Do Not Be Afraid

There is nothing like dancing in front of people, or playing an instrument in front of people, or singing in front of people, or doing almost anything where others are watching to produce a healthy dose of fear.  We are afraid of making a mistake.  We are afraid of making a fool of ourselves.  We are afraid that somehow others will think less of us.

I have told some of you about an experience I had when I was a little girl playing in a piano recital.  I kept losing my place in the song, and kept going back to the same place over and over again in order to try to finish the piece.  I actually don’t remember if I managed to finish the piece or not, but after that day I always had trouble playing the piano in front of anybody.  I would do fine when practicing, but would always mess up when others were listening.

It wasn’t until a few years ago that I realized what I was doing whenever I tried to play the piano.  The thing that was always at the forefront of my mind was the fear of making a mistake.  The thing about fear is that it is like a self-fulfilling prophecy.  If you’re afraid of making a mistake, you’ll likely make lots of them.  If you’re playing a sport with a fear of losing, you’ll probably lose.  If you’re afraid of making a fool of yourself, you’ll probably look kind of stiff and perhaps a little foolish.

One of the psychological tricks when approaching fear is to replace those fearful thoughts with other, more helpful thoughts.  One that sometimes works is quite simply, “It’s not all about you!”  If you’re playing in a concert or recital, others are playing in it too.  If you’re playing a sport, you’re part of a team.  If you’re helping lead worship, you’re part of the body of Christ and pointing people to God.  Another trick is simply to focus on making something beautiful – whether music, or dance, or sport.

In Scripture, as well, fear is often replaced by other things.  The most obvious example of this is the passage that says “perfect love casts out fear” (1 Jn. 4:18).  Another passage that comes to mind is the one in Isaiah that begins, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine” (Is. 43:1).  In this case, those who hear Isaiah’s words are encouraged to replace their fearful thoughts with an awareness of God’s presence with them.

At the same time, you may have noticed that whenever angels show up, their first words are almost always, “Do not be afraid.”  In fact, in the Easter gospel from Matthew, we hear these words twice.

The first time, it is an angel who speaks these words to the women at the tomb.  As an alternative to being afraid, he gives the women something to do.  Come and see the empty tomb.  Go and tell his disciples that he has been raised from the dead.  And then, a promise:  You will see him in Galilee (Mt. 28:5-7).  After this, their fear is mixed with joy.

Then, they hear the same words again, this time from Jesus (Mt. 28:10).  He, too, instructs them to go and tell the other disciples and promises that they will see him in Galilee.

And so, during this Easter season, do not be afraid, even of death – for Christ is risen!

                        In Christ,

                        Pastor Lynne Hutchison