Have you ever noticed that fear can cause people to do some really stupid things?
When that terrible earthquake and tsunami hit Japan last spring, it reminded me of a Serbian man named Lucas who was a victim of a giant tsunami that devastated countries around the Indian Ocean a couple of years ago. Lucas, aged 30, was nowhere near where the tsunami hit. He was safely at home in Serbia at the time. However, he was watching television and he was so shocked when he saw the tsunami footage on TV that he jumped out his apartment window. As he fell from the second floor, it occurred to him that the tsunami was not actually a threat to southern Serbia, but it was too late to avoid impact: he suffered two broken legs and a damaged spine.
Recovering later from his tsunami injuries, Lucas threatened to sue the local television station for announcing that “the tsunami is coming our way,” and people should “immediately evacuate.” A spokesperson for the television station said Lucas must have misunderstood the reporter’s words. (1)
Well, I’ve heard things on TV that made me feel like jumping out of a window, but fortunately I’ve restrained myself. However, fear makes people do outrageous things.
Historians tell us that King Charles VIII of France, who ascended to the throne in 1483, became paranoid with the thought that someone was trying to poison his food. As a result, he began eating less and less. Tragically, the less he ate, the more suspicious he became. He finally died in 1498 not from poisoning, but from malnutrition. (2) Fear had done him in.
Many years ago, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale told of a young woman who was destroyed by her fears. At the time, this woman was a world-class tennis star. However, as a small girl thirty years before, she had watched in terror as her mother died suddenly of a heart attack while being treated by a dentist. The traumatic experience so profoundly affected this young woman that in the thirty years that followed, she absolutely refused any dental treatment. The mere suggestion of going to a dentist terrified her. And this despite her realization that the dentist to whom her mother had gone had no responsibility for her mother’s death. It was just a coincidence that the heart attack which caused her death occurred at the dentist’s office.
But finally dental work became so necessary that the woman was compelled to have it done in spite of her terror. She insisted, however, that her physician accompany her to the dentist’s office. But it was to no avail. As she sat in the dentist’s chair, just like her mother had thirty years before, she was suddenly seized by a heart attack and died.
The London newspaper which reported the story headlined it with the words “Killed by thirty years of thought!” (3)
Fear is a powerful force in our lives.
Lee Iacocca, the former head of Chrysler Corporation asks in a recent book why the SUV has been such a success. What is its purpose? Very few people go off road, so it’s not because they need a rugged all terrain vehicle. The SUV doesn’t have the passenger or storage capacity of a minivan, or the good ride and handling of a car. So, what is the motivation for buying an SUV? Why are people lugging around all that extra weight? Bigger engines (usually V8s) are not known for fuel economy and low emissions.
Iacocca attributes it to fear. He writes, “I think the SUV feeds a strong desire for security and control on the road. In this day and age, people want to put as much steel and iron around them as they can. They equate weight with safety. It’s a factor, but in no way compares to solid structural design and the use of multiple air bags . . . With thousands of other SUVs speeding past them, not to mention eighteen wheelers and cement mixers, drivers just feel more secure. It’s a perception and Detroit promoted it. One SUV brand advertised itself with the headline, “Look upon it as a 4,000 pound security blanket . . .” Iacocca adds, “If you want guaranteed safety on the road, why not drive a tank!” (4)
Oops. I better not give some of you ideas.
The Sunday supplement magazine, USA Weekend, ran a cover story sometime back titled “Fear: What Americans Are Afraid of Today.” In a scientific poll, the magazine uncovered the things Americans fear most:
- 54% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of being in a car crash.
- 53% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of having cancer.
- 50% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of inadequate Social Security.
- 49% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of not having enough money for retirement.
- 35% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of getting Alzheimer’s.
- 33% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of being a victim of individual violence.
