Do Not be Afraid, Stand Firm, and See

Scripture Lessons: Romans 14: 7-12 and Exodus 14: 5-14 Sermon Title: Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see Preached on September 13, 2020 In the middle of a crisis, no one naturally knows what to do, so should our children catch on fire, hopefully we’ve already taught them to, “stop, drop, and roll,” or, if they come across a gun: “don’t touch, run away, and tell a grown up.” That’s what we teach our children to do, but then, the second a snowflake falls we buy out the grocery store. How long have we been buying out the grocery store now? I read an article by a Mississippian named Matthew Magee in a magazine called Okra (not the person, the vegetable). He wrote that on March 15th: My adrenaline kicked in and off I went to the local grocery store with the intent of stocking up on essentials and all manner of junk food. I may have overreacted by buying a 25 lb. bag of rice which is still sitting in my pantry... I remember telling myself to calm down and quit being so dramatic. Words of wisdom from Mister Rogers came to me, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping’.” So that’s what I did. I went to the helper aisle – the Hamburger Helper aisle, that is. I stood there observing all the variety boxes of Hamburger Helper with the wonderful childhood mascot Lefty, the Helping Hand, smiling back at me… I started thinking that this shelter in place was meant to flatten the curve of COVID-19 not fatten the curves to gain 19. We all did some version of that back in March. Now it’s September. For many of us this has been one long six months of persistent panic and anxiety. For others, there’s been illness and worry about those who are sick. Some have lost loved ones without being able to have a funeral. Then for others, there’s boiling-over frustration with a disease that on the one hand, causes no worse symptoms than the common cold, while on the other hand, has killed nearly 200,000 Americans. My friends, we’re still in the midst of a crisis we don’t know how to deal with. So, on this special Sunday, when we remember our Presbyterian roots in Scotland, celebrating tradition and heritage, let us look back on our legacy of faith to learn from one great hero who faced a far worse crisis that we might gain some perspective on the one we face today. Let us look to Moses, who stood among the panicked Israelites with peace of mind even as the Egyptians were on their heels. I can almost see him. He led them out of Egypt just days before. Then as the Egyptian horde approached, Moses stood there with his feet in the sand, for on the one side was the army and on his other side was the sea. I imagine the waves were breaking against his knees while the Egyptians were breathing down his neck. And it wasn’t just a few of them. It was six hundred hand-picked chariots, plus all the others. As though he weren’t merciless already, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened. He told his army to charge, determined to stop at nothing to bring his source of free labor back to the mines or brick factories, even if he had to kill half of them first. This is a terrifying situation for any leader to find himself in, only to make matters worse, the Israelite people cried out to Moses, “Why have you taken us out here? To die in the wilderness? Were there not enough graves in Egypt? Is that why you took us out here?” I can understand their panic. They were unarmed, untrained, and on foot. You can imagine the chariots circling on one side, the ocean on their other. These people were pinned in, before and behind asking: Where is there to turn? Where is there to go? What are we to do? In response to their panic, Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see.” “See the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only need to keep still.” Do you know how counter intuitive that kind of advice is? It’s like the others. It’s right, but it calls us to do something contrary to ordinary human behavior. If we were roasting marshmallows and your sleeve caught on fire, the first thing most people would do is to run. In a panic we all might run, which would only feed the flame. Likewise, any curious child who comes across a gun; the first thing he’ll want to do is pick it up, with no idea of how powerful or how much damage the gun might do. Therefore, we all teach our children from a very young age: stop, drop, and roll. Don’t touch, run away, tell a grown up. Why then do we all have 25-pound bags of rice in our pantries and attics filed with toilet paper? It’s because, like the Israelites before us, when we get afraid, we all have a voice inside our heads which says, “Don’t just stand there, do something!” However, “Don’t just stand there, do something,” only clears out the grocery store shelves, and rushing to reopen only fills up the hospitals for neither panic nor denial will get us out of this. So, first, Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid.” The Bible commands us, “do not fear” or “do not be afraid” enough times for every day of the year. That’s right, about 365 times Scripture tells us to concur our fear. Why? Because people who are afraid give up too easy. They play into the enemy’s hand because they quit before they’ve even tried. Think about it. Young men who fear rejection never ask the pretty girl out on a date. Little girls who are scared of spending the night away from home miss out on summer camp. The one who takes the game winning shot can’t let fear get the best of her or the game is already over. While the one who takes a good look at the situation without allowing it to throw her into a panic will take a breath and let the ball fly. Denial makes us like sheep, led to the slaughter. Fear helps us quit, keeps us quiet, and holds us captive. Either way, should we deny the facts or allow them to terrify us, we’re right where the Evil One wants us: ignorant, foolish, then sick; or hopeless, silent, and easy to control. “Do not fear,” Moses said to the people. Why? Because fear would have them surrender before the real journey to freedom had even started. Worse than that, fear would have put them all right into the hands of Pharaoh and blinded them to what was about to happen next. In a time like this one, we can’t be afraid. Do you think scared men wear kilts? No! We can’t be afraid, or we’ll give up when the vaccine could be here tomorrow. We can’t be afraid because the sea may open up right before us. We can’t be afraid because fear gives Pharaoh too much power. More than that, we can’t be afraid because scared people run. “Stand firm,” Moses told the people. “Don’t run. Don’t just do something. Don’t panic. Stand firm.” Did you know that lions roar in the hopes of scattering the heard so that they can gang up on the one separated from the rest? Together and unified the pray can defend themselves, but if fear has them separating and isolating then it’s over. So, it is with us. In this moment of crisis, the partisan divide grows worse. Of course, it does. In a state of panic, we long for easy answers and scapegoats, rather than things like compromise or discussion which take too long. People cry out: “Someone needs to do something!” “What if it’s the wrong thing?” “Who cares!” That is what some say, only this is a time for standing firm and staying together, for we will not live to see what happens next if we turn on each other now. Those who seek easy answers or for someone to blame have abandoned their principles. Rather than lose ourselves as they have, let us stand firmly on who God calls us to be, defining ourselves by that high standard of “love your neighbor as yourself.” “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see” Moses said. “See what?” I can hear the people ask. “Who knows?” would have been Moses’ answer, for it could be anything for God’s hand will not be confined by our feeble imaginations. We only know the shape of the miracle after it’s been revealed, so what Moses’ example demands of us today is that we simply be open to God doing once again what He promised He would. Do you believe it? I believe in the sun even when it’s not shining. I believe in love even when I don’t feel it. I believe in God even when God is silent. That’s what life demands of us today. Some would call it faith, and for generations and generations, such a legacy has been passed down to us. On this Sunday when we remember our roots in Scotland, I don’t care if you’re Scottish or not. Regardless of your genetics, follow the example of faithful people like Moses. Take on the legacy of Scotland as though you were the granddaughter of William Wallace. Remember that the Queen of England feared the prayers of that great Scottish Presbyterian John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe. Know that ours is a legacy of stubborn defiance and unrelenting hope, for while England outlawed bagpipes, kilts, and the native language of our fore parents, they snuck in patches of their family’s plaid tartans to be blessed by God, longing for His blessing more than they feared any human power who tried to keep them down. When we hear those notes which opened our worship service which make up that great anthem, Scotland the Brave, may your blood boil at those who have hid from us the truth, believing nothing could be done, for we are never powerless, nor are we helpless in the face of overwhelming adversity. Because ours is God who divided the sea. Ours is the mighty God who is working His purpose out, even now. Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see. Amen.