Mother
Hen
“Danger
is not an option, but maybe fear is.”
Nadia
Bolz-Weber
If you
are a Christian, perhaps you’re familiar with how many times Jesus is quoted as
saying, “Be not afraid.” In the Bible as a whole, the message, “fear not” appears
103 times. This morning, there is a sermon on Facebook by Nadia Bolz-Weber
about the fear we feel right now and suggesting that being told to “fear not”
is nice, but perhaps not productive. The danger we are in is very real—both from
Covid-19, and from conditions of anger in our country. I just watched a video,
shot in the town where I grew up, of armed men surrounding the old, historic
courthouse where a lone Confederate soldier statue stands. These men are
supposedly there to protect the statue, but I suspect they mostly want to show
off their weapons and walk around looking like tough guys. I didn’t see a
single soul there trying to pull the statue down, so I can’t get too excited about
it. Maybe there will be no bloodshed today unless one of them accidentally
shoots himself in the foot.
Danger
is not an option. We are all in danger as long as this virus is passing from
one person to another, and this armed civil unrest continues. When Jesus was
told that Herod wanted to kill him, he instructed the messenger to, “Go tell
that fox that I will be driving out demons and healing people today and
tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.” (Luke 13:32) In other
words, “I’m busy, man. Don’t interrupt my healing mission.” That’s the
kind of attitude that does not deny the danger, but also does not give in to
fear. That’s what we need. The danger is real, the fear is optional.
Jesus
followed that up by describing himself as being like a mother hen who wants to
gather’s her chicks to her breast to protect them. (Luke 13:34) Not a gladiator,
not a rebellious hellion, but a mother hen—the fiercest creature on earth. So,
do not be afraid. God cannot cancel out the danger—cannot save you from the
virus, or from crazy dudes with guns, but you can take comfort in God’s love. Jesus
stood for justice, and you can too.
We know for certain that
being fearful is non-productive. We are in the middle of a firestorm and the
most we can do is bear witness and wait for the flames to subside. Once that
happens, we can earnestly work for justice, and, until then, we can comfort one
another. And, while we’re at it, we can wear a mask and keep six feet between
us, because that’s a “mother hen” kind of thing to do.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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