Sermon thoughts and other musings

In response to the overwhelming disaster of the tsunami in the Indian Ocean, through the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance program the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. is committing $100,000 initially to the relief effort and has established an account to which funds can be sent for Disaster Relief: Account number DR000167.

Funds can be sent through local Presbyterian churches or to:

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Remittance Processing
P.O. Box 643700
Pittsburgh, PA 15264-370

Indicate the account number DR000167 on your check.


As a personal note, while every dollar matters, and I encourage everyone to give generously, private contributions are not likely to be able to deal with the scale of the disaster. Among the 30 richest nations in the world, the United States presently ranks last in humanitarian aid, when measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (the size of the economy).

We have spent $100 billion dollars to wage war in Iraq; we have, thus far, pledged less than .0005 of that amount for the victims of the tsunami. I urge you to speak out on behalf of spending billions more on disaster relief.

I have heard the Christmas story a million times, usually from the lips of Linus on the Charlie Brown Christmas special. The angel appears to the shepherds and says “Do not be afraid” ... “Fear not!”

Fear not! For the angel is not there to harm the shepherds.

Fear not! For the message that the angel brings is one of good news.

But what if ... what if “Fear not!” is more than just a reassuring introduction to the message? What if “Fear not!” is at the very heart of the message itself? What if “Fear not!” is more than just an instruction for the moment, and is instead a blueprint for the way of life God has intended for us?

Where does fear infect your life? How might 2005 be different from 2004 if you choose to not be afraid? Who might we choose to encounter if we don’t have a fear of differences? This world of ours often inflicts unfortunate consequences upon those who have the courage of their convictions – people who stand up against injustice, people who proclaim truth to power – how much integrity would we live by if we didn’t have a fear of what might happen to us?

How much more generous might we be if we didn’t have a fear of not having enough? How much more might we love if we were willing to take risks on love’s behalf?

Fear impedes our ability to reach out and to hope and to dream and to love. But the 1st letter of John reminds us (1 John 4:18) that “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”

Perfect love casts out fear. On a cold winter night, perfect love became a helpless infant, and came to us in that manger in Bethlehem. That itself is a demonstration of the strength of love; perfect love doesn’t fear being helpless. Jesus Christ, love incarnate, didn’t fear being hungry, didn’t fear being unpopular, didn’t even fear death. And if we let that perfect love into our hearts it will cast out the fears of our hearts.

The good news of Christmas is indeed that a Savior has been born, who is Christ the Lord. This is good news that needs to be heard; it is good news that needs to be told to others.

But it is more than a message that needs to be received; it is a message that needs to be lived. And the way we can live into the news of the coming of our savior is to “Fear not!” Amen. Amen.