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Redford Aldersgate
United Methodist Church
Sermon
The Fear Factor is Defeated
April 16, 2006
“Have
no fear.” “Do not be alarmed..” Those are important words for us to hear
today. Because it is so easy to give into fear. The fear factor is not
just some outlandish TV show, it is part of our everyday lives. We live
in a city where the crime rate is high. It’s easy to give into the fear
factor. Almost everyone of us has either had cancer or someone we love
has had cancer. It seems like it’s of epidemic proportions. It’s easy to
let the fear factor overwhelm you. Unemployment rate is high. Companies
of all sizes are in danger. People who have had secure jobs for decades
are now out of jobs or worried about losing their jobs. It is easy to be
fearful of our economic future. Since 9/11 the threat of terrorism is
not just something people worry about when they go on vacations abroad,
it’s easy to get sucked into that fear, right here. Even the weather
reports can put fear into your heart when you hear about tornadoes and
hurricanes and tsunamis. The fear factor is prevalent everywhere.
Last
week, we attended part of the large youth rally in Ford Field with our
young people called “Battle Cry.” It was quite a moving experience. They
were trying to get the kids to stand up to stop the onslaught of all the
negative forces of today’s society that threatens to destroy their faith
and their future. There is so much violence and perverted sex and
materialism that bombards the media and video games that they could
easily feel like the ground around them is giving way. There was a
powerful video clip that they showed of the ground giving way in an
earthquake and people being sucked into the big black hole. People were
running from the crack in the ground that was growing and growing.
Finally, a small group of kids turned and faced the cracking ground that
was coming toward them and shouted “STOP!”... AND IT STOPPED. But the
kids were left standing on an island of land with no where to go. The
idea was to inspire the kids to turn and say NO to all the negative
stuff in the culture. But it left me with the sinking feeling that here
we are on an island with the ground torn out from under us with no place
to go.
I
would have liked to have a clip of that final scene in the video.
I even e-mailed and asked if it was possible, but of course, there
wasn't enough time to arrange that, so here's a picture of ground
cracking and an island ... O.K. .... so it isn't as great a graphic as
Teen Mania can do, but use your imagination. Because, we can stand
up for Christianity and our Christian values, but where does that leave
us. We can feel like the ground is giving way. Even good people get
mugged in the city. Good people get cancer.
Good people who are dependable, smart, educated, successful lose their
jobs. Terrorist as well as tornadoes, hurricanes and tsunamis are no
respecters of goodness. The list could go on and on. We can feel like
the ground has given way around us. We are trapped in the Fear Factor!
I’m
sure that is also how those women in the scripture experienced the Fear
Factor as well. As they took the spices to anoint the body of Jesus,
their world had fallen apart. Their leader had suffered the worst
humiliation possible. He had suffered. He had died. I’m sure they felt
like they were standing on an island with the ground torn out from under
them with no place to go. But they were about to receive the news that
would give new life and strength to people down through the ages. It was
news that would destroy the fear factor and make it possible for people
to stand on
solid ground ... to stand up for what they believed ... because they
knew they didn’t have to fear death.
In the last few weeks, I read a story about a missionary (unfortunately
I couldn’t find the article again so I forget the details of time and
place, but the thrust of the story was very vivid, so I remember it
well.) The missionary had been working at spreading the Gospel and
helping people stand up for freedom. So the government sent soldiers to
kill the missionary. When the soldiers stormed into the missionary’s
house, the missionary was unflustered and said something to the effect:
Go ahead and kill me. I’m not afraid to die. I know death is not the
end. Heaven will be great. Go ahead. And if you kill me, I know I will
be a martyr and my message will gain strength. Either way, I win. You
lose. Go ahead and shoot me. The soldiers turned around and walked out.
They didn’t know what to do. The fear factor had been defeated.
Death
had lost its sting. As Lauren read in the play this morning, the words
from 1 Corinthians 15: Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where O
death, is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?
Sure, death is still around. People still die. And things seem tough.
But if we receive the message the women heard that first Easter morning
as a message that is for us today, we will realize that death is not the
victor. It no longer has a sting. It’s like the little girl in the play
said this morning when she remembered the time her father had grabbed
the bee that flew into the car window. When he let it go, it was still
flying around and she was still scared until her dad showed her the
stinger that was in his hand. The bee was harmless now, because the
father had taken the sting for his daughter. In the same way, Jesus has
taken the sting of death for us. Yes, death is still around, but it’s
not something that needs to be feared. It makes us sad to be parted for
a time from those we love, but death itself has lost its sting. That was
the news that those women heard that morning long ago.
There they were. Their world had fallen apart. The ground beneath them
had given away and they were on an island with no where to go. Now what
could they do? I’m sure they must have been working on automatic pilot.
