Labor Day | We Shall Not Be Moved

I've just finished up a weekend of pure touristy relaxation. We all need these breaks. Michigan's Upper Peninsula is chilly a beautiful. The power of the great lakes invokes the vastness of God.

Most importantly, my friends Steve and Dave are perfect friends for solving all the problems of the church. Rest assured we have it all worked out.

We did not, however, overcome all of our fears. Perhaps next vacation.

-Liz

Do Not Fear

I teach active bystander training with Quabbin Mediation. Based on the research of Ervin Staub, five things block people from stopping bullying behaviors. We mask our faces to not react, making it unclear if others see the same thing we are seeing, the more people present the more no one feels responsible, and we often are confused about what is going on.

In addition, people don’t react because they are afraid. For the training I do we separate fear from danger. Fear is our internal reaction, while danger is an external threat to our well-being. Of course we are afraid when there are external threats, but we also are afraid of embarrassment, misunderstanding, shame, and more.

Next Sunday’s lectionary give us Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16, which includes a quote from Psalm 118:6 With the Lord on my side I do not fear. What can mortals do to me?

Of course mortals can do a lot of things to us. In fact, it is possible that Hebrews 13:7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith is speaking of leaders who have been martyred. If so, the outcome of their life is a death brought on by remaining strong in their faith. This then would go along with the skipped verses which emphasize Jesus’ sacrifice.

If this is true, then What can mortals do to me? Is not ignoring that humans can be very brutal to one another, but rather focusing on the fact that with God on our side even death is not a threat.

Martyrdom is not as popular an idea as it was in the first and second centuries of Christianity. Honestly, it might be time to remember that our faith is one that requires risking much, including risking our lives. Not because it is good to die, but because we sometimes are too afraid of being inconvenienced, awkward, or uneasy.

In this time in our nation, immigrants and their friends and family are reasonably afraid of deportation, but also containment camps, violence, the fear that comes with not knowing.

Trans people and their family and friends are afraid they won't be able to get the medical care they need, but also that they won't be welcomed into the community, that they will be bullied, that there will be violence. (There is violence.)

It is likely that new groups of people will be facing additional external dangers.

And yet some of us are kept from standing up for others because of fear. Fear of what our neighbors will think. Fear of what others will say. Fear that protests won't work. Fear that we will be embarrassed or shamed.

The lawyers and businesses and politicians that are giving into tyranny are not afraid they will die or to be injured, they are afraid that their environment will be hard to work in.

As a church, we may get stuck with inaction because we are afraid some members will be upset, some may stop pledging, or may leave. Our fears include the possibility that our church will need to close, forgetting that our very faith is founded in the idea that death proceeds resurrection.

This letter suggests that we must overcome fear so that we can live out the essentials of our faith. These are listed here as love of one another, hospitality to strangers, remembering those in prison and those tortured, honor your marriage, avoiding the love of money, and in the section not read, not worrying about which foods to eat. I think we each might summarize the essentials differently but we know they are based in love of god, love of neighbor, and love of enemies.

To do this work without fear we need God’s promise that God is with us. We need the moral courage to do what is right even though others might disapprove.

How does your congregation handle fear? Reply to this email to let me know what's happening. ​
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Be sure to find a Labor Day protest for next weekend.

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Youtube video of Mavis Staples and We Shall Not Be Moved

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