Song: Breathe Life, Spread Love, Eat right | Be Brave Parades
We got snow! Not enough to measure, but more than flurries. Ski season may be hear soon. In the meantime, we are planning for Thanksgiving and for Advent.
It's the first advent I'm not preaching in a long time! I'm looking forward to it.
-Liz
What Are We Afraid Of?
When I did street church, a common question people with homes asked me was "aren't you afraid?" To which I always replied, "Honestly the most terrifying thing I do is ask people for money." Certainly I walked the streets in places the community has identified as dangerous.
I got to that place by practicing being brave. In my early days as an out Queer person I went bars in the "worst" parts of Washington, DC. I intentionally chose to be in those spaces, to walk to my car. To take transit. When I lived in West Palm Beach I rode my bicycle to work through "dangerous" neighborhoods to get to work, intentionally saying a cheer "Hi" to everyone I passed.
We are inundated with messages that suggest that fear is the correct strategy for getting through the world. Women especially are taught strategies for being afraid in parking lots, on the streets, heck someone told me that a man should always walk on the street side of the sidewalk to protect me from flying puddles. We are told to be afraid of stranger rape even though almost all rape is done by family and friends. We are told to be afraid of house break-ins and robbery, even though almost all of those crimes happen to people who are very poor. We are told to be afraid of people with penises in women's restrooms even though people who identify as women or non-binary have little record of causing harm to other women.
At the same time we are not supposed to be afraid of higher prices for food and healthcare, nor of losing our social security benefits. We are not supposed to be afraid of businesses that prioritize financial gains over human well-being. We grossly mis-direct our fears.
Fear is the tool of manipulation. Fear is how we are kept in line. The more we can be afraid of people around us, the more we preach "stranger danger" and "protection strategies", the more we break down the power of community and solidarity.
Jesus recognized the way that Rome used fear to control people. He recognized how people's fear was keeping them separate from each other, and separate from the essentials of their faith. Over and over he tells those who are gathered "Do not be afraid".
Jesus says, “for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). Rome insists that it is the kingdom, and following it's rules is what is important, but really it is God that gives us abundance and peace. When Jesus says "Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows" (Luke 12:7) He is offering that it is not our nation, but our God that makes sure we have what we need.
Jesus gets this message from throughout the Hebrew scriptures. The most familiar is "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23:4). See also Psalm 27:1, 46:1-3, 56:3-4, 118:6. (Also Isaiah 41:10, 13, Deut 3:22. Lamentations 3:57, Haggai 2:5.)
In the Gospel of John (14:27) Jesus offers "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
To be clear, I don't think that these are rules about having feelings. What we must learn to do is to keep these feelings from running our lives. What we must do is develop the moral courage to act, despite our fear. We must trust that God is with us in our actions, probably not protecting us from every danger, but certainly holding us, comforting us, loving us when things are hard.
Courage is not giving up fear (that would be reckless); it is facing our fear and not letting fear change our behavior.
We can decide to be people who act out of compassion, out of righteousness, out of love. Even though we are afraid.
What is your church afraid of? What are you afraid of? How do you deal with that fear? Reply to this email to let me know what's happening.
SkyBlew is a rapper I heard at Wild Goose Festival in North Carolina. In the face of all that is against us, he suggests that we breathe life, spread love, eat right.
Be Brave Parades are meant to build courage. Many people who are concerned about what is happening in our world today don't know what to do. They don't know if others agree with them. These visibility events are designed to draw in new participants for the resistance. They are parades, not protests.
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