A Thought For The Week Of November 16, 2015

"Jesus said to them, 'Watch out that no one deceives you.'" (Mark 13:5) This is a part of the passage I preached on in church yesterday, and I thought these words deserved a little more reflection. There are many within the Christian community who unfortunately choose to trade on fear and to send those who pay attention to them into fear. And yet, from a Christian perspective, is fear not always a deception? Over and over again in the Gospels, Jesus says the words "do not be afraid," or variations on them. Faith is supposed to fill us with assurance, not consume us with fear - and yet filling people with fear seems to be a part of the strategy for some preachers, and you can't deny that in some ways, unfortunately - it works. Most recently I think of someone like John Hagee, who made ridiculous predictions about the so-called "blood moon" - but nothing has happened since the blood moon that wasn't already happening before the blood moon. And what astounds me is that many will still listen to him and pack his church. It's kind of like Halloween or any good horror movie - we like being scared! The difference with Halloween or a horror movie is that the fear goes away, but some preachers just keep piling it on as if it's actually what the gospel is all about. If you look at the first part of Mark 13, you see an apocalyptic passage that's tailor made to instill fear into the hearts of Christians.  But is "fear" really what Jesus was going for? Did he actually want his followers to cower as bad things happened? I find it interesting that Jesus describes the events of Mark 13 not as signs of the end, but only as the beginning. That can also sound ominous, but ... he also describes them as the beginning of birth pains. I have no personal experience of birth pains to call upon, but while I assume that they're difficult to bear I've never talked to a mother who regretted them. Birth pains, after all, lead to something wonderful and not something frightening. They lead to life and not death; to hope and not despair. I want to hold on to Jesus' repeated words that we shouldn't be afraid or alarmed. I choose to trust Jesus - who offers peace and not fear. And where I see fear being offered and promoted, I see deception rather than gospel.