Courage is the Other Side of Fear

The Greetings

Grace and peace to you, from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

This greeting that I use nearly every Sunday was written by the Apostle Paul. We find versions of it in:

Romans

1st and 2nd Corinthians

Galatians

Ephesians

Philippians

Colossians

1st and 2nd Thessalonians

1st and 2nd Timothy

Titus

Philemon

And… I think you get the point. Paul as well as the other leaders of the early church had a deep appreciation for the significance of this greeting, “Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.”

It set the tone for the rest of the letters and, truly, it set the focal point for the early church’s understanding of who God was in the world as revealed to them by the life, death, and resurrection of their Master and Savior, Jesus Christ.

And yet, it doesn’t seem to fit today’s Gospel reading, at least not a first. Perhaps a greeting such as this would be more appropriate:

The end is surely upon you, be alert and be ready for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Greek Words

The first time the Lion encounters Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man, Dorothy smacks him on the nose for being a bully.

She quickly realizes he's all bluster:

Dorothy: My goodness, what a fuss you're making! Well, naturally, when you go around picking on things weaker than you are. Why, you're nothing but a great big coward!  Cowardly Lion: [crying] You're right, I am a coward! I haven't any courage at all. I even scare myself. [sobbing] Look at the circles under my eyes. I haven't slept in weeks! Tin Man: Why don't you try counting sheep?  Cowardly Lion: That doesn't do any good, I'm afraid of 'em.

Greek Words

Today’s text sets us on edge. We hear Jesus speak of the end of life as we know it. His tremulous words hark back to the prophet Joel who wrote:

“I will give wonders in heaven and on the earth, blood, fire, columns of smoke. The sun will change into darkness and the moon into blood with the coming of the great and formidable day of the Lord” -

The ancient peoples believed that during the day the sun’s light would be veiled and by night the moon and stars would shine with a greater intensity than what had ever been seen before. And that people on earth would respond with συνοχή, translated in our text today as “distress.” And we’re not talking about a “raise a caution flag” kind of distress… συνοχή can also be translated as “anguish.” So literally, “There will be signs in the sun, moon, and the stars, and on the earth… anguish.”

Reading on, Jesus says that people will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming.

Reading on, Jesus says that people will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming. One more Greek word: φόβος (phobos). Translated here as fear… that the people will faint from fear and foreboding. When you hear it, you might think of arachnophobia, the fear of spiders. Or acrophobia… the fear of heights. Or claustrophobia. Here, it is pure φόβος (phobos)… pure fear… a state of terror.

Bovon, F. (2012). : A Commentary on the Gospel of . (H. Koester, Ed., J. Crouch, Trans.) (p. 116). Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.

It’s hard to get the inspiration from today’s text to break out in song because happy days are on their way! No… instead it sounds like things will get worse before they get better. The end will come… death will come. There is much to be fearful of.

This text does not appear to be saying Roll out the Barrels, because happy days are on their way! No… instead it suggests that things will get worse before they get better. One more Greek word.. The end will come… death will come.

Cowardly Lion

I couldn’t help but think of the Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz as I read the text this week. The first time the Lion encounters Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man, Dorothy smacks him on the nose for being a bully.

He immediately breaks out into tears. Dorothy quickly realizes he's all bluster:

Dorothy: My goodness, what a fuss you're making! Well, naturally, when you go around picking on things weaker than you are. Why, you're nothing but a great big coward!  Cowardly Lion: [crying] You're right, I am a coward! I haven't any courage at all. I even scare myself. [sobbing] Look at the circles under my eyes. I haven't slept in weeks! Tin Man: Why don't you try counting sheep?  Cowardly Lion: That doesn't do any good, I'm afraid of 'em.

Major Illustrations

With all of this fearful talk in mind, Jesus’ words in verse 28 catch my attention. As he speaks with his disciples in the temple, foretelling the destruction of not only the temple but life as they knew it… Jesus tells them that when these things begin to take place, to stand up and raise their heads, because their redemption is drawing near.

In other words, in the midst of the greatest troubles imaginable, Jesus is saying to the disciples and to us, “Do not be afraid.”

"Screw your courage to the sticking-place," says Lady Macbeth to her doomed husband in Shakespeare's tragedy, "and we'll not fail." But fail they do and no amount of courage in the world can save them or turn them into heroes. Courage is a funny thing. It's a bit like happiness: the more you seek it, the more you demand it, the more you try to call it up, the less it shows its face.

Words can stir us to courage but only when they are grounded in confident expectation of something or someone greater than ourselves. Who would not rally around the "I have a dream…" speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr., in which he paints the colors of freedom?

Words can stir us to courage but only when they are grounded in confident expectation of something or someone greater than oneself. Who would not rally around the "I have a dream…" speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr., in which he paints the colors of freedom?

Who would not feel stronger listening to the determination of Winston Churchill in the dark days of 1940: "Let us... brace ourselves to our duty, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour!' "

The greatest challenge we face today or in any age is not war, or economic inequity. It’s not community unrest, or prejudice, or division, but fear. Why? Because fear is the root of all of these things.

We've been there with the disciples, haven't we?

Frankl tells how he was ready to die. It was as if the gray bleakness had claws and each moment they dug deeper and colder into his soul. Why go on? What could be the purpose in "living" if, indeed, he was even still alive at this moment? There was no heaven, no hell, no future, no past. Only the clutching grayness of this miserable moment.

