Once there was a group of people who surveyed the resources of the world and said to each other: “How can we be sure that we have enough in hard times? We want to survive whatever happens. Let us start collecting food and knowledge so that we are safe and secure when a crisis occurs.”
~Henri Nouwen
So they started hoarding, so much and so eagerly that other people protested and said, “You have much more than you need, while we don’t have enough to survive. Give us part of your wealth!” But the hoarders said: “No, no, we need to keep this in case of an emergency, in case things go bad for us too, in case our lives are threatened.” But the others said, “We are dying now; please give us food and materials and knowledge to survive. We can’t wait, we need it now!”
Then the hoarders became very fearful, since they became afraid that the poor and hungry would attack them. So they said to one another: “Let us build walls around our wealth so that no stranger can take it from us.” They started erecting walls so high that they could not even see any more, whether there were enemies outside the walls or not!
As their fear increased they told each other: “Our enemies have become so numerous that they may be able to tear down our walls. Our walls are not strong enough to keep them away. We need to put explosives and barbed wire on top of the walls so that nobody will dare to even come close to us. But instead of feeling safe and secure behind their armed walls they found themselves trapped in the prison they had built with their own fear.”
As our scripture passage illustrates this morning, when we focus on things of this world rather than seeking first the Kingdom of God, fear will always take over. This fear is indeed all around us, more and more so with each act of terrorism and violence that have become common occurrences. In recent years alone, our country and world have faced enough tragedy to justify deep fear in our day to day lives. While I know I’m not qualified or wise enough to address every aspect of fear related to what’s happening in our world, BUT I do hope that what I share will offer some fresh perspective to help us, both personally and corporately as a church, from becoming trapped in a prison of fear. As followers of Christ, we must not let fear hinder our love!
A number of years ago, even before we understood terrorism the way we do todaythe late Henri Nouwen wrote: “The more people I come to know and the more I come to know people, the more I am overwhelmed by the negative power of fear. It often seems that fear has so invaded every part of our lives that we no longer know what a life without fear would feel like…Often fear has penetrated our inner selves so deeply that it controls, whether we are aware of it or not, most of our choices and decisions.”
If I am honest, this quote rings true for me, and I can easily see how fear, often subtly but sometimes obviously, influences the way we live. Fear affects us all in different ways. Through our church’s mental health initiative over the last few years, we have come to learn that fear is a consistent underlying factor in the growing concern of issues like depression, anxiety, suicide, PTSD, and addiction. For me fear has been a significant cause of my own 30-year battle with depression. While I’ve tried a thousand times (not an understatement!) to “let go and let God,” to pray more, to study more, to be a “better Christian” I continued to battle depression. In recent years however, through our Mental Health Initiative and through therapy with a new doctor, I am coming to realize that all these efforts to “fix” my depression have been unconsciously rooted in an untrusting, protective focus on myself rather than trusting the fullness of God’s Love and grace. I know God loves me, and I love God. However, I am coming to understand that knowing God’s Love for me is very different from trusting God’s Love, not only for me but actively working through me as well. As Kevin shared last week, the parts of our life where our faith remains only informational, it can never be transformational. For transformation we must vulnerably let faith penetrate deeper than our mind. As the greatest commandment says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength (that is every part of our being), and love your neighbor as yourself. Putting our faith and trust into action
Before we get too far, I want to clarify that fear is not all bad. Fear can be a good thing. In its proper place it is a gift from God, who designed us with a part of our brain called the Amygdala, in the Limbic system, that helps us deal with possible threats. It’s what produces the fight or flight mechanism that keeps us alive and safe. The problem occurs when we let this one part of the brain drive our life rather than just being a warning light on the dash. In that place fear can easily become paralyzing, even without our realizing it.
When we speak about transforming fear back to God’s original design, and letting Love back in the driver’s seat it is helpful to go all the way back to Adam and Eve to recognize where this problem began. What was the original temptation (we’ve talked about this before)? It wasn’t to eat an apple. It wasn’t to disobey God. It was to believe a lie about God. “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God.” This is why Satan is referred to as “the Father of Lies.” The serpent sought to change Adam and Eve’s belief about and trust in God, and it was in believing that lie that everything changed! From that moment forward fear and self-protection entered the human race. Our daily struggle is ultimately one of trust in WHO we believe God to be and how God uses power.
Throughout the whole of Scripture this is the ongoing core issue God’s people wrestle with, ultimately leading Jesus to come that we might again know and experience the truth about God. Jesus came to restore our vision of God; to reveal God’s ever-present love for us and with us; and to win us back to trust from the enemies lies that easily slip into our thinking. Jesus, who said, I and the Father are one” and “When you see me, you see the Father,” reminds us that God is love, God is vulnerable, God comes in search of us. I truly believe this is why the phrase, “Do not be afraid.” is said more than 140 times in the Bible, and after almost every instance it then says, “For I am with you.” As the Psalmist wrote, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”
When we step back and honestly consider the trajectory of history—of all the bad things that have happened—we don’t see God always keeping bad things from happening, or instantaneously fixing everything (both of which would compromise complete love and freedom). Instead, the arch of history reveals to us that Love consistently comes as injustice is defeated by justice, goodness tramples over evil, and light overcomes darkness. This is God’s broad trajectory of ongoing work; work we can count on God to do. As theologian Fredrick Beuchhner said, “the worst thing is never the last thing.” There is always hope and no matter what happens, God is still God, trustworthy, loving and faithful. That we can know and trust with all of heart, soul, mind and strength.
