Meditations with Pastor Tom (3/20/20)
"Be still, and know that I am God!" ~ Psalm 46:10
Every Christian knows these famous words of comfort: Be still and know that I am God. We are also very familiar with the famous 23rd Psalm which says essentially the same thing: "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me." 1 Peter says, "Cast all your anxiety on him, because God cares for you." Jesus himself chimes in on the subject saying, "Do not worry about your life."
All these words are supposed to calm our quaking fears and set to rest our niggling anxieties. Be still, they all say. God has your back. You are held and beloved. Yet, for all this Biblical instruction, we seem unable to listen. We fret and fear and feel anxious. When one threat goes away, we replace it with another.
Once upon a time, Senator Joe McCarthy had us terrified that a menacing communist might be lurking in every corner. It was even called The Red Scare. Then, the threat of Russian nuclear power scared us. We built bomb shelters and held bomb drills in schools. I remember when we were afraid of Japanese economic power, and we were sure we were being left in the commercial dust. More recently, it's radicalized Islamists that worry us sick.
It seems we always need a boogeyman. We can't settle for a healthy dose of concern and a wary eye upon potential threats; we have to go straight for a whole bottle of mind-numbing fear. Meanwhile, politicians and advertisers manipulate our fears for their own gain.
We now have a new fear gripping our country: the fear of the dreaded Coronavirus. We absolutely need to take precautions. We absolutely must do everything we can to protect ourselves and others from this sickness. It is silly and stupid to throw caution to the wind. But we don't have to live in fear. We don't have to clean out the grocery store every time the supply trucks come in. Our food supply chain is strong and durable. There would a shortage of nothing (except maybe some medical supplies) if we all didn't over-react out of fear.
The famous American pastor, Rick Warren, claims that the Bible tells us not to fear 365 times. I haven't fact-checked him, but my experience with Holy Scripture suggests to me that he is probably pretty close. Yet, while the Bible is abundantly clear and forceful on the subject, we still seem unable to listen.
Be still and know that I am God. Can we all just step back and ponder those words and how we might be able to live them? How about today we try to replace our fear with trust and faith in the God who says, "I have called you by name and you are mine." Maybe humans are hard-wired to fear the boogeyman. But, Jesus, as well as all of Holy Scripture, calls us to transcend that fear. With God's help, we can do it.
The Sermon this Sunday
Still called to be The Church.