“FEAR FACTOR”
Sermon preached by Rev. Dr. Mark D. Hostetter
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Scriptures: Genesis 11: 1-9 and John 14: 8-17, 25-27
Good morning!
We’re in the midst of the season: graduations, commencements, new beginnings. Even grade
school kids know there’s something new afoot, counting the days until summer vacation. Today
we saw the pride and excitement of 8 and 9 year olds getting their very own bibles, names
inscribed in gold letters on the front. This day of Pentecost, is itself a story of new beginnings.
We didn’t read the verses this morning, but you know the story. Gathering of many nations,
tongues of fire on everyone, speaking in unknown languages, yet everyone understood. Today is
celebrated as the birth of the Christian church. New beginnings, a new season, change is afoot.
Buddhist theology holds fast to the idea that the one constant in life, the only thing that is certain
and eternal, is change. Change of course creates opportunity. The Wall Streeters in the
congregation know that in the stock market, profit comes from change – volatility. If nothing
changed, no one would make any money.
But change forces us to think differently. Change makes us consider that perhaps we can’t keep
doing things the way we have. A future that’s different, unknown, with uncertain outcomes, well .
. . that gives rise to fear. Jerry Seinfeld has a routine where he notes that, according to most
studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two,
lost out to public speaking! Does that sound right? This means that to the average person, if you
go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.
My biggest fear is probably just three words. Imagine a lovely Christmas eve, lots of presents,
excitement building for the joy of childhood wonder. And then those three little words of terror:
“some assembly required.”
All of us have a litany of instinctive fears. According to a study by the National Institute of Mental
Health, up to 20 percent of Americans suffer from phobias. Somehow naming these fears, those
phobias, I guess gives a little glimmer of hope in overcoming them. We know some of the
common names. Claustrophobia – fear of enclosed spaces. Hydrophobia – fear of water.
Acrophobia – fear of heights. Xenophobia – fear of strangers. Triskaidekaphobia – fear of the
number 13. And of course, the fear of getting trapped in a chimney – that’s “SantaClausaphobia.”
Did you know, there are actually names for some unusual fears: fear of being tickled by a feather;
fear of mothers in law; fear of ventriloquist dummies; fear of anything French; fear of peanut
butter sticking to the roof of the mouth. There are pages of them.
So change creates fear. And change forces us to face our fears.
2
Virgil Thomson, the amazing composer who lived as our neighbor here in the Village back in the
70s and 80s, had some advice when confronted with change. Try a thing you haven’t done three
times. Once to get over the fear of doing it. Twice to learn how to do it. And a third time to
figure out whether you like it or not.
Scripture has a lot to say in the face of fear. You can’t hardly read through a dozen Psalm verses
without finding it: “I will not fear, for God is with me.” Same for Paul’s letters to the early
Christian communities: “There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives out all fear.”
And there are so many famous suggestions about fear, and how we should approach it. Of course,
perhaps the most famous to Americans, the lines from FDR’s First Inaugural Address. We all
know the short version, but here’s the whole quote: “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief
that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which
paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”
From emperor Marcus Aurelius in ancient Rome: “If you are distressed by anything external, the
pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke
at any moment.” Gandhi: “The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but it is fear.”
The familiar lines of poetry from Wordsworth:
“What are fears but voices airy?
Whispering harm where harm is not.
And deluding the unwary
Till the fatal bolt is shot.”
There are the poignant words of Steve Jobs that he gave at the Stamford commencement address
just a few years before he died: “Almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of
embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is
truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of
thinking you have something to lose.”
So in the face of change, in the face of the fear of the unknown, it’s easy to hold tight to what’s
comfortable, and to think we don’t have control of our fears.
You might know the story of the young man who had always been #1 in his high school,
valedictorian of his college class, and had been admitted to a top medical school, full scholarship,
based on his accomplishments of being at the head of his class. He strove for perfection, and
nothing gave him more pleasure than being at the top. His parents were so pleased, they paid for a
trip for him to relax before grad school, a trip to India and Tibet. While there he visited a wise
guru, who told him his life and his spirit was not in balance, that his focus on overachievement
and defining himself by competition, and success over others could never bring peace; that life
there at the ashram was balanced, where everyone shared in all, and none were in need, and that
everyone was at peace.
The student listened to the guru, and decided he would give up all he had, and join the ashram, and
be at peace. He sent a letter to his parents, telling of the guru’s advice, his decision to give up med
school, scholarship and all, and stay in India. And that he was at peace. He went on to say in his
letter that he was working very hard studying. They would be so proud. He had already become
3
the number two student at the ashram, and with hard work, within a month or two he fully
expected that he would be the number one student there.
Hard to change, even in the face of change, even when we know that change is the one constant.
Tyranny can be what we first think of, autocratic rulers. But tyranny can also be seen in too much
holding on to sameness, to custom, to thinking in the same ways. Many know well our own
Auburn Seminary here in New York, up near Columbia. As board chair, I am watching Auburn
trying to think about what is needed for effective and transformational religious leadership.
Challenging leaders to “trouble the waters, and heal the world.”
New skills, new leadership, new approaches to what works in today’s world. Seminaries need to
teach theology and bible for sure, but religious leaders today also need to be fluent in media
training, and movement building, and multi-faith engagement.
