Abiding in Fear

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 

John 15:10

I'm headed to see my favorite singer/band, The Mountain Goats, later today. (I say singer/band because sometimes the Mountain Goats are simply John Darnielle.) This, combined with today's gospel reading and the murder charges against a SC police officer, made me think of one of Darnielle's songs entitled "1 John 4:16." Here are the words.

In the holding tank I built for myself, it's feeding time
And I start to feel afraid 'cause I'm the last one left in line
The endless string of summer storms that led me to today
Began one afternoon with you, long ago and far away

And someone leads the beast in on its chain
But I know you're thinking of me 'cause it's just about to rain
So I won't be afraid of anything ever again

In the cell that holds my body back, the door swings wide
And I feel like someone's lost child as the guards lead me outside
And if the clouds are gathering, it's just to point the way
To an afternoon I spent with you when it rained all day

And someone leads the beast in on its chain
But I know you're thinking of me 'cause it's just about to rain
So I won't be afraid of anything ever again

I'll let you draw your own meaning from the lyrics. But as I thought about Jesus' commandment that we love one another and Darnielle's words about not being afraid "ever again," I was struck with what a fearful world we live in. And considering how many people like to speak of the US as a "Christian nation," this strikes me as quite odd.

Certainly there are real dangers in our world. There are threats from terrorism, economic concerns, and worries about climate change. But the fearfulness I see in our culture seems out of proportion to such concerns. The shrill, partisan hatefulness in our country these days bespeaks a deep, visceral fear that is terrified of what may happen if anyone who disagrees with me is in charge. And very often it is those who wear their Christian faith on their sleeve who seem most afraid and angry.

Jesus speaks of loving one another as well as loving our enemies. 1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear." So why are we so afraid? Why do we so often speak and act out of our worst impulses rather than out of love? Why do we so often assume the worst of the other, especially the other who is in the least bit different from us?

I don't know that John Darnielle would approve, but I'm going to let his song be part of my prayer. Let your love abide in us, O God, so we won't be afraid of anything ever again.

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