Facing our Fears

British medical student, Roger Bannister was the first person to run a mile in less than four minutes, an amazing physical and psychological feat. But then, not too long afterward, an Australian athlete John Landy ran it more than a second faster. The two came head to head in 1954 at the British Empire games in Vancouver. It was to be the race of the century!

As they neared the finish line, Landy was ahead of Bannister by about two strides, but in an instant where he looked over his left shoulder Bannister shot past him on the right side and won by a couple of yards. Landy had lost his focus, if only for a split second, but it cost him the race. Even though both of them ran it in under 4 minutes Bannister was the winner.

In our lesson from the Hebrew Scriptures for this morning we heard of an incident from the wilderness journey of the children of Israel. They too had lost their focus and began to grumble about their situation. So the people blamed God and they blamed Moses.

The text tells us that poisonous snakes were sent to bite them. When people began to die the people went to Moses, acknowledged their lack of trust in God and asked to be rid of the serpents. What happens next is quite amazing Moses is told to fashion a snake, the symbol of their fear and a symbol of death, and fix it upon a pole.

A person bitten by one of these snakes could see it and live. They had to face the symbol of their fear, place their trust in the God who was always with them; they only had to look upon the snake and live!

Their story is often our story. How many times have people given up their journey to a new life because the way was too hard. Men or women leaving spouses for a greener pasture, students in the middle of a long and hard course, sometimes feeling that quitting is far more promising than finishing what they had set out to do.

Sometimes it seems harder to go on than it would be to go back. John 3:16 has become so familiar, a code verse. We see it on billboards, or held up in front of the cameras, often as just a verse reference without the words attached. The third chapter of the gospel of John begins with a Pharisee named Nicodemus coming to see Jesus under the cover of darkness.

In the earlier verses of this chapter Jesus had spoken on the necessity of being born anew and Nicodemus, taking it quite literally, could not bring himself to believe that someone grown up can be born again. Today's passage follows immediately after that one. Jesus elaborates on this 'new birth' by announcing three themes John outlines often,

·        "the lifting up" of the Son of man,

·        the sending of the Son as a visible expression of God's love, and

·        the consequences of those actions for humankind.

Notice that Nicodemus came to see Jesus secretly and at night. Perhaps he simply does not want to be seen by his fellow Pharisees, and we can certainly understand that knowing what we know about the events that are to come! But perhaps we should take his action as a symbol or metaphor for the Nicodemus' reluctance to let his actions stand up to the scrutiny of this new truth of Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus speaks directly to this contrast between the lovers of darkness and the lovers of light. It is as much a challenge to Nicodemus to stand up and be counted as it is to us sitting here in this church in Lent of 2003 - to ensure that our own lives can be seen to 'be done in God'. 

This God who caused the serpent to be lifted up in the desert is also the God who has lifted Jesus up. This action is the means whereby this God who not only saves the lost, but also seeks them out, shows mercy, love and kindness to all of creation.

The heart of the gospel is contained in these verses. We cannot do anything to earn a right relationship with God, it is a gift and we received this only through  faith. It is important that we do not get this backwards or that we do not begin to see faith as a work.

In other words we do not earn this relationship because of any works we do or even because we have faith. We are given it as a free gift. We have been on our Lenten journey for some weeks now. It is about the time when we should be getting tired of the hot dusty days and the harshness of the conditions. It is always nice, in the middle of any difficult journey to stop and break out the canteen and the trail mix for some needed refreshment before the final push to the end. The season of Lent is no different.

Today is called 'Laetare' Sunday which means 'rejoice'. Today we center on the theme of God's grace in the midst of suffering and brokenness. We must remember that Lent, like the entire biblical story, is really about God's great love for the world that God has created.

The story of the people of Israel wandering around in the wilderness for an entire generation is more than an account of a long ago people, it is our own story. Nicodemus is more than a fuzzy character from a dim past, he is you and he is me.