Suddenly, to his surprise, Frankl felt "a last violent protest" surging within himself. He sensed that even though his body had given up and his mind had accepted defeat, his inner spirit was taking flight. It was searching. It was looking. It was scanning the eternal horizons for the faintest glimmer that said his fleeting life had some divine purpose. It was looking for God.

In a single instant two things happened, according to Frankl, that simply could not be mere coincidence. Within, he heard a powerful cry, piercing the gloom and tearing at the icy claws of death. The voice shouted "Yes!" against the "No" of defeat and the gray "I don't know" of the moment.

At that exact second, "a light was lit in a distant farmhouse." Like a beacon it called attention to itself. It spoke of life, warmth, family, and love. Frankl said that in that moment he began to believe. And in that moment he began to live again.

The greatest challenge we face today or in any age is not war, or economic inequity. It’s not community unrest, or prejudice, or division, but fear. Why? Because fear is the root of all of these things.

There is a reason FDR in his 1933 inaugerual address amidst the Great Depression said:

the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to turn retreat into advance.

And he knew what he was talking about. paralyzed by polio from the waist down he knew how easy it was to allow fears to take hold and stop him from moving forward.

Fear indeed causes us to put our head down, to focus inwardly. Fear causes us to allow hate and horror to occur around us and, perhaps, even allow us to participate in it.

And so Jesus tells his disciples to “stand up and raise your heads.” Why? It is because, even though “heaven and earth will pass away, my words will not pass away.”

And yet Jesus tells his disciples to “stand up and raise your heads.” Why? Not, I think, because this is code language or a secret sign that the end of the world is nigh and so eternal victory for the faithful just around the corner. Rather, it is because, even though “heaven and earth will pass away, my words will not pass away.”

And what are those words? Take your pick:

“This is my body, given for you; this is my blood shed for you.” Jesus’ promise of his continued and real presence with his disciples.

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Jesus’ promise of forgiveness…no matter what.

“Today you will be with me in paradise.” Jesus’ promise of eventual and ultimate rest and comfort.

“Peace be with you.” Jesus’ promise that his resurrection spells an end to death and the cycle of violence and revenge.

Across the board, Jesus promises not to abandon his disciples amid the fears of the world but to be with them, strengthen and encourage them, and equip them not merely to endure the challenges of the day but to flourish. Jesus’ promises, I want to be clear, do not eliminate fear or hardship from the lives of his disciples – then or now – but rather creates courage, the ability to be faithful, to do one’s duty, to retain vision and compassion and empathy, even while afraid.

Across the board, Jesus promises not to abandon his disciples amid the tumult and trauma of the world but to be with them, strengthen and encourage them, and equip them not merely to endure the challenges of the day but to flourish. Jesus’ promises, I want to be clear, do not eliminate fear or hardship from the lives of his disciples – then or now – but rather create courage, the ability to be faithful, to do one’s duty, to retain vision and compassion and empathy, even while afraid.

And through Christ we keep our head up in the midst of fear and undertake the good work of being Jesus’ disciples in the world – the work of compassion for those who are hurting, encouragement to those who are afraid, solidarity with those who are oppressed, resistance to evil, forgiveness for those who have wronged us, and acceptance of all of God’s people – not because we believe our actions will change the world, but because we know Christ’s resurrection has already changed the world. We act, that is, in the confidence that Jesus’ promises are trustworthy.

undertake the good work of being Jesus’ disciples in the world – the work of compassion for those who are hurting, encouragement to those who are afraid, solidarity with those who are oppressed, resistance to evil, forgiveness for those who have wronged us, and acceptance of all of God’s people – not because we believe our actions will change the world, but because we know Christ’s resurrection has already changed the world. We act, that is, in the confidence that Jesus’ promises are trustworthy.

At times, I know, our various actions of compassion and encouragement and solidarity and resistance and forgiveness and acceptance may seem like small gestures. But in light of Jesus’ promise, we realize that there are no small gestures, only actions motivated by the love and courage of Christ. And I firmly believe that no action done in love and courage, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

It is not our job to save the world, but rather, and because Jesus has promised to save the world, it is our job to care for those in the little corner of the world we happen to inhabit. It is our job, that is, to offer an alternative to the fear that so corrodes the world. And in offering courage and compassion as an alternative, be obedient to Christ’s command to stand up and raise our heads.

The Lion shows some Bravery

Another scene from the Wizard of Oz shows us what that might look like sometimes. Dorothy had been captured by the Wicked Witch, and the cowardly lion wants to go in and save her:

Cowardly Lion: All right, I'll go in there for Dorothy. Wicked Witch or no Wicked Witch, guards or no guards, I'll tear them apart. I may not come out alive, but I'm going in there. There's only one thing I want you fellows to do.  Tin Man and Scarecrow: What's that?  Cowardly Lion: Talk me out of it!

With that, the rag tag group rushes in to save the day, despite their fears.

Like the Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz, we learn that we have more courage than we realized—a courage that comes from Christ.

The call from Jesus as we begin this Advent Season is to recognize that the end is coming and to keep your head up. The end is surely upon you, be alert and be ready for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But go ahead and have a dream, screw your courage to the sticking-place that is Christ. And know that the grace and peace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is with you now and forever. Amen.