Fear

“The night is dark and full of terrors,” says Melisandre in Game of Thrones, and the chilling fires of her cruelty in that series are the reality in too much of our world.  The headlines in any given day resound with words representing fear…Terrorism, Islamophobia, Homophobia…and it seems that every political candidate plays to and even encourages our deepest fears to rise to the surface and propel us to vote to keep the evil at bay.

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The one who fears is not made perfect in love.           1 John 4:18

TEXT: John 20:1-18

For those of us who practice Christian faith, the resurrection is the central, monumental event of history. Whether you’re the type of Christian that looks at it as historical reality or the type of Christian that sees it as a story of only spiritual truth, for all of us, the message of resurrection is the absolute center. Of course it was the central message for the disciples as well, and the story is recorded in all four of the Gospels. But to say that all four report it is not to say that all four tell it the same way.