A Liturgy of Fear and Hope.
We took a chance last Sunday and wrote down our fears, many of them, filled a glass vase jar. Then we wrote down our favorite Scripture-more than our fears! We taped the verses to the outside of the vase, to remind us that our faith is greater than our fears. It is a powerful symbol, one we won’t easily forget. And the special grace? No 2 Scriptures were named. They were all different. What a gift.
‘A GREAT DARING’ (with homage to Howard Thurman’s
Jesus and the Disinherited)
3rd Sunday after the Epiphany - Psalm 27; 1 Cor. 1.10-18;
Matt. 4:12-23
Rev. Tiare L. Mathison, Pastor & Soul-Tender
Howard Thurman, one of the great religious leaders of the Civil Rights movement in the 1950’s & 60’s. Martin Luther King, Jr. claimed him as his pastor and spiritual mentor. Thurman says, “...nothing but a great daring in the face of overwhelming odds can achieve the inner security in which fear cannot possibly survive. It is the essence of the religion of Jesus of Nazareth. Yes God cares for the blade of grass, the fallen sparrow, the stars in their course. But more so? God cares for me! To be assured of this is the great daring.” Unquote
Rebecca Solnit, a favorite writer, pens an eloquent testimony to the territory of hope. Its uncertainty is a foundation of strength she suggests; hope is a broad perspective yet with specific possibilities; and she states, “hope demands we act”. Listen to this quote from her: She calls hope "an account of complexities and uncertainties, with openings. She goes on,
"Hope locates itself in the premises that we don't know what will happen and that in the spaciousness of uncertainty, is room to act. Its the belief that WHAT WE DO matters.." unquote sounds a bit like Jesus, doesn’t it?
Hope in the Dark, Rebecca Solnit, Nation Books, 2004; Haymarket Books, Chicago, 2016, p. XIV
The spaciousness of uncertainty; what we do matters!
The Psalm writer of #27 pursues God, uncertainty at the fore, yet with rich hope. With enemies at the door, she seeks beauty, the goodness of the Lord, the land of the living. She is no optimist; 'everything's going to be fine, I don't need to do anything.' Nor a pessimist, 'everything's going to hell in a hand basket, there is nothing I can do.' Rather, she sets the stage for her admission of great fear and her claim of great faith: The Lord is my light, whom shall I fear? The stronghold, of whom shall I be afraid?
Well, how about the evil doers who devour her; the army encamped against her; the threat of the Assyrians breathing down her neck; let alone false witnesses telling lies about her! Rather than remain afraid or only afraid, the writer lays claim to this uncertainty: in conversation with God. She knows, as do we, sometimes answers are not forthcoming. At least not immediately. Nonetheless, she writes her faith statement:
'I believe I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait; take heart; have courage; be strong.'
A word for herself, a word for ancient Israel as threats of invasion and exile are all around; a word for us, as we walk into the future clouded with fear, almost unable to see the spaciousness of uncertainty . Memorize verses 13 & 14, I strongly suggest. They are a lifeline in times of trouble.
This Word is given for our next act together:
A Liturgy to Surround Fear with Light and Hope
I know that I am asking you to do something that makes you uncomfortable. I know this because I have been praying for you all week and your resistance is revealed. The purpose is to disrupt your habits of thinking when it comes to fear and the presence of God and life and light and hope. Your discomfort is a good sign the Holy Spirit is with you. This is an opportunity to strengthen your faith in Jesus Christ. By laying before Him your fears—small, big, in-between. “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who don’t believe, BUT FOR US! WHO ARE BEING SAVED! IT IS THE POWER OF GOD! Paul shouts in All capitals!
Your fears may be economic - I don’t think I’ll have enough to live on in retirement; relational - our marriage is teetering; faith - I have so many doubts I’m not even sure what I believe anymore;
You may hold deep guilt or shame for some sinful act you fear is unforgivable;
Our children go astray; our health - the diagnosis came back rough; mental illness, yours or your loved one, loss of a job or a profession; global - climate change; nuclear war; economic disparity; racism; homophobia, sexism. Gun violence. (Pause)
After hearing about the mass shooting in downtown Seattle last Wednesday evening, I got afraid. Btw, mass shooting is a term when there are 4 or more victims, according to Police protocol and federal policy.
Almost every time I go downtown for a meeting at the presbytery office or to shop, I get off at 3rd & Pine, kitty corner from the MacDonalds. I know that intersection like the back of my hand. I’ve been getting off the bus there ever since I was a child growing up riding the 5 Phinney . All of a sudden, I thought, “Oh my word-I could get shot right there.’ I tried to think of a different bus route to get to First Pres. On Pill Hill; maybe I should Uber or Lyft instead of riding the city bus. A privileged position.
In the end, on Thursday afternoon, I decided to enact hope in my faith in a small way. Had a meeting at First Pres, , took the bus, got off at 3rd & Pine, stopped and prayed. Begged God to be with the victims who were shot, the families and friends, especially of the one who died, the spectators who are now traumatized, the police, fire, medical help and the shooter or shooters. That they may be caught and stopped. And to be honest, I prayed for gun restrictions to be put in place. As a survivor of gun violence, I pray this prayer a lot. God has not seen to fit to answer it in a way I can understand, nonetheless, I pray.
The Great Daring
So we enter the spaciousness of uncertainty; to act in hope; this time of naming our fears before God and one another: remember this is a safe place with people who love you and are attached to you through prayer and the community of faith we are building here.
I invite you to write your fears down on the purple or blue squares. See? I’m not making you name them out loud:). Take a few minutes—there are lots of pieces of paper available. And we got all the time in the world, for this is a KAIROS Moment. I will collect them, put them in the vase. (WAIT!)
The next step of this liturgy is to respond to our fears. Please take a green square and write down your favorite Scripture verses. If none come to mind, look at Psalm 27: p. 503: verse 3; 4; 5; 6; 10; 13-14
I’ll collect them, we will do a call and response reading, so to surround your fears with these words of hope.
Please join me in the prayer:
Leader: Nothing is hidden from you, Dear Jesus. Nothing. We approach your beautiful throne with our hearts broken open by this naming of our fears. Our lives are a jumble of fear and faith. We bow down before You, waiting in uncertainty.
People: We beg You, Dear Jesus, to carry our fears as we carry our faith in You.
Leader: By the power of Your Holy Spirit, Dear Jesus, You have given us graced energy to move forward into a future already mapped, even if we cannot see the whole cartography.
People: Walk beside us Holy Spirit as we step off our surety and control toward our new life in You. Amen
Thank you so much for participating in this liturgy. My prayers will continue for your faith to surround your fears. The Great Daring
Now we are going to Stand and sing,
This little light of mine.