… or lose my social standing… or cause conflict within my
family.”
Now, all of
those fears may be legitimate! Of course we need to care for ourselves and set
appropriate boundaries and get along with other people! And it’s only human to
be afraid. But I’m willing to bet that every single Christian who has tried to
be generous, compassionate, and inclusive was afraid, too. Consider the civil
rights workers who were working for full inclusion of African-Americans in the
American South of the 1960s. Those workers were attacked by police dogs and
sprayed with jets of water from fire hoses. Many were arrested and mistreated
after they were thrown in jail. Some of them were even lynched. Were they
afraid? Of course they were! But despite their fears of what might happen to
them, those civil rights workers found the courage to do what needed to be done
regardless of the consequences. And let’s not forget that Jesus himself was
afraid! Just before the Romans soldiers came for him in Gethsemane, he prayed
that he might not have to endure the suffering that he knew was coming. But
despite his fear, he found the courage to endure the trial, the mockery, the
flogging, the crown of thorns, and the cross.
“Be brave,” said
Jesus, “because I have overcome the world.” He said that to his disciples, and
he says the same thing to us. Do we trust him enough to take him at his word? Do
we really believe that the world’s methods of hate and violence won’t get the
last word? Can we hold on to the certainty that because Jesus conquered his own
fears, he will help us conquer ours, too? Jesus will never ask us to go anywhere
that he has not gone first. He is with us despite our fears and through our
fears, and gives us the courage to follow him wherever he might lead us, no
matter what the consequences may be. As we stand on the road to Jerusalem on
this Palm Sunday, we can already see Calvary looming in the distance with a
cross standing on its summit – the consequences of following Jesus. But even as
its shadow reaches out for us, we can hear Jesus whisper, “Be brave, because I
have overcome the world.”
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