“Whom or what we should fear”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Thursday, October 27, 2022

Luke 11:53 -12:12 (Forward, p. 90) CEV p. 1076

Fear, I suspect, is probably one of the most universal of all human emotions. In fact, I would allege that this sentiment is probably behind a vast array of sins, dysfunctions, and downright bad behaviour. Fear of losing something, fear of the future, fear of embarrassment or being found out, fear of pain, injury or death, fear of the unexpected, fear of certain people or situations: our fears are all around us and within us.

In today’s reading, Jesus addresses some of these fears by name. First off, there is the rather legitimate fear of people and what they might do to you. The possibility that He might harbour this fear is something quite real and very possible for Jesus, for after all, the authorities are ‘after His skin’. They are trying to trap Him, to catch Him out by saying something wrong and thus be able to get rid of Him.

And, indeed, Jesus goes on to say later on, this possibility will be quite real for the disciples as well. They too will face arrest, imprisonment and possible death. But Jesus says, ‘don’t worry about them. The worst they can do is kill you. After that, their power is over and done with.’ I don’t know about you, but this hardly ranks up there as a really positive, really comforting statement, but there it is.

Jesus does say that there are two things that we might legitimately fear. One of these is the fear of ‘being found out’. He tells His disciples—and us—that the time will come when all will be exposed, all will be revealed--that all of our innermost secrets will be known by others. Yes, our actions, those unknown to anyone else, and even our private conversations, will eventually ‘come out.’ (This prospect, certainly, is enough to give anyone second thoughts.)

The other thing, or person, we should fear is God. We should fear God, though not in the sense of some sort of terror or phobia, but rather in the sense of a healthy respect and reverence for who He is and what He can do. He alone is the one who can decide our eternal fate, our fate after death, and so we should have a healthy regard of who He is and treat Him accordingly. But, in case this should unduly upset us, Jesus reaffirms just how valued and precious we are to God. Sparrows, then and now, are often thought of as basically ‘non-creatures’, basically ‘written off’ as unimportant or inconsequential in the overall scheme of things. And yet, Jesus tells us, that every single one of them is accounted for by God. He doesn’t forget even one of them, and so, likewise with us. Then Jesus goes as far as to say that even the hairs of our head are counted and counted for with God. (For those of us in middle age, or beyond, who are now experiencing something in the way of hair loss, this is saying a great deal!) What it reiterates is just how precious we are to God. And so, we should respect and honour God, not so much because of His power—what He could do to us by way of judgment or punishment, but because of His love, just far He goes and is willing to go in His love and care for us. To me, that is a far better, and deeper, reason to give Him the respect that He deserves. Amen.

Forward notes: “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. But even the hairs of your head are all counted” (chapter 12, verses 6-7a).

“One of my mother’s favourite hymns was ‘His Eye Is on the Sparrow,’ and every now and then, she’d offer a quote from the song to make a point around the house with my sisters and me.

“In adulthood, I began to tie this verse from Luke to that beautiful hymn. My faith journey has been richly blessed by recognizing how big God is and how majestic and timeless his works are. The concept that even the hairs on my head are counted inspires awe! Jesus teaches his disciples (and us) about how caring and loving God is, that no one is forgotten in God’s sight. It was a welcome comfort to the disciples as they faced the Pharisees—and to us today.”

MOVING FORWARD: “Listen to a recording of ‘His Eye Is on the Sparrow.” How do the words inspire you?”