Hello friend,
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk in docks.
Welcome back to this next session in our series,
The Invitations of Jesus.
As we settle into this time of reflection,
Just become aware of your breathing.
Notice the places in your body where you might be carrying tension and just allow those places to soften.
Even just a little.
Become aware of the gentle rhythm of your breath.
Every time you inhale,
That's life.
That's been given to you as a gift when you exhale.
Just allow that to be an opportunity to release whatever you've been holding too tightly.
But above all,
As you give yourself to this moment,
Become aware that God is already here.
The God revealed in Jesus is never absent.
Maybe sometimes hidden or quiet or difficult to recognize,
But never absent.
Today we continue our journey through the invitations of Jesus.
The invitation we hear today comes in the middle of fear.
And in the middle of uncertainty.
It comes while the disciples believe everything.
Is falling apart and into that storm Jesus speaks just four words.
Do not be afraid.
And so listen to the words from Matthew.
Chapter 14 versus 25.
To 27.
And early in the morning,
Jesus came walking towards them on the sea.
But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea,
They were terrified,
Saying,
It's a ghost.
And they cried out in fear.
But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said,
Take heart,
It is I.
Do not.
Of fright.
Fear.
Is one of the deepest human experiences.
Everyone knows it.
Fear of failure,
Rejection,
Loss.
We fear for those we love.
Fear of illness,
Fear of the future.
Fear that somehow we're not enough.
Fear that God's become distance?
Fear often fails.
Like the atmosphere we breathe.
Without noticing.
And if we're not careful,
It can shape our decisions,
Our relationships,
Even our understanding of God.
And maybe this is why one of the most repeated invitations throughout scripture,
Not just here,
But right through the Ark of Scripture,
Is do not be afraid.
Not that fear is wrong,
But because fear is such a common companion to the spiritual journey.
Now notice first of all.
.
.
Where this story is taking place.
The disciples are in a boat.
It's dark,
The wind's against them,
The sea's rough,
And this is experienced fisherman here.
If anyone knows how dangerous this situation is,
It's them.
But Jesus doesn't appear before the storm begins.
He comes while the storm is raging.
And this,
Maybe,
Is really important.
A lot of us unconsciously imagine that God's presence should remove life's storms,
Yet The Gospels tell a very different story.
In fact,
Other parts of Scripture tell us something very different too,
This same thing,
That God's presence doesn't always eliminate uncertainty.
Instead it transforms how we live within.
And how we live within those storms.
Remember Psalm 23.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
You are with me.
We still have to walk through that valley.
As the storm remains,
The wind continues.
With the disciples in the boat,
The waves will still continue to thrash against it.
What changes?
What changes is that they see Christ is present.
But when the disciples first see him,
They don't recognize him.
They actually mistake him for something just as,
If not more terrifying.
It's a ghost.
And how often does this happen in our own lives?
Sometimes.
.
.
Maybe the very place where God's approaching us is the place that we fear most.
A difficult conversation or a season of grief.
The career change.
The unexpected diagnosis or the relationship that asks more honesty than we feel that we're able to give.
The Christian mystics particularly often remind us that God frequently comes disguised as the very thing we're trying to avoid.
And don't mistake this for anyone saying that suffering is itself holy.
It's because God refuses to abandon us within the suffering.
And sometimes we only recognize Christ in hindsight.
Sometimes it's only after the storms pass that we realise.
That have been walking towards us all along.
And it's at this point in the story Jesus speaks,
Before he comes to sea,
Before Peter steps out of the boat,
Before anything changes externally,
He says,
Take heart.
It is I.
Do not be afraid.
Let's look at that order first.
Take heart.
Then,
It is I.
And only then.
.
.
Do not be afraid.
Courage then doesn't come from thinking that everything is fine or pretending that everything's fine.
It comes from recognising who's with us.
Fear begins to lose its grip when presence becomes more real than panic.
The invitation here isn't.
Don't be afraid.
Because nothing bad's gonna happen.
It's Don't Be Afraid.
Because I'm here and that's a very different promise.
There's something else worth noticing too.
Fear.
Narrows our vision.
When we're afraid.
Our world can become very small.
We focus on the threats,
The worst case scenarios.
We focus on everything we can't control.
Love,
However,
Does the opposite.
Love widens our vision.
Love helps us see possibility,
Hope,
People,
Beauty.
Grace.
That's why John would later write,
Perfect love casts out fear.
And it's not because.
Fear disappears forever,
But because love becomes the greater reality.
As we grow in awareness of God's love,
Fear gradually loses its authority over us.
It might still knock at the door.
But it no longer has to become the voice that we obey.
One of the Desert Fathers.
Was once asked what a person gains from following Christ.
He replied,
You become all flame.
That's a beautiful image.
And in the context of what we're talking about,
This isn't a person without fear,
But someone whose love burns more brightly.
Than any fear that might come towards them.
So courage,
At least in the Christian tradition,
Has never meant to be fearless.
But it means continuing to love even when fear's present.
Jesus himself.
Experiences anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane.
He doesn't deny that he's afraid.
But he entrusts himself to God in the midst of it,
And that is courage.
And that's the invitation that Jesus extends to us here.
Maybe today,
Your storm's invisible to everybody else.
Maybe you carry fears that no one knows of.
Maybe you're making difficult decisions,
Waiting for news,
Caring for someone you love,
Living with uncertainty about the future.
Hear these words again.
As Christ's personal invitation to you.
Take heart.
It is I.
Do not be afraid.
Just for a moment,
Allow your attention to return to your breathing.
Breathing deeply in.
And out.
And imagine yourself sitting in a small fishing boat.
Night has fallen,
The wind is strong.
The waves rise around you.
You notice the tension in your body,
The uncertainty,
The desire for everything just to become calm.
And then in the distance you become aware of someone approaching.
You can't quite make out who at first.
But as the figure comes nearer,
You recognize Jesus.
And he's calm and completely present.
Hear him speak these words directly to you.
Take heart.
It is I.
Do not be afraid.
Just ask yourself.
What fear has been shaping.
.
.
My life recently,
Just notice what surfaces.
And now just imagine placing that fear into the hands of Christ.
Because you know.
That you no longer want to carry that alone.
Just remain resting.
In God's presence.
Noticing that although the waves continue around you,
You are no longer alone.
Lord Jesus,
You know every fear we carry.
Nothing about our lives is hidden.
Thank you for coming towards us,
Even in the storms we'd rather avoid.
Teach us to recognise your presence when fear clouds our vision.
Help us to trust that your love is greater than that fear.
Give us courage.
Courage that grows from knowing that you are with us.
And may your words remain with us throughout the day.
Take heart,
It is I,
Do not be afraid,
And may grace,
Peace,
And love be with us as we hold to the truth of those words in the midst of our difficulties today and always.
Amen.
And in those moments when.
.
.
Fear begins to tighten its grip just rather than finding it or pretending it's not there.
Just pause,
Take a slow breath,
And repeat the words of Jesus,
It is I.
Do not be afraid and allow those words to become a doorway back to the awareness that Christ is already present with you in the midst of it all.
And may you walk in that awareness today,
And may his presence become stronger.
Than you fear.
Until tomorrow.
Bye for now.
