FACING THE WORLD WITH FEAR OR LOVE

FACING THE WORLD WITH FEAR OR LOVE Fr Luke A Veronis Do we live by fear or love? This question goes to the heart of the Gospel. It challenges us to think whether we truly believe that Christ is risen from the dead and that His victory over sin and death changes everything about how we live and interact with the world." On Pascha day, I read an interesting article entitled, “Were you raised in a Church that fears the world or a Church that loves its neighbor?” David French, a conservative Evangelical Protestant who writes opinion pieces for the NY Times, wrote this piece that resonated with me. He articulated a central theme I preach on in many sermons. Is our faith in the Risen Lord Jesus Good News or Bad News? Will it inspire and guide people to love others or to fear the world? Saint John the Divine answered this question bluntly - “Perfect love casts out all fear.” Fear comes from a distorted image of God, from a heretical form of Christianity, and from an inaccurate emphasis of the Gospel. Churches that preach and promote fear of the world do not understand or believe in the power of the Resurrection! They obviously don’t believe in a God of miracles and love. The Risen Lord overcame darkness and after enduring suffering and death, defeated it! A healthy resurrectional faith reveals a God who not only gives life to those who are physically dead but offers life to those who are spiritually dead. We remember the Loving Father running out to meet His prodigal son, offering only love and forgiveness, restoration and healing, not judgement or condemnation or rejection. Let’s put this another way - by asking whether our faith is based on the life-changing reality of Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead or whether our celebration of Pascha (Easter) is simply some ritual we perform once a year and then live the rest of our lives outside the transformative spirit of the Resurrection? On Pascha night, I challenged everyone to decide whether we choose to live in the light and joy and love of the Resurrection or not. A Church that fears the world teaches that the world is evil and we must protect ourselves from the world. It is us against the world, as if the world is the enemy. Such churches then highlight how we must judge, condemn, and reject all of the world, keeping away from all the people who have been stained by the world. A Church that loves its neighbor agrees that the world is full of people who are broken, confused, lost, and sometimes very dark. Yet, such a Church realizes that this is why we are in the world. Here lies the mission that the Risen Christ gave to His followers! We are in the world not to condemn the world but to bring it light, clarity, and healing. We don’t fear darkness but boldly plunge into the darkness with hope, trusting that the light of Christ is greater than the world’s darkness, that the love of Jesus is greater than the hatred of the world, and that the grace of our Lord is greater than any sinfulness or brokenness we see in people! The Risen Jesus Christ meets His followers and says to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I send you." He doesn’t tell them to stay away from the world. No! He blesses them with His peace, takes away any fear they have, and then commands them to go into the world – into a world that unjustly arrested, tortured and killed Him and yet a world that He loves and is ready to offer His life in order to save the world! I remember the iconic scene in 1965, when Archbishop Iakovos of our Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America marched in Selma, Alabama with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He risked much. The Greek Orthodox community, at that time, was not involved and didn’t necessarily support the Civil Rights Movement. The Archbishop, however, risked not only his position but also his reputation in his community. Why did he do it? Because he believed in a Church that acts in the world, that bears witness to justice, mercy, and love. Not a Church that hides from the world in fear or stays neutral and indifferent in the face of evil. He believed in a Church that boldly goes into the world and obeys Christ command, "As the Father sent me, so I send you." We should never be people of fear! Saint Paul emphasizes, “For God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power and love.” Nothing in the world should make us afraid when we walk with the Risen Christ and allow His Spirit to dwell richly in us. We won’t fear illegal immigrants and foreigners in our society. We won’t hate those who hold different beliefs or feel they are our enemies. We won’t seek retribution or revenge against those who we feel hurt us. This is not the spirit of the Risen Lord or His Church that lives in the light of His Resurrection! We remember how Jesus looked down from the Cross at those crucifying Him and cried out, “Father, forgive them for the do not know what they are doing,” instead of cursing those who unjustly killed Him. We remember how Christ voluntarily accepted the way of the Cross in order to take way the sins of the world, the entire world, not just the part of the world that loved Him. We remember how our Lord turned to a condemned criminal in his last moments of life and allowed Him to become the first one to enter Paradise. Remember, we do not run from the world. We run into the world with the light of Christ. We do not fear the world. We face it with the peace of Christ. We do not condemn the world. We bring it the healing of Christ. Let’s seriously think about this Resurrectional spirit and strive to adopt this attitude in our own lives. Don’t give in to fear. Don’t give in to pessimism. Don’t give in to attacking those different from ourselves who make us uncomfortable. And never believe in a Christianity that fears the world instead of loving it. We are a Church of Good News not bad news. We are people of the Resurrection. That means we believe that the dead can be raised back to life; people lost can find the path to life; people that are sick can be healed; people that are broken can become whole again. Remember the words of Archbishop Anastasios, "Instead of being afraid of the darkness that surrounds us, let us light the Paschal candle within us; let us light numerous Easter candles in society, so that our journey through life may become a joyful Easter." In conclusion, let me highlight a quote social media has attributed to Pope Francis, even though it may not have been said by him. The words still reflect the Resurrectional spirit of our Lord: “Rivers don’t drink their own water; trees do not eat their own fruit; the sun does not shine on itself and flowers don’t spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is a rule of nature. We are all born to help one another. No matter how difficult… Life is good when you’re happy; but life is much better when others are happy because of you.” Let us never hesitate to be a Church that goes into the world - in the midst of its fear, in the center of its divisions and hatred, not confused by its lies and deception – and let us not add to its fear. Let us proclaim the hope of the Resurrection. Let us forgive freely and generously. Let us love unconditionally, speaking with courage and serving the world with joy. Remember what we pray every Sunday, “Through the Cross, joy has come into all the world.” Here lies our mission – to bring the joyous Good News into the world. Live every day in the love of the Resurrection sharing its light with a world filled with fear! Christ is Risen!

Sts. Constantine and Helen Church | 37 Lake Parkw