I will not be afraid

I will not be afraid…. Term 4 opening chapel 2007

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University reported that 30 years ago the greatest fears of prep school children were:
1. Animals (I assume ones that bite!!)
2. Being in a dark room
3. High places
4. Strangers, and
5. Loud noises.

Today, kids are afraid of the following:
1. Divorce
2. Nuclear war
3. Cancer
4. Pollution, and
5. Being mugged.

I would add – fear of losing your I-pod or cell phone or broadband….

What are you afraid of?
In the country of my birth being mugged, hijacked, robbed was a real fear. Nuclear war seems a remote possibility on our end of the world.

Latest figures indicate that cancer is still the highest killer in New Zealand. Many of us have to struggle with the impact of that.

The place of greatest risk from violence and abuse is probably not in the streets – but at home.

You would have seen the campaign IT’S NOT OK – about violence in families. About how people manipulate and control others. It’s just another form of bullying!

Scarier still the reports that women’s shelters here are busier just after major sports games where we have lost. Men become violent… People drink – and then they do dangerous things to their partners.

IT’S ALSO BEEN A BUSY WEEK in the papers

All kinds of people have been sentenced in the courts – punished for terrible crimes. Controversy rages over a man who was shot by a policeman. A man who killed an innocent tourist was sentenced to a long time in jail.

Things can go horribly wrong in peoples’ lives.

WHAT SHOULD WE FEAR THE MOST?
Some of us still struggle in dark rooms. You little guys still need to be wary of strangers!

My fear is that we all have the potential for violence. More than anything – we need to learn to manage our fears and our anger. Perhaps we should fear ourselves.

There is a Chinese Proverb that goes like this:
If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of
sorrow.

There is also great strength – as we heard in the Scripture readings today – in the knowledge that we are not alone.

That God is with us. Because of this – even in the deepest darkness – we don’t have to fear.

SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO
We should not be afraid.
In a basic sense we should not be afraid of
Change of any kind
New friends
Hard work
Difficult problems
Exams (you don’t usually have to fear them if you’ve worked!)
People who bully
Telling the truth
Sorting out people who do things that are not ok.

In fact in the second reading today we heard this:
Let us be bold, then, and say, "The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?"

If we’re honest – we have much to be thankful for! We got so many privileges and opportunities… And we live in a really safe place!

Spare a thought for kids in wars – and without the basic things that we take for granted.

This is a short busy term. There is no time for silliness really. We need to make a decision today to be the best we can – without being afraid.

We need to make a simple choice also – if we have problems because we have a good reason to be afraid of anyone.

Talk to someone soon – there is lots of support. We should never be afraid of the truth.

Amen.