First Sunday After Easter,
Commonly Called Low Sunday,
April 8th, 2018
"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1)
Children seem to be scared about various things, don't they? Whether it be a strange noise or fear of "monsters under the bed," children get scared quite often. And as we get older, we still get scared of various things: watching scary movies or hearing unfamiliar noises. Even as adults, we still can get scared. Whether it be someone threatening us or receiving a bad health report from the doctor. Again, the point is that all throughout our life human beings will get scared of various things. But fear always seems to go away . . . or at least diminish a great deal . . . when someone is with us. When the young child is scared of a "monster under the bed" or scared after having a bad dream, and mom or dad comes in, the child is relieved, the child is comforted. When the teenager is bullied at school, it is comforting to be in the company of friends. When someone gets a questionable health report and a MRI or a CAT scan is ordered, aren't we relieved when someone goes with us to the hospital . . . . to support us . . . to help us . . . . to be by our side?.
I recently saw a TV program where it recounted a horrifying event where a woman was involved in a high-speed car chase. The woman was being chased by an ex-boyfriend. The man had intentions of killing this woman and so was chasing her with his car because he wanted to shoot her. Well, the visual scenes were portrayals of the event that occurred but they played the actual recordings of the 911 calls. You see, the woman was on the phone with the 911 operator for some eleven minutes while this whole event unfolded. At one point, when the woman knew that the man was upon her and she felt that her end was near, this woman asked the 911 operator to please call her mother. They interviewed the woman for the TV show and she explained the reason why she asked the operator to call her mother was because she wanted to hear her mother's calming voice. She wanted to hear the voice of the person that was there for her throughout her entire life. In her moment of panic, when things seemed the darkest, she wanted someone to be there for her. She wanted her mother to be with her at that moment even if it was only via telephone. Again, when we are facing trials or tribulations that scare us to death, we feel comfort when someone is with us . . . to support us, . . . to be with us, . . . "Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD Thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." (Deuteronomy 31:6)
In the Twentieth Chapter of St. John's Gospel, St. John describes the disciples days after Our Lord's Crucifixion. St John describes that the disciples were found shut up behind closed doors: " . . . . where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, . . . . " (St. John 20:19) The disciples were scared, St. John writes. They had "fear of the Jews," we are told. Now it's not the fear of the disciples that I want to focus on. I mean, let's face it, wouldn't you be scared too? I think I would be. If we had been in their shoes and had seen our teacher, our leader, taken into custody, savagely scourged at the pillar, forced to carry His own Cross, and then crucified, they probably thought that they were next. They obviously thought that they were targeted as well because, again, St. John tells us that they were "assembled for fear of the Jews." All of this is obvious. So what I want to focus on is the complete turn around when Our Lord appears to them. We read that Our Blessed Saviour appears to them and shows them His Hands and His side. And when the disciples recognize that this really is their Master, St. John writes: "Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. " (v. 20) They were glad. More than that, they were relieved. The Lord was with them. Similar to when the small child is scared of the "monster under the bed" or frightened due to a sudden shock, and the parent is there to protect, to comfort. The child feels protected. So, too, the disciples felt protected that the Blessed Lord was there in their midst . . . to comfort them . . . to relieve them . . . to protect them.
So often if life we get scared by a whole host of scary things: losing people we don't want to lose . . . being overwhelmed by bills . . . . health concerns . . . . getting older . .. . the list goes on and on. We all have things that cause us to be scared to one degree or another. And when people are scared, sometimes they turn to things they should not turn to to help them cope with their fear: drugs, . . . drink, . . . . But we should turn to God when we are scared. We should turn to Our Heavenly Father when we have concerns. God is the One that will help us. God is the One that wants to be there for us. God is the One that is concerned for our well-being. Turn to God and turn your life over to Him. Let Him be your guide, your inspiration, your anchor in the storm. Remember when the disciples were in the ship and a storm came up and they became afraid that they were going to die. Our Blessed Lord came to them: "But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." (St. Matthew 14:27)
Our Lord is always with us. God is always faithful to us. God is always true to His word. The problem is that we are not always true to our word. Despite the fact that God is always with us, we are not always with God. In other words, we are too busy with our own lives . . . our own concerns . . . we are too busy involved in what keeps us busy in this life . . . too busy to notice that God was with us all along. Our Lord said to the disciples in the last chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel: " . . . and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." (St. Matthew28:20)
"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (St. John 14:27) Only the peace of Christ can give us true security. Only the peace found in Our Blessed Saviour can give true peace . . . lasting peace . . . real joy. So many of our concerns in our everyday life seem to trouble us to no end: bills that never seem to get paid off . . . . responsibilities at work and home that seem to overwhelm us . . . concerns for our well-being or the well-being of our loved ones that burden us. We know that life is not always the proverbial "bowl of cherries." Sometimes life is difficult, quite frankly. Sometimes, life is overwhelming. But God is there with us in the good times and the bad. God is there for us . . . and with us . . . . when things seem the darkest. "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord Thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." (Joshua 1:9) As I stated, sometimes life can be scary. Sometimes life can be downright overwhelming. Sometimes we have good reason to be scared . . . to be nervous. I have to admit I always liked the John Wayne quote regarding courage. He said: "Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway." He's right. The definition of "Courage" is not the absence of fear. The definition of courage, it seems to me, is being afraid and moving forward despite the fear. Be strong! Have courage! God is with us. "Be not afraid." "I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
Children seem to be scared about various things, don't they? Whether it be a strange noise or fear of "monsters under the bed," children get scared quite often. And as we get older, we still get scared of various things: watching scary movies or hearing unfamiliar noises. Even as adults, we still can get scared. Whether it be someone threatening us or receiving a bad health report from the doctor. Again, the point is that all throughout our life human beings will get scared of various things. But fear always seems to go away . . . or at least diminish a great deal . . . when someone is with us. When the young child is scared of a "monster under the bed" or scared after having a bad dream, and mom or dad comes in, the child is relieved, the child is comforted. When the teenager is bullied at school, it is comforting to be in the company of friends. When someone gets a questionable health report and a MRI or a CAT scan is ordered, aren't we relieved when someone goes with us to the hospital . . . . to support us . . . to help us . . . . to be by our side?.
I recently saw a TV program where it recounted a horrifying event where a woman was involved in a high-speed car chase. The woman was being chased by an ex-boyfriend. The man had intentions of killing this woman and so was chasing her with his car because he wanted to shoot her. Well, the visual scenes were portrayals of the event that occurred but they played the actual recordings of the 911 calls. You see, the woman was on the phone with the 911 operator for some eleven minutes while this whole event unfolded. At one point, when the woman knew that the man was upon her and she felt that her end was near, this woman asked the 911 operator to please call her mother. They interviewed the woman for the TV show and she explained the reason why she asked the operator to call her mother was because she wanted to hear her mother's calming voice. She wanted to hear the voice of the person that was there for her throughout her entire life. In her moment of panic, when things seemed the darkest, she wanted someone to be there for her. She wanted her mother to be with her at that moment even if it was only via telephone. Again, when we are facing trials or tribulations that scare us to death, we feel comfort when someone is with us . . . to support us, . . . to be with us, . . . "Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD Thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." (Deuteronomy 31:6)
In the Twentieth Chapter of St. John's Gospel, St. John describes the disciples days after Our Lord's Crucifixion. St John describes that the disciples were found shut up behind closed doors: " . . . . where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, . . . . " (St. John 20:19) The disciples were scared, St. John writes. They had "fear of the Jews," we are told. Now it's not the fear of the disciples that I want to focus on. I mean, let's face it, wouldn't you be scared too? I think I would be. If we had been in their shoes and had seen our teacher, our leader, taken into custody, savagely scourged at the pillar, forced to carry His own Cross, and then crucified, they probably thought that they were next. They obviously thought that they were targeted as well because, again, St. John tells us that they were "assembled for fear of the Jews." All of this is obvious. So what I want to focus on is the complete turn around when Our Lord appears to them. We read that Our Blessed Saviour appears to them and shows them His Hands and His side. And when the disciples recognize that this really is their Master, St. John writes: "Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. " (v. 20) They were glad. More than that, they were relieved. The Lord was with them. Similar to when the small child is scared of the "monster under the bed" or frightened due to a sudden shock, and the parent is there to protect, to comfort. The child feels protected. So, too, the disciples felt protected that the Blessed Lord was there in their midst . . . to comfort them . . . to relieve them . . . to protect them.
So often if life we get scared by a whole host of scary things: losing people we don't want to lose . . . being overwhelmed by bills . . . . health concerns . . . . getting older . .. . the list goes on and on. We all have things that cause us to be scared to one degree or another. And when people are scared, sometimes they turn to things they should not turn to to help them cope with their fear: drugs, . . . drink, . . . . But we should turn to God when we are scared. We should turn to Our Heavenly Father when we have concerns. God is the One that will help us. God is the One that wants to be there for us. God is the One that is concerned for our well-being. Turn to God and turn your life over to Him. Let Him be your guide, your inspiration, your anchor in the storm. Remember when the disciples were in the ship and a storm came up and they became afraid that they were going to die. Our Blessed Lord came to them: "But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." (St. Matthew 14:27)
Our Lord is always with us. God is always faithful to us. God is always true to His word. The problem is that we are not always true to our word. Despite the fact that God is always with us, we are not always with God. In other words, we are too busy with our own lives . . . our own concerns . . . we are too busy involved in what keeps us busy in this life . . . too busy to notice that God was with us all along. Our Lord said to the disciples in the last chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel: " . . . and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." (St. Matthew28:20)
"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (St. John 14:27) Only the peace of Christ can give us true security. Only the peace found in Our Blessed Saviour can give true peace . . . lasting peace . . . real joy. So many of our concerns in our everyday life seem to trouble us to no end: bills that never seem to get paid off . . . . responsibilities at work and home that seem to overwhelm us . . . concerns for our well-being or the well-being of our loved ones that burden us. We know that life is not always the proverbial "bowl of cherries." Sometimes life is difficult, quite frankly. Sometimes, life is overwhelming. But God is there with us in the good times and the bad. God is there for us . . . and with us . . . . when things seem the darkest. "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord Thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." (Joshua 1:9) As I stated, sometimes life can be scary. Sometimes life can be downright overwhelming. Sometimes we have good reason to be scared . . . to be nervous. I have to admit I always liked the John Wayne quote regarding courage. He said: "Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway." He's right. The definition of "Courage" is not the absence of fear. The definition of courage, it seems to me, is being afraid and moving forward despite the fear. Be strong! Have courage! God is with us. "Be not afraid." "I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
St. Margaret Church meets each and every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM. We worship at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis. We use the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Come join us as we listen to God speak to us through His Word. At Communion time, we receive the Precious Body and Blood of Christ to nourish us and give us strength for our journey called life.
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