They didn’t think ahead. They just knew they should do some basic things
people did when those they loved died. They needed to anoint his body
for burial. They didn’t think about getting 3 or 4 strong guys to go
with them so that they could roll back the huge stone in front of the
grave. They didn’t plan ahead... they just went... after all, their
world had caved in, what else could they do? So on the way, the thought
came to them ... duh ... we can’t get into the tomb with that big stone
there. We watched from a distance as several big guys rolled it into
place. Who are we going to get to roll it back for us? But then, they
looked up and saw that the stone had been rolled away. So, they entered
the tomb.
And
they saw a young man dressed in a white robe. It had to have been an
angel. The Gospel of Matthew calls him an angel and says his appearance
was like lightning and his clothes were as white as snow. But here in
Mark, it just says there was a young man dressed in a white robe sitting
on the right side. The women apparently didn’t recognize him as an
angel, but then how many angels have you seen? They probably hadn’t seen
any either. Mark doesn’t say that his appearance was like lightening,
but he does say that the women were alarmed, so there must have been
something unusual about him. However, his first words were meant to
comfort them. He said, “Do not be alarmed.” Those were wonderful words.
Other translations say: Have no fear... Don’t be afraid Then he tells
them the most fantastic news of all time... the news that will change
their life forever .... the news that will give them solid ground to
stand on for all time. He says: You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth,
who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. HE HAS BEEN
RAISED! Their world didn’t fall apart. Jesus has been raised from the
dead. He is still alive. That was incredible news. Then the angel went
on to show them where the body of Jesus had been laid. After that, he
gave them a job to do. He told the women to go tell the disciples that
Jesus was going ahead of them to Galilee where they would see him, just
as Jesus had promised. That was tremendous news. Can’t you just imagine
the joy that must have filled their hearts. Jesus was alive. An angel
had told them! They were going to see Jesus again! Can’t you just see
them jumping up and down and hugging one another, shouting and singing?
Well, let’s read the next verse together. There’s only one more verse in
the original version of Mark. I want us all to read it together so take
out your pew Bible and turn to page 55. I don’t want to recite it for
you, because you might not believe me. You need to read it for yourself.
Let’s read what these women did when they heard this fantastic news.
Vs. 8: So, they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and
amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they
were afraid. THE END
The End? The fear factor won. They were afraid so they said nothing to
anyone. But, you say: It can’t be the end! Isn’t that what you are
saying? You see some more words there ... but what does it say above
them? Another old ending ... and another ending. You weren’t the only
one that thought that couldn’t be the end of Mark’s story. So people
wrote other endings and added them to Mark’s story. But those endings
weren’t written for a century or two after Mark wrote the original
story. The oldest copies of his Gospel end there. Now, of course, it’s
entirely possible that Mark’s ending got torn off and maybe some day
archeologists will find it. But it’s also possible that Mark wanted it
to end there. Of course we know that there is more to the story. If that
was all that there was, we wouldn’t know about it. If those women had
said nothing to anyone and no one else had ever encountered the risen
Lord, then what ... I sure wouldn’t be standing up here talking to you
and you wouldn’t be here celebrating Easter. There had to be more to the
story. But Mark ends it here. It seems incomplete doesn’t it? It’s a bit
like what happened in England when the British under the leadership of
General Wellington were fighting Napoleon at Waterloo. This was long
before telephones and instant text messaging. Back then they had light
signals similar to Morse Code to transmit messages across the English
Channel. As all England waited, the words came across the Channel:
Wellington defeated. Then the fog rolled in. News spread throughout
England. Wellington had been defeated. Fear and dread covered the land.
Then the fog lifted and the rest of the message was displayed.
Wellington defeated the enemy. Victory belonged to England. It seems
like there is a fog covering the ending of Mark. The women said nothing
to anyone for they were afraid. The fear factor had won. No one would
know the glorious news: Christ is risen. The enemy, “Death,” has been
defeated.
Why does the fog cover the “rest of the story” in Mark? We can only
guess. When I recite the whole Book of Mark in an evening’s program, I
conclude that Mark leaves it that way because he wants US - the people
who have heard the story - to go tell. I think that idea has real merit,
but this week, as I struggled with what to preach on this Easter Sunday,
an added idea occurred to me.
You see, it’s an ominous task to preach on Easter. It’s a big task any
Sunday to get up here and try to say something that will help God’s Word
come alive to people. It’s an awesome task. But, it seems especially
hard on Easter because preachers know that there will be more people
here than usual. And among them will probably be some people who really
need to hear the Word of God in a compelling way, but they’re only going
to give you one chance a year. As I struggled with wanting to say
something dramatic and inspiring that would help all of you here today
defeat the fear factors in your lives, I thought about that angel in the
tomb. That angel had marvelous news. More than likely, the angel knew
the tremendous ramifications of that news. More than likely, the angel
knew that this news would give new life and strength to people down
through the ages. More than likely, the angel knew that this was the
news that would destroy the fear factor because it would tell people
that they didn’t have to fear death. Yet the angel, dressed in a white
robe couldn’t convey that message in a way that could defeat the fear
factor. The women fled from the tomb in fear and trembling and said
nothing to
anyone!