But, if the story of their unfaithfulness and their un-willingness to trust in the God of their ancestors is our story; the story of God's continued faithfulness is as well.

How then do we respond to such a love? How do we seek to know this life we have already received as free gift?

First: We must be people of focus. This is much easier said than done. We cannot focus on the past or on the deeds and relative progress of others. The story was told of two monks, on a journey together, came across a woman standing beside a river. The woman was very beautiful and the water was too deep for her. 

One of the monks lifted her on his shoulders and carried her across the river. The second monk was astounded. "How could you do such a thing? He demanded. "You know our vows. It was very sinful for you to touch that woman, let alone carry her across a stream!"

And the monk went on and on about the sin of the first monk until finally the first monk interrupted him. "Brother", he said softly, "I may have been wrong in what I did, but I set that woman down by the side of the river. Why are you still carrying her?"

There are a great many things in our lives which seek to distract us from our spiritual journey. Some of them need to be done and some can be left by the wayside but should not be allowed to distract us from our spiritual goals.

In my own experience one of the easiest ways to lose my focus is by lamenting over and over what should have been done at some point in the past.  Lent allows me to focus on how I journey into the future and allows I to leave the past where it belongs, in the past.

Second: we must face our fears and those things that keep us from being the people that God would have us to be. I can recall the woman I know who had joined toastmasters in order to overcome her fear of public speaking.

One snowy day in December of 1977 I had my first a car accident and I knew that I had to drive that same road again and again, despite my fear. Eventually I could do it without seeing the other car coming toward me as mine went out of control.

Facing  the past and the facing of fears is essential for many different kinds of healing.

Members of A. A. know that they have to face their problem head on and share with others what they have found helpful in dealing with it. Ignoring a problem will not make it go away. Part of the healing process of many people who have been injured, had to faced and confronted their abusers with the truth about the past and moved on to heal.

The third: and most important thing we need to re-discover on our Lenten journey is an experience of grace. The passages tell us about God's love and about God's salvation. We have been told again and again that it is a gift and that we cannot earn it.

This knowledge must move from the head to the heart and the soul so that it is truly part of our being, so that when the light shines it is seen that our deeds have indeed been done in God.

Good parents instil in their children a security that comes from unconditional love while at the same time allowing for a desire for growth and maturity in many areas. Sometimes though it takes children, and parents, a long time to really believe this in their hearts.

I would say that we all come short from time to time and act out of an attempt to earn God’s love, or from parent, instead of simply enjoying it. God wishes us to be the whole and complete people we were created to be, but that is because God loves us, not a condition of that love. We are called to enjoy that love just as we enjoy any gift that has been carefully selected for us.

How God touches others' lives. In the 1800's a preacher prepared a wonderful sermon he had intended for many men to hear to encourage them to give their lives to Christ. He arrived at the church very enthusiastically and was so disappointed when he looked at the pews and only 7 or 8 women were there to listen to him.

He went on anyway. Little did he know there was a young boy of about 9 years old who listened to him that day and was moved by his message. This young boy grew up and became a doctor, pastor and served as a missionary in Africa for many, many years. This young boy was David Livingston. This is how God impacts our lives.

"The word of God shall never come back void." Isaiah 55:11.

The journey of Lent is a journey into wholeness. It is a journey where those things we fear the most can be the source of healing, strength and new growth. The journey of Lent is one where we can come face to face once again with the love and grace of God which is offered to as a free gift.

The journey of Lent is one which requires focus, concentration, and determination because there are a lot of things that seek to distract us from our goal. It is a journey which will take us to the cross and then to the glory of Easter which is the ultimate gift of God and the ultimate glimpse of God's marvelous grace.

 

%In a moment we will be celebrating the Lord’s Supper

oh! What a marvelous opportunity to come to the altar with

what ever fear we might have and exchange it for  God’s peace.

"The word of God shall never come back void."

Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                    ×6Ø                                         March 30, 2003