Lately I’ve been noticing that people have started to decorate their houses and yards for Halloween. Which coincidently prompted my wife to ask if I want to put ours up this coming weekend. “Okay, sure” (thanks-a-lot, over-achiever neighbors). The decorations people choose run the spectrum from cute and silly to absolutely grotesque and terrifying. There was a time long ago that I enjoyed looking at scary decorations and doing things like going to haunted houses, but these days I think we have more than enough going on in our world and in our lives that causes us to be afraid and I for one don’t have any desire to add one more.

Do not be afraid. Over and over, we hear those words spoken in the scriptures. The first time is to Abram when God comes to reaffirm a promise that Abram fears might never be fulfilled. Those words are spoken to Hagar as she seeks shelter and sustenance in the wilderness for her and her son, Ishmael. The words are spoken to Isaac, and to Joseph, to Moses, to Samuel, to David, to Mary and Joseph, and to so many others.

Often those words are spoken by angels, and if the Biblical description of angels having six wings, four faces, hundreds of eyes, or just being engulfed in flames can be believed, then a calming word was probably necessary. Sometimes the words are spoken by prophets seeking to comfort the people in the middle of trying times. Jesus says those words more than a few times to disciples who are overwhelmed by and underprepared for the work ahead of them. Do not be afraid.

The truth is, we all have reason to be afraid from time to time. These are trying times in which we live, and I often find myself feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of hurt in the world and underprepared to do much to change it. Sometimes, perhaps more often than I’d care to admit, I am afraid. And I need to be reminded – sometimes gently, sometimes firmly – do not be afraid.

But I do not believe that these words mean that we should never feel fear. Rather, I think they serve as a reminder to not let fear be our guiding principle. Do not be afraid means that we should not let fear be what drives our decisions. We cannot let fear change who God made us to be. We cannot let fear deter us from doing what God has created us to do.

Do not be afraid. Fear is a powerful manipulator. There are those who would capitalize on our fear as a way of turning us against our sisters and brothers who look, love, and live in ways that seem different to us. And there are even some who would use fear as a weapon to divide and destroy and dehumanize. But that’s not who we were made to be.

The voice of Jesus still calls out to us, urging us “do not be afraid.” We were made to be in relationship – with God and with one another. So may your fears be calmed, and your faith strengthened. May you trust in the One who calls you by name. And may you follow the example of Jesus, who took every opportunity to cast fear aside by drawing closer to the other.

Pastor Tony