From Fear to Hope

Homily August 7/11 Yr. A Proper 14

Every time the stock markets tumble, like they did this past week because of economic uncertainty south of the border and in Europe, fear dominates our public square.

And with the internet and the 24 hour news cycle, it is hard not to be influenced by the climate of fear which strikes at times like these.

Fear of the unknown. Fear of the future. Fear of natural disaster. Fear for survival.

All those fears are part of our human condition. They were certainly present on that stormy night described in Matthew as the disciples left Jesus to pray and went out in the boat. There they were in the midst of an unexpected storm, and they kept getting further from land.

Suddenly in the middle of the night, they caught a glimpse of a figure amidst the waves.

They were terrified. They thought Jesus was still on the mountain top. They thought it was a ghost.

But it was Jesus: “Take heart, It is I,” he says. “Don’t be afraid.”

Those words echo through the ages to us as we live amidst the storms of life. Our faith is the way we are able to carry on, and overcome our fears.

This story can be viewed on many levels. It represents God with us in the storms of life.

We can also see the church as a boat, riding on the waves, with our faith in God giving us the strength to sail on and return to a safe harbour.

We can also see this whole story as a teaching about discipleship.

The disciples are challenged by the storms of persecution—opposition from the Pharisees, the Jewish religious authorities, soon to be joined by the Roman authorities. But inspired by Jesus, Peter makes a leap of faith, leaving the boat to walk on water.

He starts sinking and has doubts. But the story concludes with Jesus rescuing him and the disciples recognizing Jesus as the Son of God.

This movement from fear, to faith, then doubt, then worship expresses the complexity of the relationship we see between Jesus and his disciples in the Gospel.

It’s a complexity that makes the Gospels speak not only for the early Christians of those first few centuries, but for us now.

Fear is part of our lives. But we can’t let it take over our lives.

Jesus says: “Be not afraid.” That doesn’t mean there won’t be difficulties in our lives.

Hope can overcome fear. In the psalms the writers place their hopes in God in times of adversity.

Paul writes in his letter to the Romans that nothing can separate us from the love of God: not hardship, distress, persecution, famine, peril, death, powers, rulers. None of these can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

The antidote to the fears of the world, is faith, hope and love.

We profess that faith and that hope in our closing prayer in the Book of Alternative Services drawn from the Letter to the Ephesians: “Glory to God whose power working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.”

I am constantly humbled by the courage of those I care for in the midst of adversity. I think of Fran Skelton who so calmly and fearlessly faced suffering during the last years of her life, and particularly in her final struggle with cancer.

She never gave up hope. But she also faced death at peace.

Hope amid the storms of life. Faith amid the uncertainty of our age. Love amid the evil and strife in the world.

These are all part of our Christian journey. Hope must prevail over fear.

Getting back to fear over the US economic crisis, perhaps what is needed is for lawmakers in the US to step back and look at spending and what values it reflects.

Thousands of American clergy declared their opposition to the current strategy adopted by Congress in a campaign titled: “What would Jesus cut?”

Would Jesus cut a bloated defense budget which consumes 800 billion dollars a year? Or would Jesus cut--food stamps, education, medical care?

The real solution is if the United States taxed its citizens at the level of other countries including Canada, there would be no financial crisis.

South of the border the rich have never done better, and the poor never worse. And the middle class is shrinking away in a race to the bottom with low paid jobs for those able to find any work at all.

In the face of fear of economic collapse, the Christian response is to ask what our faith requires for the common good, for all the people, not just the rich. That is a consistent theme through the scriptures.

The bounty of the earth is for all to share. Jesus does not support survival of the fittest, but care for the poor, the disadvantaged.

And so rather than buy into the fear mongering about the US debt crisis, we should turn our attention to the unfolding humanitarian disaster unfolding in Africa, where a famine—the worst since the mid 1980’s, threatens 11 million people.

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