It took something more. The other Gospels and the additions to the
Gospel of Mark tell about encounters people had with the risen Christ.
That was what defeated the fear factor. An empty tomb couldn’t do it.
The good news that Jesus had risen from the dead couldn’t do it. An
angel couldn’t do it. It took an encounter with the risen Christ to
defeat the fear factor. With that realization, I realized if an angel in
a white robe couldn’t do it, neither can a preacher in a white robe! It
really didn’t matter all that much what I said today. I could be as
clever ... as dramatic ... as inspiring as humanly possible and still
your fear factor would not be defeated. A woman in a white robe couldn’t
do it any more than an angel in a white robe over 2,000 years ago
couldn’t do it. It will take an encounter with the risen Christ in your
life for your fear factor to be defeated. Perhaps Mark left it that way
so that people who not only had heard the story but people who had
encountered the risen Christ would tell the story to others.
For the next several Sundays we are going to be looking at the
encounters the risen Jesus had with people in the Bible. The title of
that sermon series is Close Encounters of the Risen Kind. Hopefully, as
we look at those encounters, we will learn to recognize the encounters
that are available to us. But it will take more than just hearing about
those encounters, it will take having an encounter of your own. For I
can tell you about encounters people in the Bible had with the risen
Christ, but that’s only a small part of what you need. I can even tell
you about my own encounters with the risen Christ, but that’s only a
small part of what you need. You need to be open to the ways the risen
Christ waits to encounter you.
∙ Maybe it will be in a large inspirational gathering ... like it was
for some of the kids last weekend or like it was for me when I was a
teenager and heard Billy Graham preach and felt my heart warmed and
stirred. That was an encounter with the risen Christ.
∙ Maybe it will be as you hold a baby... as it was for me when I held
each one of our children in my arms and realized I felt so inadequate
for the task of being a parent and as I prayed, “God, I can’t do this.
Please help me.” I felt the calm assurance that I wasn’t in the business
of parenting all alone, God would help. That was an encounter with the
risen Christ.
∙ Maybe it will be when you are released from a deep seated anger... as
it was for me one day when I finally gave in to all the anger and hurt
that had resulted from a relationship I had. I let that anger consume me
to the extent that I was ready to give up everything good in my life
because I couldn’t hide the anger and hurt any longer. But in my
desperation, I prayed, “God, I hate her, but I don’t want to hate her
any longer. Please take this hate from me.” And I felt a weight lifted
from my shoulders. I hadn’t realized that weight had been there, until
it was lifted and I hated no longer. That was an encounter with the
risen Christ.
∙ Maybe it will be as you stand beside the casket of someone you love
with your heart breaking but with an inner sense of assurance that they
are OK...no more pain ... and someday you will be reunited. Death is
difficult and sad. But every time I experience losing someone I care
deeply about, I encounter the risen Christ.
∙ Maybe it will be as you see something beautiful in nature ... as it
was for me when I first saw the Grand Canyon, or Old Faithful, or a
sunset over the ocean, or the first daffodil of spring or the butterfly
that landed on my daughter’s shoulder when we were in a traffic jam. We
had been sitting in the car for a half an hour because there was some
big traffic block to get across the Ohio River. So finally we got out of
the car, all cranky and irritated with each other. Then a butterfly
landed on Susan’s shoulder and we all stood in silent awe, afraid to
talk because we might scare it away. Restlessness turned to calm. We
were actually sad when the traffic started to move and we got back into
the car and the butterfly flew away. All those times and many more have
been encounters with the risen Christ for me.
∙ Maybe it will even be in worship, here at Redford Aldersgate when you
hear beautiful music or see graceful dancers or hear the scripture ...
as it has been for me many times.... like the time when I first saw
Tiffany dance. She was just practicing, but she was so graceful and
there was something about the movement and the music that touched my
heart in a special way. It was an encounter with the risen Christ.
The angel told the women that Christ would go ahead of them to Galilee -
their home territory. And there they would see him, just as he promised.
That’s all I can really tell you today. Christ has risen and he will go
ahead of you to your home territory. There you will see him, as he
promised. But keep your eyes open. There is solid ground for you to
stand on. The fog will lift. You will get the complete message. Death
has been defeated. The sting is gone. The Fear Factor has been defeated!
You ask me how I know ... I know because I have encountered the risen
Christ and he lives within my heart!
.