Living Without Fear In A Culture of Violence

It used to be that I would read about mass killings, and with rare exception, they were in war zones in far away places. It seems as if they are now a regular occurrence at restaurants, retail stores, streets, businesses, military bases, and schools right here at home in the U.S. Of course, we pray for the victims and their families and communities wherever they are, at home or abroad.

But the nearness of home violence does grab attention. What strikes me is how fearful we as a people are becoming. This is especially true since 9/11. I recently had a door-to-door salesperson come to our house selling a home protection system. His whole pitch was based on increasing my anxiety about theft and home invasion. On my drive to and from the church is a large sign on Salem Avenue advertising concealed carry classes “to make you safe.” There is constant concern about homeland security even though that means that we are all being spied upon.

Perhaps this is exactly the time for the church to reclaim those biblical admonitions of “Do not fear!” This was the message of the angels to Mary, to the shepherds, to the women at the empty tomb. Of course there is danger. Of course, there are bad people and mentally ill people out there. Of course, we will die. But we are called to live by the non-violent, fearless, values of a kingdom where death is overcome by life. It is time that we start to talk about how to live into those values.

This will be the focus of this Sunday’s sermon.