FEAR

Matthew 26:31 – Then Jesus said to them, “You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

This past Sunday was Shepherd Sunday and we listened to a sermon on the sheep not being scattered but rather being gathered. That’s what Jesus does, gathers people. He always had people around him and often talked of them/us as being sheep without a shepherd. And sheep without a shepherd tend to scatter.

However, the disciples have Jesus as their shepherd, and yet he tells them they will become deserters. They will scatter. This was a shocking thing for Jesus to say and for them to hear. They have been following him for between one and three years and they have no intention of deserting him. How dare he!?

Well, Jesus (and we) knows something they don’t. We know that their ideas about Jesus’s kin-dom are not Jesus’s ideas. We know that Jesus will be crucified very shortly. He has tried to warn them and is again warning them here, teaching them about what will happen next. Jesus knows that the Roman soldiers will arrest him this night. And he knows how the disciples fear the Roman soldiers.

Their fear will cause them to run and hide. Their fear will cause panic. Their fear will cause them to scatter. I accidentally wrote shatter instead of scatter and it fits. Their fear will shatter their faith in Jesus and in their vision of God’s coming kin-dom. Their hopes and dreams will shatter, and they will desert Jesus; they will scatter.

We too know fear. Fear that causes us to panic and do stupid things. Fear that causes us to hide from others, physically or intimately. Fear that causes us to scatter; to blame others for our problems. Fear that causes us to judge others, demonize others, maybe even blame others. Yes, we too know fear.

Watching or reading the news is easier now that the previous guy is out of office, but it still creates fear and anxiety in me. I think it’s the endless speculation of whether Republicans or Democrats will do x or y. The endless suspense the news tries to create is not helpful to anyone. Their framing of government as a game rather than as governance is appalling. Yes, the news can be difficult to read or watch.

Part of the problem is that Fox News endlessly hypes the fear and panic of white supremacy and white nationalism. They constantly try to get their talking points into the mainstream and the more moderate news channels oblige them, because the media are not as liberal as Republicans would like us to believe. They treat everything as if both (or all) sides have a point. This is false and adds to my anxiety. White supremacists do not have a point. Fox News is not news at all; it is lies, slander, and speculation. It is Republican propaganda designed to keep its viewers angry and afraid; of people not like them, of Democrats, of being “replaced,” of Black people, of immigrants, of Muslims, of strong women, of whatever boogeyman they can scare up on any given day.

Yet, fear, like death, does not have the last word. Jesus isn’t finished speaking. He has one more line, which we’ll get to next week. Spoiler alert, he has plans to gather what will be scattered.

Fear scatters, Love gathers.

B