Jesus Is Greater Than Our Fears

It was Franklin D. Roosevelt who said, in his first inaugural address, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” He described that fear as a “nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” Of course, the fact is there would be no reason for the 32^nd President of the United States to say this unless there was actually something to fear. The country was staggered by the Great Depression, sparking fears that were not nameless or unjustified. Later in his speech, Roosevelt admitted: “Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment,” dark realities that created understandable fear in peoples’ hearts.

            In today’s Gospel, Jesus repeatedly tells his disciples to have no fear as he sends them out to proclaim his kingdom. At the same time, He comes right out and says that he is sending them out “as sheep in the midst of wolves.” His words of encouragement, “Have no fear,” show that He knows there is much to fear in a world of dark reality.

            Today, you and I are challenged to face our fears, to name our fears, and to be strengthened in the knowledge that Jesus is greater than our fears.

            As Jesus spoke the words of today’s Gospel, he knew that those who follow Him have much to fear. You may fear rejection if you dare to bring up the name of Jesus. The first disciples had to face that fear regularly. Our society is becoming increasingly hostile to Christ and to Christians, and let’s be candid; that can make us think twice about putting out faith out there for others to see.

            Jesus does not hold back in this passage. He says that persecution will be encountered by those who faithfully share the good news of Jesus, up to and including execution. Now that blows our minds as American Christians. We have a really hard time wrapping our minds around that, and yet just a brief glance at the Bible and Church History shows that Christians have been martyred for their faith and continue to be martyred for the faith in many parts of the world today! You have come to worship today in a church that has a number of symbols up here in the front, in the chancel area; those symbols are in the shape of shields. Did you know that each of those shields represents a disciple of Jesus, and that the symbols on most of those shields tell how that disciple was put to death? Not to be graphic, but there are saws and upside down crosses and spears…now on one hand, Jesus was upfront about this, he told his disciples before the fact, you will be put to death if you preach in my name, but it begs the question, and it is a valid question, why? Why did these people keep talking about Jesus when they knew it would cost them their lives? All they had to do was sit down, shut up and go about their lives quietly. But they could not and they would not. Why?

            The answer? They came to believe that Jesus was stronger than their fears. Jesus was stronger than rejection. Jesus is stronger than intimidation. Jesus is stronger than persecution. Jesus is stronger than execution. Jesus is stronger than death! Jesus has been there, done that. He doesn’t ask his followers to do anything that he hasn’t done already. Jesus has faced every enemy causes us fear. Do realize that? Do you understand that? Jesus himself faced rejection and persecution and execution. Jesus himself faced physical, mental, emotional and spiritual suffering. He understands your fears! He knows you intimately, that’s why Jesus said the hairs of your head are all numbered. He sympathizes with you when things scare you to death! But it’s not just that he knows how you feel. He’s done something about it. He rose from the dead. He came back to life, after his corpse was laid in the tomb. He appeared to his disciples in a physical body that was living again. That’s why they could face their fears and lay down their lives!

            Jesus had faced rejection and responded with forgiveness. Jesus had faced intimidation and responded with courage. Jesus had faced persecution and responded with endurance. Jesus had faced execution and after dying, responded with new life. If that’s who is on your side, if that’s who goes before you, if that’s who fights for you, what do you have to fear? This is precisely why Christians confess Christ regardless of the cost, because if I’m killed for confessing Christ, I get Christ more fully! I enter into life with Him that lasts forever! Do you see the great source of power this can be for you in your own life; in your own struggles?

            The things you and I fear most almost always involve loss on our part; the loss of a loved one; the loss of employment; the loss of a relationship; the loss of possessions, the loss of health; you get the idea. We can’t stand the thought of losing those things and it can be devastating if and when it happens. But Jesus comes along and do you see what He does? He says, “Make me the loved one you fear losing. Make my relationship with you the one you can’t stand the thought of losing.” When you do that, when Jesus becomes the One above all others, you may still fear losing things, but you’re overwhelmed by what you gain. You’re overwhelmed by the promises of what Jesus is delivering to your life. And what do you gain? What is he delivering?

            First this: the promise that even in suffering, He is working for your ultimate good.

            And then this: He has promised to share His victory over death with you.

            A woman who was about to undergo life-threatening surgery stunned her family by saying to the pastor who was visiting, “Isn’t it wonderful that this isn’t the only life we have?”

            That’s the poise and confidence that’s there for you when you rest in Jesus, who is stronger than our fears.

