Healing Our Fear

Isaiah 6: 1-8 & Luke 5: 1-11

Roger Lynn

February 24, 2019

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God is all around us all the time! The Psalmist put it this way – “Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.” (Psalm 139:7-10) There is no where we can turn that we will not encounter God’s presence. But the reality is that most of the time we don’t notice. We’re too busy or too distracted. Painful experiences from our past blind us to the present. We think we know what we’re looking for and where we need to look, and thus fail to recognize the unexpected ways in which God comes to us. Whatever the reasons, and they are many, we just don’t come face to face with God very often. Which may explain why we react the way we do when the reality of God’s presence does, in fact, break through our defenses. Fear. Throughout scripture, throughout history, indeed, even in our own experience, we find examples over and over again of people who catch a glimpse of the awesome enormity of God, and then respond with sheer, mind-numbing fear. Virtually every time angels show up in the scriptures (and angels are really just localized manifestations of God) the first thing they have to say is “Be not afraid!” It is apparently lesson number one in Basic Angel Training. It happens in both of our scripture readings for today. Isaiah and Peter both respond with fear. It seems to be deeply rooted in the human experience.

It is worth noting that we don’t have this reaction often, because we don’t really encounter God very often. Oh sure, many of us think about God fairly frequently. And sometimes we even have some sort of direct contact, usually during times such as prayer, or perhaps the occasional worship service. But most of the time we keep our defensive shields pretty firmly in place. We look for God in the places we know to look. We meet the God we expect to meet. We see the God we want to see. Once in a while, however, if we’re lucky, our defenses break down. Once in a while we forget to put on our sunglasses first, and instead we just look into the sun. And when that happens we find ourselves face to face with God, or at least as much of God as we can comprehend in that moment. Such encounters go beyond reason, beyond objectivity, beyond comprehension. They simply fill us with an awareness of God. And that much God can leave us feeling overwhelmed and even fearful. In one of Frederick Beuchner’s novels he has Nicolet use the image of dancing to describe his encounter with the holy. “I think the dance that must go on back there, way down deep at the heart of space, where being comes from . . . there’s dancing there. My kids have dreamed it. Emptiness is dancing there. The angels are dancing. And their feet scatter new worlds like dust.” And then he adds this thought. “If we saw any more of that dance than we do, it would kill us sure. The glory of it. Clack-clack is all a man can bear.” (The Final Beast, page 182) It is no wonder we don’t encounter God more often than we do. It holds the potential to shake our lives to the very core.

So Isaiah has a vision of God which is filled with fiery, winged, griffin-like beings shouting God’s praises in a deafening roar. Just the edge of God’s robe is enough to fill the whole temple. And Isaiah says, “I am lost. I am undone. There is no way I can survive this encounter.” Peter sees the awesome presence of God revealed in Jesus and responds in much the same way. “Get away from me and take God with you. It is more than I can bear. I am too sinful to be worthy of such an encounter.” What makes both of these experiences really interesting, however, is not the reactions of the people involved. As we’ve already discussed, fear is fairly typical. What makes these stories remarkable, and particularly useful for us to hear, is the response of God. In the face of the fear and self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy on the part of those who encounter God, what God offers in return is understanding and healing and purpose. Isaiah says, “I am lost.” God says (through the seraphs, who are acting as God’s agents in the story), “You need not feel lost or afraid. I’ve taken care of it. In my eyes you are whole.” Peter says, “I am sinful.” God says (through Jesus, who is acting as God’s agent in the story), “Don’t be afraid! I think you’re just fine as you are. I’ve got some work for you to do.” In the recently released movie “Interview with God” the reporter asks God, “Why do I deserve your special attention?” To which God responds, “Don’t you?” There is a sense of gentleness. There is no exasperation or frustration. But neither is there a willingness to accept the fear and inadequacy as an accurate understanding of reality. There is important work to be done, and fear is simply not helpful. God says to each individual, “I love you and accept you right now, just the way you are. I offer you whatever healing you need right now. You need not wait until you are somehow perfect. Just be in relationship with me right now.” But it doesn’t end there. There are still plenty of people in the world who have not yet heard this message. There are still plenty of people who still feel inadequate and afraid. And so God says to Isaiah, and to each of us, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for me?”

The truth of the matter is that encountering God (really encountering God) can be a fearful thing. But the good news is that it need not remain a fearful thing. If we will risk opening ourselves to God’s presence, God is just waiting to heal us of our fear. And once we have started down the road to wholeness, we cannot help but want to share that good news with the world. When we begin to respond to the world and to God out of an attitude of love, and awe, and wonder, rather than fear, there is just no telling what might happen next. But one thing is for sure – it will be very good, because it will be of God. What are we waiting for?