What Are You Scared of - Sermon

Intro

This week all over the US kids and adults will dress up in super hero, princess cowboys and horror character costumes. They’ll do some trick or treating, eat too much candy, and some will even probably party. And the majority will watch a scary movie.

When I was a teenager I was already a movie lover and a reader. I read a lot. And I watched a lot of movies. I Loved horror movies, comedies, and movies about Black people….. some of my favorites were like Jaws, Uptown Saturday Night, Cooley High, Let’s Do it Again, The Omen, Carrie, Car Wash, JD’s Revenge, Animal House, The Wiz. The Blues Brothers, Stir Crazy, The Shining and Halloween. I loved to laugh and I loved to be scared. Some of these movies were made from books that I’d read, like Carrie which was the first Stephen King Horror Novel I ever read. I’d also read The Shinning when I saw it. Eventually I read all his works. Some made it to the big screen but a couple were made into miniseries. And though Carrie was the first Stephen King book I’d read, Salem’s Lot was the book King wrote that made me read all his other books. You see Salem’s lot was about a Novelist that returns home to find that the Haunted House of his youth was being inhabited by a for real vampire. He watched as more and more people in his town were vanishing when he teamed up with a local kid, whose parents had been killed by the vampire, who himself was fixed on killing the vampire. They teamed up and went on to kill one of the oldest and deadliest vampires ever known. That was one scary book. I mean sleep with the light on scary. I’m talking about let your little brother sleep in your room that night scary. I’m talking about stare at the closet door cause you know there’s a vampire in there scary. SCARY! I Loved it! It was GREAT!

Today our scripture from addresses the idea of fear. Not fear from scary movies or horror novels, but fear like timidity or cowardice or weakness. Fear and thrill are the drivers in scary movies and novels....but in real life, non literary life, we don’t want to be afraid. Yet, just like TImothy, sometimes we let fear rule our lives, determine who are our friends and who we love. Sometimes we let fear dictate where we can and cannot go. and we also let fear keep us paralyzed about how to leave toxic situations. Today, for just a few minutes cause we gotta go pass out sandwiches….let’s talk on the sermonic subject; Whatcha scared of?

PRAY

Timothy, a pastoral book in the NT written by Paul to his protogee, Timothy. In this opening section of the letter, Paul is dealing with Timothy’s timidity and fear in working with his church members and others in the community. Timothy was young and he was a pastor. Younger than most of the people in his flock but pastor nonetheless. …and by the tone of Paul’s letter, Timothy was being shamed for being young and in charge. That shame pushed Timothy into being afraid. And that fear made Timothy ineffective in his job of Pastoring. Pastors can’t be scared. They can’t shrink back. They can’t skirt issues. They can’t turn their backs and run. Pastors must stand…in the face of ugliness and abuse. They must stand in the face of loss, sorrow and grief. They must stand in the wedding ceremony, after the finalization of the divorce, in the courtroom, in the prisons, in the hospital and at the morgue. That’s just part of their jobs. Something they HAVE to do. But this story of Timothy the Timid Pastor isn’t just for Ministers. No, its for each of you as well. Because each of us is given the Spirit of Power, the Spirit of Love and a Sound Mind let’s discuss How these three gifts of the spirit can help us live our best lives.

Spirit of Power - δυνάμεως (du- na- meos).

When we accept the gift and inclusion into the family of God, the Holy Spirit indwells in us and gives us POWER. Not power like a superhero, but God driven, God poured internal power. That fearlessness that allows us to face what is unfaceable, like yesterday at the “Tree of Life” Synagogue in Pittsburg, PA because you know that God can sustain you through American Terrorism and AntiSemitism. Power that lets you get up in the morning and go to work whether you like your job or not. Cause God has purpose for you and you must have Power and a job to attain it. You must have power to deal with the folks you must see everyday. You must have power in order to restrain yourself from slapping the taste out of your sassy child’s mouth or disagreeable loved one who has taken the responsibility of testing all your reserve nerves. You need Power to stand against the flood of negativity and traditionally hurtful beliefs when you side with the marginalized. You need power to lead or participate in a little church on the side of the road who may have 50 people today and 15 next Sunday. You need Power beloved. And God has given us the Spirit of POWER. You gotta take that power beloved and you gotta live like TaChalla, You gotta live like Wonder-Woman, you gotta live like JESUS who put on display the POWER of GOD in all his interactions. We have to continue to enter situations in our lives with the knowledge that we have the Spirit of Power. The God that created the Heavens and the Earth poured the Power into YOU that earth creating, breath blowing, rain making power. So What are you scared of? The Power that’s in you doesn’t mean you are faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive or able to leap tall buildings in a single bound…..but power to live your life like its Golden. Like you have a purpose and a determination to realize it. Like you have the inner fortitude to kill off all the vampires like in Salem’s Lot that suck the life out of you. You have the Spirit of POWER. Whatcha scared of?

