Do not let your hearts be afraid

Do not let your hearts be afraid

Easter 7, Year C
May 25, 2025 

The Reverend James Pecoy 

Gracious and Abundant God, as we gather for today, unite our hearts and minds in common purpose. Grant us the wisdom to work together effectively and the humility to value each person's perspective. Guide our hearts and protect them from fear, that our hearts and voices may honor You and serve our shared goals. Amen

Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

Scripture is full of passages that tell us to not be afraid. The Gospels are particularly full of "do not be afraid" passages. When the Angel visited Mary to announce she would be the God-bearer, the angel said to Mary, "Do not be afraid."  Then again when the angel visited the wise men and they were terrified, the angel said, "Do not be afraid." These were comforting messages that came from God through the angels. Do not be afraid! There is a thought that fear is the opposite of faith. To be clear: Fear is not the opposite of Faith. Fear is often associated with doubt, anxiety, and a lack of trust, while faith is characterized by trust, belief, and confidence. Faith can be seen as a way to overcome fear by focusing on hope and God's promises. In his book “A Gift of Love,” Martin Luther King. Jr, wrote: 

"First we must unflinchingly face our fears and honestly ask ourselves why are we afraid. This confrontation will, to some measure, grant us power. We shall never be cured of fear by escapism or repression, for the more we attempt to ignore and repress our fears, the more we multiply our inner conflicts . . .. By looking squarely and honestly at our fears, we learn that many of them reside in some childhood need or apprehension . . .. By bringing our fears to the forefront of consciousness, we may find them to be more imaginary than real. Some of them will turn out to be snakes under the carpet.”  

Fears—we all have them and have to work with them. It was Franklin D Roosevelt in his first inaugural address in 1933 who said: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. Why should we fear fear itself? Martin Luther King, Jr, wrote that by repressing these fears they will build and create inner conflicts. Even more reason to face our fears and put trust in God, and our prayers will be answered, and our fears relieved.

As I reflected this week with this reading, I kept thinking about the disciples. At the time of the crucifixion, they must have been torn between loving Jesus on one hand and being his followers on the other to having to protect themselves from persecution and death. It was a tumultuous environment in the early days of the church. If you did not follow what the powers at the time believed in, you were put on trial, convicted and executed. The sad aspect of all of this is that the early church’s work, in addition to proclaiming the gospel, was tending to the widows and orphans. Our name's sake St Stephen was fairly distributing food to the widows and tending to the sick when he was martyred. It seems backwards to the faithful that in doing good you are punished. But these rulers were corrupt and were not following the teaching of Jesus.

It was Jesus who knew his disciples were afraid. After his resurrection, the disciples were hiding out in fear. As we follow the lectionary, Jesus has appeared to the disciples three times: twice in the upper room where they were hiding out in fear from their oppressors and the time while the apostles were on their way to Damascus. Jesus was not known to the disciples until the breaking of the bread and then he was visible to them. He would appear and be known to them and bid them peace.

In our baptismal covenant we promise to strive for justice and respect the dignity of all persons. In this covenant we promise to do whatever we can so that there is justice and that the dignity of all is protected. If you think for one moment that there is no fear in living this way, look at how those through time those who have spoken up have been treated. We are fortunate—our constitution has provided protection with freedom of speech.  Also we can find comfort that we are a part of a larger body of christians who live the way of love. It is in this community that we know that Jesus is with us. Just as he made himself known to the disciples, he will be known to us in our need to comfort us and grant us his peace.  Speaking up is not easy to do especially for the introverts and those who fear repercussion.

Martin Niemöller, a Lutheran pastor after his release from a Nazi concentration camp, out of fear, felt he did not do enough for the cause and in his regret he wrote following poem:

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.

Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid for God is with us. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning, and the end. Ever present in our works and lives, God moves with the Holy Spirit, granting us light in the paths of darkness, hope in the light of despair and love to carry us through the difficult times.

When I think of fear, I focus on the obvious and those who are the afflicted and how acts of bullying or any contra love act to someone effects them, because it does. In my meditative times, I also think to myself, what happened to that person that made them act out this injustice and made them to be so angry?  What life event drove that person to do what we would call evil? Evil being anything that draws us away from the love of God. How did this person end up this way? I wonder, could it be that “they” are afraid? Could it be that the oppressor has some esteem issue and by bullying someone they are now, “better” than the other person? What is it that makes people oppress another individual? It is their own fear. By oppressing another individual it makes them popular or better that the one they oppressed, at least in their minds.  Obviously, they have not paid attention to the scriptures that say, "The last will be first and first will be last" (Matthew 20:16). It is difficult to pray for people who clearly do not value an individual as human or with compassion. Jesus is clear that we are to pray for those we love and those who have wronged us. In a world where there is corruption, oppression and polarity, we Christians have an obligation to speak up. Acknowledge the wrong, bring them to light, and pray that those who are doing wrong will hear and understand that we are to Love our Neighbors. This is the Greatest commandment.

Love your neighbor, pray for the oppressors, pray and be in community with each other and remember always to not let your heart be troubled, and do not let it be afraid. God has always been with us. God will continue to be with us, and God will welcome us home in the end. Just as Jesus knew the disciples were in fear and was made known to them in their sorrow and fear, God will be known to you in your prayers and in the breaking of the bread. God will be made known, so that you will not feel alone when you are in fear.

© 2025 James Pecoy

Image credit: Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash