“The Seven Next Words of Christ - Greetings… Do Not be Afraid” Matt 28: 1-10

I don’t know about you, but when someone tells me not to be afraid, it is usually during the times I am the most frightened. In the New Testament, angels, the messengers of the Lord, often greeted folks like Mary, the mother of Jesus and Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist with the words “Do not be afraid.” Jesus told his disciples to not be afraid nineteen times during his ministry. Times such as when they were at the wedding of Cana and the wine was going to run out - a mark of a lack in hospitality. Right before Lazarus was going to walk out of the tomb. When Jesus walked on water in order to calm the storm raging in the sea. All times the disciples should have been afraid, yet Jesus instructed them not to be afraid. 

We are now in the second week of our sermon series about the seven next words of Christ - the seven words of instruction that Christ gave after his resurrection, during the forty days that he continued to meet and teach the disciples. Today we focus on the words “do not be afraid.”

“Do not be afraid” can be such tricky words. As I said before, they often come at times when people are the most afraid. If we are not careful, such words can come off as a lack of sympathy instead of words of comfort. 

When I was at my first appointment, I traveled to Hershey during the week for chaplaincy training at the medical center. In the mornings we had classwork, and in the afternoon we visited patients in specific units that were assigned to us. In addition, a chaplain was required to be at each trauma call. Whether we were in a patients room or responding to a page, we were to be a calm presence in the midst of the chaos of the hospital, but we were also there to help guide medical staff, especially those in the beginning of their training, in what it looks like to be that calming presence. There was more than one occasion during my time at Hershey where I had the uncomfortable job of pulling medical staff to the side and telling them why there words were more harmful then comforting. I think of one of my favorite patients, who was at the hospital to deliver her second child. Her water broke too early so she was on bedrest hours from home. Most days she was cheerful. One day I found her in tears - a new doctor whom she had never met told her that they were getting an ambulance to move her to a different hospital (which the patient knew was unsafe due to her need for bedrest) because they didn’t have enough beds for her, but not to fear, they would arrange everything. Of course the woman should have been afraid for herself and her baby! A one minute stop in her room changed her life and what she had thought would happen to her over the next several weeks. 

Another young woman, a few years younger than me, went in for a routine delivery of her baby, only to find that he was born without one-third of his vital organs. She was told to not be afraid, as her infant was moved to NICU, which she took to be a promise that he would be okay - only to have him die a few days later. She felt betrayed into thinking that everything would be okay, when it wasn’t. Of course she should be afraid. 

In contrast, when Jesus tells us to not be afraid, he isn’t using the words in a way to diminish what the disciples or we are feeling. He isn’t telling them to buck up or stay strong, instead, he is inviting them the find their rest in God’s care. He is reminding them and us that the presence of Christ walking with us continually, even when we cannot perceive him, strengthens us for whatever lies ahead. 

Today we find a different version of the Easter story. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were headed to the tomb, but as they arrived the earth shook and the angel of the Lord came and rolled the heavy stone blocking the entrance of the tomb away. He shone brightly. The two Mary’s would have heard about angels such as these in scriptures before -maybe they even though of the similar description of angels given by the prophet Daniel, but more then likely they were just as shocked as the Roman guards present that day who shook out of fear.

The angel looked past the guards to the women and told them, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here: for He is risen as he said.” Notice that the angel did not tell them that there was nothing to be afraid of, for surely he knew the journey that lay ahead for the disciples. 

While we know the Easter story, know what came next for the disciples, the women at the tomb that morning did not. They were told to go quickly and tell the disciples that Jesus was risen - which is exactly where they headed. But on their way between the tomb and proclaiming the good news they ran into Jesus. Once he greeted them he too told them to not be afraid, before sending them on to proclaim that he would meet his disciples in Galilee - to gather them together for forgiveness and a mission.

The Gospel of Matthew is filled with extradionary moments - the incarnation, transfiguration, and resurrection. But the moment after the resurrection is just as spectacular, as God interrupted the women’s plan to go to the tomb with a greeting, words of comfort, and a task. 

Think back to the extrondiarny moments in your life. Maybe they didn’t seem so spectacular in the moment, in fact maybe at the time they filled you with fear - but in the scheme of life, they were the moments that changed your life. The women that day were probably frightened and joyful. Or afraid for joy. Yet, Jesus met them in the midst of the unknown, in the midst of the fear and told them to not be afraid.

When was the last time someone told you to not be afraid brothers and sisters? Not told not to be afraid in a way that diminished your feelings by telling you that there is nothing to be afraid of - but in a way that reminded you that nothing we encounter is greater than the love of the God who walks with us through life? And how do you pass on those words of hope and encouragement to others? The gospel message that while we cannot conquer death, God can. The truth that God can use even our most fearful and difficult moments to share the love of our Savior.

One year at a festival I had the opportunity to hear River Jordan speak. She had just finished writing a book entitled Praying for Strangers, her true life story of God leading her to pray for one stranger each day for a year. When she first started she would simply pick a person and pray for them, not knowing their needs. That was scary enough. Then she started to tell people that she would like to pray for them and ask if they had any requests. Now her fear was at a whole new level. But by the end of the year she was asking one stranger a day if she could pray with them! She found that as she responded to the call of God in her life to pray for strangers, that not only their lives were touched, hers was as well.

Friends, sometimes we let our fear get the better of us. If River Jordan would not have listened to the voice of God calling her to be not afraid, she may never had prayed for those folks. If the Marys would not have heard the angel and Jesus telling them to not be afraid they may have stayed at the tomb instead of going to meet the disciples. Fear is not a bad thing, but we need to trust God to walk with us through our fears. May these words of an ancient Christian benediction speak to you this day: “May you fear God so much that you fear nothing else at all.” Amen.