So, what does my sermon title, “ἀγαπᾶτε πέραν φόβου” mean? It is ancient Biblical greek text for “Love Beyond Fear.” It does not come from a single Bible passage, but from a central theme expressed throughout the whole of Scripture. The word for love is a verb reminding us of our active role in both receiving and offering God’s Love. The word for beyond, “πέραν” (peran) is an adverb meaning “to the other side of.” The word for fear, “φόβου” (phobou) is the word used in our 1 John 4:18: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.” This unhealthy, paralyzing fear is rooted in an overactive Limbic system trying to drive our life through exaggerated lies instead of just warning us and empowering us to respond. To “love beyond fear” means to choose to go to the other side of this instinctual limbic portion of our brain to the God-given, love centered and reasoning part of our brain. Practically this means, whenever we find ourselves tempted to react in fear and self-protection, the Holy Spirit is also empowering us to remember and trust God’s love for ALL involved anectrd go “over and beyond” fear before responding. Victr Fankle explained this well when he said, “Between the stimulus and the response, there is a space, and therein lies your freedom.” It is the intentional choice to step back, remember, trust, and let love start driving again.
And we are not alone in this. God, who is Emmanuel, God with us, has provided the Holy Spirit to walk in and with us though every aspect of life. As Kevin mentioned, today is Pentecost Sunday, a day when we remember this gift of the Holy Spirit, empowering us in love towards the fullness of life to which we are called. As the Apostle Paul encouraged Timothy, “I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you… For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
“ἀγαπᾶτε πέραν φόβου,” “Love Beyond Fear” is not a quick fix, but a fresh perspective on how we can begin to release fear in our daily lives and fear in our world: choice by choice, day by day — To love and trust God and to even “love our enemies as ourselves”. This is a radical trust that calls us to let love motivate us instead of fear. This is no easy task, especially because what it means to love does not look the same in every circumstance.
I was talking with a friend about these things in light of all the recent attacks going on in the world. He asked me, “What if a masked man came to the place you were with a gun and the intent to kill everyone in the room….how would you respond trying to be faithful to Love?” What would it look like in that moment to love God? What would it look like to love yourself or your neighbor? What would it look like in that moment to love your enemy? Would you fight back? Would you protect others? Would you freeze in fear? Would you try to reason with the gunman?” I told him, “I don’t know. I’ve thought about it 100 times before but I just don’t know.” Then he said something that changed it all for me, he said, “I don’t know what I would do either, or even if I would have the strength to do what God would call me to do, BUT what if you suddenly realized that the one wearing the mask was your son? Would that changed the way you tried to love ‘the enemy’ in that moment?” I Yes, somehow it would.
On the other side of a horrible tragedy at the hands of an enemy, Love Beyond Fear would look different too. As I was preparing for this message, I cam eacross this story following the 2015 terrorist attack in Paris. (VIDEO)
Fear does not have to be in the driver seat. When we seek first and trust the Kingdom of God at work in the world now, we allow Love to drive again, and put healthy fear back in its rightful place as a warning light on the dashboard. So how do we do that? While it may sound simple, it is daily, life-long work that takes intention and time, and I want to share three practical steps that can help:
First is to Calm the Amygdala, to give our brain time to relax and reflect on trustworthy things. Ultimately this is what helps create the space between the stimulus and response; a practice that empowers you to step back in the midst of fear. This could look like a daily devotion, or extended time in prayer, or even just sitting quietly with God in love. As the first, most foundational step, we are going to practice that together in a few moments.
Second is to Lean into Relationship. So often we fear what we do not know. We fear who we do not know. When we get to know people who are different, who have opposing views to ours, we also find foundational commonalities that release fear. Or, we learn the actual facts about a situation or we learn a person’s story that led them to where they are, which changes our perspective. This is the difference between seeing an anonymous enemy and seeing one who could be your own child.
Third is to Step into Action. Healthy fear is meant to move us to action. If a car starts to swerve into our lane, fear calls us to move out of the way, and then to keep driving. All too often though, an instance or perceived threat of fear keeps us stuck, and being willing to move towards it in a loving way can not only change our perspective as we see it from a new angle, but also empower us to walk through it, all because we took a single step towards it. Maybe this is part of why Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me.” By stepping into action, we let Love back into the driver’s seat.
So to close, I said I wanted to help us with the first step, which I believe is foundational to empower steps two and three, to calm the Amygdala. To do this we are simply going to read Psalm 23, which is probably the most known Psalm. But there is a line in it we rarely focus on that to me has now become its the most powerful image. That line is, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” Think about that! Put yourself in that picture. Whatever you fear? Whatever or whoever you consider as enemy? Our loving and trustworthy God prepares a table for us to sit, relax and enjoy each others company in the presence of them. God is not afraid, and he invites us to trust in him who walks with us and leads us.
So as we close our service I want to invite you to sit back, calm you Amygdala, and reflect on this Psalm together.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
Psalm 23
my cup overflows.
Surely[e] goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.
Leave a Reply