- 32% are “afraid” or “very afraid” of being unable to pay current debts. (5)
Famed pastor Dr. Carlyle Marney used to say that we play hard to forget that we live in a haunted house. In a sense we do. Fear is a powerful force in our lives, particularly as we continue to struggle to overcome a steep economic downturn, and as many of us struggle with the difficulties of aging. That is why today’s lesson from Matthew’s Gospel is so important to us.
In the story we dwelt with last week, Jesus had fed five thousand men, and their wives and children, with just five small loaves of bread and two fish. Now the Master needed some time alone. He sent the crowds home and the disciples out in a boat on the Sea of Galilee while he went to a mountain to pray.
The Sea of Galilee is a large body of water, eight miles wide by thirteen miles long. Of the twelve disciples, Peter, Andrew, James and John were all fishermen. They knew the Sea of Galilee very well. They knew that, at this time of year (probably around mid-spring), the Sea of Galilee was subject to strong gusts of wind. The late afternoon and evening was not a good time to be out in the middle of the lake. (6) Maybe that is why Matthew tells us that Jesus “made the disciples” get into the boat. Perhaps the four fishermen could already tell that a storm was brewing.
The boat was a considerable distance from land and was being buffeted by the waves, says Matthew, because the wind was against it. And shortly before dawn Jesus went out to the boat, walking on the lake. It is difficult enough for us to imagine someone walking on a sea when it is calm, but try to imagine someone walking on the water when the wind is whipping the surface and large waves are forming. The disciples were already uneasy in the storm. Now when they saw Jesus walking on the lake, they were terrified.
“It’s a ghost,” they cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
And that’s Christ word for us this day. “Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.” In the face of difficult economic times, in the face of declining health, in the face of concern about a loved one dealing with illness or a teenager dealing with an assortment of issues, don’t be afraid. Christ is with you.
Marilyn Hedgpeth was brought up in the Moravian Church. She says that it was the custom in that church for members to post daily watchwords, verses of scripture to give them strength, guidance, and encouragement for the day.
She chose an unusual verse, Isaiah 42:3, as her self-appointed “watchword.” This verse reads like this: “A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.” Ms. Hedgpeth says she memorized this verse early on and she has pulled it out, mulled it over, rolled it around in her mouth, repeated it as a sentence prayer, whenever she felt overwhelmed by life, which, she says, is frequently and often.
“A bruised reed, he will not break . . . a bruised reed, he will not break . . . a bruised reed, he will not break.”
Even as a child, “when calamity would present itself: when she would wake, sweating, from a nightmare; when a bicycle fall would result in skinned elbows and knees; when the preacher’s kid next door would beat her up; when she would draw the ‘wild man of Borneo card’ from the Old Maids’ deck and freak out; when she would watch the Wizard of Oz; when her behavior would press her mother to threaten, ‘you are cruisin’ for a bruisin’; she would counter internally with her watchword: ‘a bruised reed he will not break; a bruised reed he will not break; a bruised reed he will not break.’”
And likewise, even today, she says she has not deviated far from her childhood pattern: when one of her children is hospitalized; when her workload overwhelms; when someone close dies; when she and her beloved spouse are at loggerheads; when someone in her congregation suffers an unspeakable tragedy; she still counters internally with that watchword: “a bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.” (7)
That rather obscure verse from Isaiah 42 reminds Marilyn Hedgpeth that she is not alone, that God is watching over her. That might work for some of us who are going through troubled times. “A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.” Don’t be afraid. Christ is with you just as he was with his disciples that day on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus said to them, “Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
Then, in the midst of this inspiring story, Simon Peter provides us with a little comic relief.
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter called to Jesus, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come on,” Jesus said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, Peter was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Simon Peter discovered very quickly that he wasn’t Jesus. He also discovered the danger in focusing on his situation and not the Savior. He was afraid and began to sink. Immediately, says Matthew, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” Jesus said to him, “why did you doubt?”