Spirit of LOVE - καὶ ἀγάπης ( A-Ga-pes)

The Spirit of Love is the Spirit of God! God gives us God’s spirit so we can do those things that must be done, to help and love people and not to hurt or hinder them. The spirit of Love to continue being a caregiver for and love that one you are responsible. The spirit of Love to stop thinking about yourself all the time and consider the people you are in relationship with. The spirit of Love that makes you say no to your kids when they want to go to that party that you’ve got a bad feeling about. That love that helps you get out of bed and go pick up your friend who is too inebriated to drive. That love that makes you stand in silence when you are being told off because you know you are supposed to love folk in spite of themselves. That crazy love that helps you give up your plans for the weekend so your loved ones can enjoy their own. That love that keeps you in touch with a parent you didn’t grow up with or one that you wish you didn’t grow up with. You need that Spirit of Love to speak the truth when it must be said….if you want to live, You have to lose weight….You gotta quit smoking,….you have inoperable pancreatic cancer, your mama just transitioned, your dad has alzheimers. Nobody wants to say this stuff. Nobody wants to confront our family and friends with bad or tragic news. But the love God has poured into you, allows you to tell the truth in a way that can be heard because your intent is expressed in the sentiment of the words you say and in the caring manner in which you say it. God has given us the Spirit of LOVE.,,,For Timothy to be able to stop older members and false teachers from making him ashamed of his youth. Because the Spirit of Love lets you see behind their words and understand their motives and with that understanding a special knowledge of how you can ultimately help them. That spirit of love lets you pick up those clothes your spouse left on the floor three days ago and wash, dry and fold them. It pushes you to give the homeless guy some money and to establish a conversation with them to let them know that you care about their welfare and that you don’t judge them. You need the Spirit of Love to preach to a group that may or may not affirm you with an AMEN! And the God who knew you before you were born, who saw you in your mother’s womb and loved you, that God, who sees you when you bless others and when you don’t, that God poured love into you so you can let the world see what it means to be fully human..,and have divine love living and working through you. Whatcha Scared of then?

Sound Mind - καὶ σωφρονισμοῦ (So-phronis-mou)

God has given us a Sound Mind. God has given us an ability to think with a sober mind. God let’s us have some wisdom in our decisions. Being wise means we are able to assess situations for what they are. We are able to look at what It is for what it is. A sound mind is able to not be swayed by what we see but knowing that we have God’s power and God’s love allows us to deal with the real issues of life. A sound mind recognizes that Fear within exaggerates the causes of fear without. [1] and based on that recognition, walks in the assurity of God’s love and care.

A sound mind informs us that bombs sent in the mail meant to terrorize folks who stand in opposition to the current administration are a real threat….But cannot acquiesce to that threat by giving up on civil interactions. When we have the power of God, the spirit of Love and a sound mind, we refuse to be terrorized.

A sound mind tells us when to cut our losses and because of our self-love and love for that significant other, we allow our power to propel us onward and forward away from abuse, away from neglectful relationships and toward a fullfiling and loving interaction. A sound mind tell us its time to take our daughters to lunch so we can help them figure out their own relationships. A sound mind helps us be what God says even when everyone else says be somebody else. We’ve been given a sound mind…so whatcha scared of?

In novels and in movies we see the monsters that are waiting behind the next door, over the next hill or down the next street. That’s why in predominately African American movie theaters you’ll hear many voices yelling out warnings to the main characters of the movies! The Evil that lurks in these stories is scary and hideous, and wicked. And since they are stories, movies, novellas or epic stories, they are merely fiction. But God. God has given us the spirit of Power, the spirit of Love and a sound mind so we can face those real life monsters in our lives. With these three gifts we can face any opponent, any scary monster, any wicked witch of the West. Because God has equipped us with what we need to conquer our fears. God has equipped us to stand in the face of anything and stare it down.

As we enter this All Hallows Eve week, let’s remember that we don’t face the darkness without hope. We’ve been given what we need to deal with the Frankenstien monsters of terror, vampires that suck the life out of us, werewolves of destruction, mummies of objectification, demons of hate, and all manner of bad things. And since this is true…since we know what we got. And we know who is with us and what they’ve done to deliver us…since we know that in the end the worst vampire, monster cannot overcome the power, love and sound mind of God that dwells within us……

whatcha scared of?

[1] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 422). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.