Day 36: Do Not Be Afraid

"And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching." 
-Mark 11:18






“For they were afraid of him.”

The leaders of the time were afraid of Christ Jesus. Their fear of losing power, fear of losing their followers, fear of change, fear of the unknown guided them to crucify God’s only son – to kill him.  Fear clouded all their judgment and pushed them off the cliff to murder.

They could have stopped and listened to the Good News of Christ. They should have paused to see who Jesus really was. They would have if fear hadn’t stood in their way.

We’ve all heard the saying, “shoulda, woulda, coulda.”

Now I’m sure they justified their actions to themselves and their peers. We can all find reasons or excuses whether they be legitimate or not.  We’ve all been afraid. We’ve all let fear at one point or another stop us from experiencing an adventure, saying ‘I love you’, opening up to one another, to seeing the world.

I could be at home right now telling people, “I could’ve done this amazing year in the Philippines assisting entrepreneurs grow their business, experiencing a new culture, and learning what life is all about, but I was afraid of this, this, and that and passed on the opportunity. I was afraid of the what ifs and unknowns.”

Life is full of unknowns – one being the unknown of when we will die. But Jesus through his resurrection has shown us that there is eternal life. “Everyone who lives and trusts in me will never die.”

Fortunately, I trusted in God. I found him by my side feeding me courage to pack up and travel halfway across the world to have an experience of a lifetime – to live fully. Jesus, also, found courage and power with God at his side to say, “I am the resurrection and I am life.” With God by his side he looked fear in the eye and said I am not afraid.

How many times in the Bible do we come across, “do not be afraid.” Fear holds us hostage from the possibilities, opportunities, connections, love, relationships, and experiences that God desires us to be a part of so we can share the incredible news, to come and see.

“For you, Lord are my hope: you are my confidence, O God,” proclaims Psalm 71 in today’s readings. When we are not afraid, we can hope. When we are not afraid, with confidence God can walk with us out of darkness and into the light of the world. When we are not afraid we can be more open to forgiveness, connection, love, and life.

For God asks us to not be afraid and we should respond, I am not.

Ashley Cameron is 23 years old and from the Diocese of Virginia. 
She greatly enjoys assisting farmers and small entrepreneurs grow their business through 
micro-loans by serving at the Episcopal Development Foundation 
of St. Mark's in the Episcopal Diocese of Santiago, Philippines.

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Day 35: Let Us Run

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us…” 
-Hebrew 12:1-2





One month ago, I flew home from Hong Kong to be with my father as he battles advanced, non-operable lung cancer. After twenty hours in the air and a drive across Dallas, I tore through the hospital like a magnet to his bedside, flung open the door to his room and pushed past the friends gathered, to hug him for the first time in over half a year.

I sat there and wept. Then wept some more.

Always the perfect gentleman, my father asked if I’d like to eat the salmon he had ordered himself for dinner. Without thinking, I, in front of the multitude of friends and family present, retorted in my most exasperated tone, “Dad, I still don’t eat salmon.”

Five words. Those words are the ones I chose to say to the most caring father imaginable. To my beloved father who was loaded up on more painkillers than I could count and attached to an oxygen tube and heart monitor. Those words still feel like a punch to the gut when I remember them. How could I have been so selfish in that moment? Why could I not exercise control over my words? How did that even happen?

Upon first reflection, I hated that an assembly of witnesses, both family and friends, had overheard me being such a brat. In the end, it was those gathered who ended up exonerating me.

My father’s best friend, a priest who had flown in from North Carolina, laughed at me later, telling me to think about how refreshing it was to be able to maintain a “normal” daughter-father relationship at this time. She told me, in the way only a Southern woman can – with a kindly tone and a spine of steel - to get over my mistake and focus on helping him now.

So here I am.

One month later, I’ve only just begun this (hopefully) long and (definitely) difficult race. I have no idea what the future will look like. For the race that is set before me, I’ve learned to set aside the memories of the times I could have acted better. I need to keep on running.

Katie Webb is 23 years old and from the Diocese of Dallas. 
Not only has she served with the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Archives,
 but also she spent last year working at the Episcopal Church Center as YASC program staff. 

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Day 23: Expect the Unexpected

"When the two days were over, he went from that place to Galilee (for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honour in the prophet's own country). When he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the festival; for they too had gone to the festival. Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, 'Unless you* see signs and wonders you will not believe.' The official said to him, 'Sir,come down before my little boy dies.' Jesus said to him, 'Go; your son will live.' The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, 'Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.' The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, 'Your son will live.' So he himself believed, along with his whole household. Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee." 
-John 4:43-54

Today is the 23rd day of Lent, but it is also a day that is very close to my heart: Today is the Opening Day of the Baseball's regular season. I know, I know. I had to ask myself the same question. Am I really going to bring Baseball into a Lenten reflection? Absolutely.

For many fans, especially fans living in Boston and New York, Baseball is an exercise of faith in and of itself. The start of a season is a time of reaffirmation about the teams we love. A time when fans reacquaint, and rededicate themselves to a new starting lineup. A time to say hello to new faces on the field, and reminisce about the legends that might have left last autumn. Oh yea, don't forget about all those crazy rituals and superstitions.

Go into any major city in America, and you will find those who agree with me. Baseball is a religion for many, however this idea is especially true for the fans of one particular team: the Chicago Cubs.

A lot of stuff has happened since the Cubs last won the World Series in 1908. The Ottoman Empire was still in power. The Titanic was not yet built. The world was a different place. And yet, 106 years later people are still excited to fill the stands of Wrigley Field for Opening Day. And for what? Are they expecting a new result? Are they expecting victory? Why should this season be any different than the last century of seasons? Sure sounds like faith to me.

I think Jesus could be preaching to Cubs fans in today's reading from John. He seems to be preaching to those in dire circumstances. To the official whose son is on the verge of death. To those who are clinging to hope.

This is the second time that Jesus has performed miracles in the town of Cana, so I think it is safe to presume that this official who has come asking Jesus for help has heard of him before. The official wants to believe in this man named Jesus even though he may have not have any proof. He wants to hop on the bandwagon. So he begs for help, and is met with this: 'Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.'

C'MON, JESUS!

I can't help but feel for the official after hearing this response from Jesus. Why not go and see the dying son? Then Jesus tells him: 'Go; your son will live.'

What happens next defies logic. The man believes - and believes without proof: "The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way." Lo, and behold, when the man arrived his son was on his way to a full recovery, and not just because of the divine power of Christ, but also because the official had the strength to believe in the midst of darkness. Because he didn't need to see signs and wonders to prop up his faith.

Jesus teaches us in this story that it is not completely crazy to expect the unexpected. It is not crazy to believe in miracles without accompanying signs and wonders. This goes for faith as well as many other things in life. Yes, even Baseball. I guess that's the reason why Wrigley Field is always packed on Opening Day. Sure, there is no reason to believe this is the year that the Cubs win the series, but that doesn't stop us from believing it could be. After all, it wouldn't be the first time a curse was reversed in the sport.

Will Bryant is 25 years old and from the Diocese of Western North Carolina. 
He is currently serving with the Mission to Seafarers in Hong Kong. 

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