Pentecost 22A

3 Pentecost, Proper 7

June 21= , 2009

Rev. Ken Wratten at St. Stephen’s, San Jose

1 Samuel 17:1a,4-11,19-23,32-49 David= and Goliath

Psalm 9:9-20

2 Corinthians 6:1-13 = &= nbsp; Now is the acceptable time that God= has listened and acted.

Mark 4:35-41 &n= bsp; = ; Jesus calms the storm. ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’=

Small chair = in front of altar

Last Friday was the f= irst Closing Ceremony for St. Stephen’s Parish Preschool. There were about twenty students, parents, and grandparents sitting in miniature chairs in t= he Classroom, as the children sang: ‘The Bus Song’, and led us in the Pledge = of Allegiance. At the end of the ceremony each child was invited to come up to receive a certificate of completion for their first year of preschool. Then they were directed to Mrs. Nielsen, who handed them a rose for their mother= and another rose for their grandmother. Everything went well until it was Kayla’s turn. Mrs. Horn said, “Kayla Talbot, please come forward.” No movement. “Kayla.” No movement. Kayla’s eyes were staring straight ahead, and her hands were gripping the edges of = her chair, just to make sure that no impulse of her 4 year old energy might make her stand up. Then Mrs. Horn walked over and offered her hand to Kayla; she= stood and walked to Mrs. Nielsen; and with Mrs. Horn by her side, she presented t= he rose to her mom. Then she broke out in a huge smile. Kayla experienced what= I think all of us experience at one time or another, in all sorts of situatio= ns, being frozen in fear; very real, very powerful, fear.

There are other more = grown up examples of being frozen in fear;

Nightly ne= ws of layoffs, companies closing, foreclosures on homes

Iran and North Korea nuclear weapons research.

&nbs= p; The Californi= a State congress being apparently unable to pass a budg= et, and the effects that is having on education, health and welfare services.

&nbs= p; Addictions-my history of 2-drink lunches

A bully-my experience with two seniors waiting for me going to school

Cancer

What can our faith li= fe do to help us with our fears?

The Israelites were f= rozen in fear by Goliath, but were rescued by David.

The disciples were fr= ozen in fear by the storm, but were rescued by Jesus.

These are lesson that= God does not want us to be frozen in fear that weakens faith.=

So what can we do abo= ut our fears?

#1. Avoid fear when y= ou can. Moses had done battle with Pharaoh. He had rescued Israel= from slavery in Egypt<= span style=3D'font-size:14.0pt'>. He had given them the 10 Commandments. He had = led them for forty years through the wilderness. And then they were on the east= ern shore of the Jordan Rive= r. But Moses would not take them into the Promise= d Land. God had directed Moses to hand the leadership over to his assistant Joshua.= Listen to what Moses said to Joshua in Deuteronomy 31:7-8; ‘Be strong and courageous! For you will lead these people into the land that the Lord swor= e to give their ancestors. You are the one who will deliver it to them as their inheritance. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord is = the one who goes before you. He will neither fail you nor forsake you.’

Joshua took leadershi= p of Israel= , entered the Promised Land, and conquered the n= ations who already lived there. He had been trained by Moses for years, and was gi= ven confidence by Moses himself that he could do the job.

When fear hits you, t= ake the time to think it out: what can realistically happen?

How realistic is your= fear? Who can you rely on to help avoid the worst case scenario? Your parents? Yo= ur spouse? An expert? A friend? A really tall friend with big muscles? Or God? Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

#2. Live with fear wh= en you must. David didn’t let fear disable him. Goliath was a bully. His met= al shirt weighed 125 lbs; the head of his spear weighed 15 lbs. He was over 9 = feet tall. David had plenty to be fearful of; but at the same time he knew that = God would be there with him, and so he did not let his fear stop him from doing what had to be done. Don’t let your fears stop you from doing what ha= s to be done.

#3. Find out what you= can learn from your fears.

Here is a start of wh= at you can learn about fear: Fear is an internal warning cry that danger is nearby= and we had better do something about it. There is good fear, like the fear that= makes us look both ways before we cross the street. But fear can be over things t= hat are not really threatening; then it becomes paralyzing. Fear can become wor= ry – meaning that it is no longer only generated from outside circumstan= ces, but from within us.

P 125; The American Psychological Association has written that when you face a difficult situat= ion; if you take action, you get a surge of delight, even if things do not turn out perfectly. You did a hard thing. You took on a challenge. You grow= .

When you avoid facing= up to a threatening situation, even if things end up turning out all right, inside = you say, I wimped out. I took the easy = way out.

Avoiding challenges r= obs you of that inner sense of confidence and esteem. When you take on a challenge,= it builds up the core of who you are, even if you don’t perform perfectl= y.

Try conducting your o= wn experiment this week. If something comes up that you are tempted to avoid, = hold your ground instead, and press forward.

Express your opinion = when you are talking to somebody you normally try to avoid conflict with.

Take responsibility f= or a tough decision you have been putting off.

Make a phone call you= have been avoiding.

Admit to God a habit = or character flaw or sin you have been trying to deny.

P 127; Ortberg offers this saying: Growth always involves risk, and risk always involves fear.

Fear kills joy. P 128; research says that most worriers tend to have high energy imaginations; abo= ve average IQs; lots of creative potential. But worriers’ imaginations t= end to lean toward the negative; what if bad things happen? What if I get in an accident? What if I lose my wallet? When you live with a fear-filled perspective, you give those things the power to rob you of life now! Don= 217;t let fear rob you of joy in life.

P 131; Fear whispers = to you that God is not really big enough to take care of you. You will never know = God is trustworthy if you don’t risk following him. Rely on God, first wi= th small things, then with larger things, then with everything.

There are fears that = protect us from harm, but there are fears that paralyze us and rob us of the joy of life, and they rob us of deeper faith in God. Like Joshua, avoid fear when = you can. Like David, live with fear when you must. Find out what there is to le= arn from your fear; then let go of the edges of your seat, and see the growth i= n joy, and in your faith in God.

Psalm 91:9-11, If you= make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your dwelling. For he orders his ange= ls to protect you wherever you go.