That’s the exciting future of our church. That’s why new members, young and old, come through
the doors of churches today. But it may not be just the sanctuary doors. Yes, they might come for
worship maybe, yet more likely it’s because they want their lives to make a difference. It is an
awesome trend in church and society.
We see it in our schools focusing on developing minds, building character, creating community,
not as an end in itself, but in order to change our world for the good. Rather than just the
traditional words of competence and commitment, of excellence and achievement, there’s talk of
the character traits of curiosity, zest, gratitude, empathy, self-control, grit, optimism, passion.
The emerging church is no longer about oneness, sameness. It’s more about the many ways to
know God and transform lives. Co-existence, multi-strategy, differing styles, that’s what makes a
dynamic church today.
It’s hard to give things up, whether its possessions, or a way of thinking. We baby boomers tend to
both challenge and value tradition. But it’s healthy too to take a cue from Millennials, do some
spring cleaning, getting rid of the baggage, the attic storage, the drawers full of things we’ll never
use.
This topic of change, and fear, is at the forefront of my own mind these days. After two decades
running a large money management company, where I’ve been CEO, we’ve decided to move on to
new adventures, close our company, our investment partnerships, and open our lives to new
opportunities, new visions. Call it a mid-life crisis, or just time for a change, it’s not that we
weren’t successful, it’s just that it seemed the right time to do something new. So there’s a lot of
excitement, and some fear of the unknown too.
And in these times of change, of excitement and fear, I find glimmers of insight, hear wisdom and
fresh perspectives, surrounding me at every turn. Just one example: You may remember Jon’s
sermon two 2 weeks ago, about the man who was crippled for 38 years, trying to get to the pools
of Bethesda for healing. When Jesus asks if he wants to be well, the man doesn’t really answer
Jesus’ question. The man complains that he can’t get himself to the well, and that no one will help
him, and if he does get down there then others push ahead before he has a chance.
4
Jesus then turns the man’s expectations on their head. He doesn’t answer the man’s complaints,
but merely says “Arise, pick up your mat, and walk.” There’s no need for the pools, the thing that
the man thought he needed, the thing that had been holding him back. What he needed was a new
perspective. Realizing that what we think is preventing us from success, may not really be the
issue.
Or today’s familiar story from Genesis, the story of the Tower of Babel. All the people of the earth
together in one place, one language for them all, working together to build a monument to
humanity with the top of the city tower in heaven. Let’s make a name for humanity, for ourselves,
they said, or we will be scattered abroad all over the face of the whole earth.
Well, God had other plans, and in bible stories God tends not to appreciate humans who put
themselves in God’s place, lacking the humbleness, the humility, the gratitude for what God has
done for creation. So God creates so many languages that they can’t understand each other, and
scatters them over the face of the earth.
It’s a story about change, and about not getting so tied to expectations, that we lose sight of what’s
important. Our focus needs to remain on God’s priorities, not on our own. So in times of change,
in times when our fear factor is high, it’s helpful to draw close to the values of our faith.
Where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also. Augustine had it right, nearly two millennia
ago: Our hearts were made for God, and will not rest until they rest in God. We need to settle for
nothing less as we go through life’s journey. Our faith gives us freedom from tyranny of the
superficialities of our culture: wealth, power, status, a perfect body. (Well, maybe it would do
everyone some good to focus more on the last one.)
But we can take the lesson of Babel to heart. In the end, it’s not about us. If God is taken out of the
equation, like those Babelers of the Tower, it all falls apart. We take our cue from the words of
Jesus in John’s gospel reading this morning: Jesus says, “God is in me. Look to me, if you want to
know God.” That’s why we call ourselves Christians.
Jesus’ whole life and ministry was about change, about new perspectives, about looking at things
differently. Shaking things up. Troubling the waters. Healing the world.
So to leave us all smiling, one last story, about three familiar people who certainly seemed to find
their way with little fear, and a pretty clear vision of who they were and what they should be
about: the Pope, Billy Graham, and Oral Roberts. So the three of them, the Pope, Billy Graham,
and Oral Roberts, were in a terrible three-plane crash over the Pacific Ocean. They all died and
went to heaven together.
"Oh, this is terrible," exclaims St. Peter when they approached, "I know you three think we
summoned you here, but this is just one of those coincidences that happen. Since we weren't
expecting you, your quarters just are not ready yet. We can't take you in, and we can't send you
back."
Then he got an idea. He picked up the phone, "Lucifer, this is Peter. Hey, I got these three guys
up here. They're ours, but we weren't expecting them, and we need to fix the place up for them. I
5
was hoping you could put them up for a while. It will only be a couple of days. What do you say?"
Reluctantly, the Devil agreed.
However, two days later, St. Peter got a call. "Peter, it’s Lucifer. You’ve got to come get these
three.” “What’s the matter,” Peter asks.
Lucifer continues, urgently, “You’ve got to get them out of here now. They’re making a mess of
things, upsetting and changing the way things work around here. This Pope fellow is forgiving
everybody; the Graham guy is saving everybody; and that Oral Roberts has raised enough money
to buy air conditioning."
Go out with courage. Do not fear, embrace change, and have a joyous day!
___________
© Copyright 2013, Mark D. Hostetter