Fear is Our Enemy

                

         This is a prophetic time that we are living in.  With all of the chaos in the world, and our own political situation in such turmoil, we wonder what may be coming.  Sometimes it seems to me that fear is the driving force in what we are told by the media and how our politicians relate to us.  I would like to tell you that everything will be all right, but when I look at what the world seems to be up to, I can't say that.  A new ground war sounds terrible to me, with all of the years that we have been fighting in the middle east, it seems to me that it is a time to refrain from further bloodshed.  The war in Iraq is what brought all of this mess to us and more war will simply inflame it more.  Fear is not the way to approach this calamity.

       In Luke’s gospel, John proclaims what he calls the “good news” to the people.  He tells them of the wrath to come, which doesn’t sound much like good news to me, but John is talking about the coming of the Messiah, the Christ who will redeem the world. The people listened to him and many of them thought that he might be the Messiah.  John told them no, that he would baptize them with water, but the one who was coming would baptize them with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  This is Jesus, who would come to lead the people toward God’s way.  

                Indeed, Jesus came and called his disciples and began the redemption of the world.  In his three short years of ministry in this world, Jesus challenged the powers that were in charge, the religious leaders and the political forces who ran the country.  It cost him his life, and it also cost the disciples their lives. But fear was never a part of Jesus work in this world.  He confronted every disaster that came his way.  He healed, he comforted, he raised the dead and he constantly preached compassion and forgiveness as the way that God chooses to interact with the world.  When he found people who were outcast, he included them.  One of my favorite moments in Jesus ministry is the calling of Matthew to be an apostle; Matthew, the tax collector who was rejected by everyone.  He was hated by everyone because he represented the Roman Government.  But Jesus included him and taught him; so Jesus does with each one of  us.  Even with our flaws, we are accepted and loved by our God who created us in the beginning.  We are promised eternal life by our Lord.  With that in our future, what is there to fear?  We have been given life and promise by our Lord. 

                 This is why we need not fear.  What those who want to oppress us want to use fear to drive their agenda.  When we look out our window and become afraid of what is there or who is there, we play into their hands.  When we lean on our Lord and remember his overwhelming love for the world and for everyone in it, our fear can dissolve.  Remember that Jesus was not a Christian.  He was a Jew and stayed a Jew through his death and resurrection.  It was his followers who created Christianity and the followers of Mohammed who created Islam.  All of these religions are loved by the God who is at the head of all of them.  God bless us as we try to live together in love and follow our Lord and show his compassion to this world that he  loved so very much.