The worst thing we can do in a storm is to let go of our faith. That’s the most important thing we need to see. If we let go of our faith, we will surely sink. However, if we will just hold on to our faith and look for Christ’s hand reaching out to us, we can make it through any storm.
Pastor Ted Miller tells about a very active woman in his church named Jeanne. Jeanne was an officer in the church. She was involved in everything that had to do with the life of that church. However, Jeanne had cancer. At one point, she had an eye removed due to cancer. That did not slow her down a bit. But when her breast cancer reoccurred, it came back with a vengeance. Very quickly, she was laid low by extensive chemo‑therapy. She lost her hair and a lot of weight. She looked terrible and she knew it, and so she shut herself away in her home and requested no visitors.
Members of the congregation respected that request. Some accepted it with relief, in fact, because it is hard to be with someone you care about and to see them in such agony, so most people stayed away. The problem was that Jeanne was lonely. This gregarious, involved, energetic woman was lonely and afraid.
When her birthday came . . . on Mother’s Day . . . . their congregation decided to take a risk. Having briefed her daughter‑in‑law about their plan, just about the whole congregation packed into cars after the Sunday service and made their way to Jeanne’s home. She was lying on the couch in her living room, and they all marched through there blowing kisses or touching her hand. Then about 100 of them gathered on the front lawn and sang “Happy Birthday.”
Writes Pastor Miller, “We stormed the barrier of her fear and of our own . . . from then on, visitors were welcomed . . . and able to come whenever she felt able. For the six weeks that remained of her life, Jeanne was never alone again.” (8)
The worst thing we can do in the midst of a storm is to lose our faith, to look down at the waves, to lose our confidence in our Master. We need to keep our eyes upon Jesus. We need to see his hand extended to us, reaching out to catch us just as it was extended to Simon Peter. Sometimes that hand is extended through our church family and other Christian friends.
The point is, Christ is able to deliver us from the storm. Christ can save us. As Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:20-21: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!”
Matthew concludes this passage by writing: “when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’” Here is one of the true keys to life: it is in the storms of life we are most likely to discover who Christ is.
Most of you know the story of Helen Keller, the little deaf and blind girl who, thanks to a loving and dedicated teacher became a world-famous speaker and author. Helen Keller met every U.S. President from Grover Cleveland to Lyndon B. Johnson and was friends with many famous figures, including Alexander Graham Bell, Charlie Chaplin and Mark Twain. Not bad for someone who could not hear or see.
Do you know the most remarkable thing about Helen Keller? In the midst of her limited interaction with the world, she was able to say these words, “I thank God for my handicaps, for through them I have found myself, my work and my God.” (9)
That can happen for any of us, regardless of the storm in which we find ourselves. Hear Christ’s words, “Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.” The worst thing we can do in a storm is to let go of our faith. Christ is able to deliver us from the storm. Trust him. Believe in him. See him reach out to you to lift you from the angry waves. He is the Lord of heaven and earth. Don’t be afraid.
1. Wendy Northcutt, The Darwin Awards 4: Intelligent Design (New York: Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2006), p. 268.
2. Leland Gregory, Stupid History: Tales of Stupidity, Strangeness, and Mythconceptions Throughout the Ages (Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC, 2007), p. 113.
3. Norman Vincent Peale, Enthusiasm Makes The Difference (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1967), p. 60.
4. Lee Iacocca With Catherine Whitney, Where Have All the Leaders Gone? (New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc, 2007), pp. 176-177.
5. Robert J. Morgan, Preacher’s Sourcebook Creative Sermon Illustrations (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2007), p. 295.
6. John A. Boadus, A Commentary on The Gospel of Matthew (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1888), p. 327.
7. Marilyn T. Hedgpeth, http://www.firstpres-durham.org/Sermons/011308.pdf.
8. Thomas E.S. (Ted) Miller, http://www.fpccr.org/sermons/sermon_09‑17‑06.htm.
9. Contributed. Source unknown.