Adapted from a Concordia Pulpit Resources sermon by Rev. Dr. Joel Lehenbauer, with an illustration from Rev. Dr. Donald Deffners' "At Life's End"

Like Father, Like Son

Have you ever gotten to know someone and then met their parents later on? Kind of interesting, isn’t it? It’s always intriguing to see where someone’s mannerisms come from. Every so often I will listen to myself on our church website, and when I do that, what I hear is my Dad. The cadence and tempo of the delivery, just the way of saying things; it’s like my father is speaking. You may be just like your mother or father in the way you do things too, even if you don’t want to admit it.

            Today, of course, is Father’s Day. That’s the day the greeting card companies and restaurants care about. The day they couldn’t care less about is the one on our church calendar, and that’s Trinity Sunday. That’s also today, and truth be told, Trinity Sunday is peculiar, in this sense: all the other church year festivals, or holy days, if you will, center on an event from the Biblical record. For example, last week was the Day of Pentecost, which was a historical event in the life of the Church. We can talk about who was there and what happened—the apostles were overcome by the Holy Spirit and started preaching in languages they had never taken time to learn. Go through the church year and it’s the same thing. Christmas—Jesus is born in a stable. Lent and Holy Week, we trace the path to the cross and empty tomb. Ascension Day is self-explanatory. But Trinity Sunday? Trinity Sunday’s the only Festival Day on which we just talk about something that is. Someone who is, was, and always will be. We talk about God on this peculiar day, and we talk about God’s peculiar nature as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Now, Christian thinkers of every era have written countless volumes about the three-in-one nature of God and have attempted to explore the depths of this mystery. I’m not going to even try to trace the history of those thoughts with you, but what I do want you to see is this: In the same way that you can get to know what my Dad is like by getting to know me; in an infinitely better way you can get to know the Almighty God by getting to know his Son, Jesus. And you have help; the silent partner in this getting-to-know-God process is the Holy Spirit.

            So allow yourself for the next few minutes to simply honor and worship the Holy Trinity. Let yourself be raised up from your current situation into the mystery of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Let yourself realize that all things are passing away quickly; that you are being swept by time into the majesty that is God Himself.

            The simple-yet-staggering message of the Bible is this: God reveals Himself as the Father of Jesus Christ and, by Jesus, the Spirit of God is released into the world, who makes us acceptable to God by baptism and faith. Baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit takes everything that belongs to God and makes it yours. We can’t really comprehend it all, but behind this wonder is a Father and Son unlike any other. Their Spirit is still actively searching for people to love.

            It’s been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. That’s bad news for writers, but it’s also probably true in most cases. Well, the picture that I want to share with you this morning  is the picture that is on my cross. It would be hard for you to see it from where you’re sitting, so we put it on the front cover of this weeks’ bulletin. The picture on my cross is based on a painting that goes back before the year 1000 A.D. It’s a picture of the crucifixion of Jesus, and just in the background is the figure of God the Father, with outstretched arms, holding up the arms of His Son. This is my favorite cross to wear and probably my favorite piece of Christian artwork. It says it all. It was Jesus who died, but it was the Father of our Lord who gave him to die instead of us. The pastor of a large church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago told Peter Jennings in an ABC Special that he did not want the cross in his church, since, after all, the cross is only one symbol among many legitimate Christian symbols. Not true. The cross is what Christianity is all about. Without the cross, I cannot know anything helpful about God. In the cross, I not only see the man Jesus innocently put to death, but in the cross I see the heart of a God who is not just my creator but also my redeemer; in the cross I see a God who would break His own heart to salvage mine.

            The mystery of the Trinity is completed by the coming of the Holy Spirit, and right here on my cross, on which God the Father is holding up the outstretched arms of his crucified Son, there is a dove above the head of the Father. You may not even notice it at first. But the artist has put into one image what would take an author pages and pages. The crucifixion of Jesus is the true celebration of the Holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit comes from God, but that throne is not found in the heights of heaven, out of sight, out of mind. Jesus’ throne is the cross, set right in the middle of sinful humanity. From the throne of his cross, Jesus prays, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” From that cross we have learned to pray, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” From that cross, Jesus grants us the Father’s forgiveness and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we forgive those who sin against us.

            Trinity Sunday is really and finally a matter of identity. The person who trusts in the God revealed at the cross becomes like Jesus in mercy and kindness. The person whose heart is broken open by the sight of the Father holding up his Son’s arms begins to share in that unstoppable love. Look at the lengths to which God has gone in order to gain you. To what lengths are you willing to go to say “thank you” to Him?

Portions adapted from a sermon by Rev. Dr. David Scaer