The Second Sunday of Easter: From FEAR to WORTH

STEP ONE: BREATHE

Take a deep, cleansing breath. Allow the air to fill your lungs and expand your body. Exhale and empty yourself into the room. Repeat three times - once for the one who Created you, once for the Incarnate One who walks beside you, and once for the Spirit whose life fills your being.

STEP TWO: DWELL IN WORD

“[Jesus] said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.””

— Luke 12: 22-34

“FEAR NOT” - Introduction to this week’s focus

Covid-19 has disrupted markets worldwide. Economic dis-ease has followed the viral disease. With infection in our backyard, so has the reality of financial loss come home. There has been a loss of employment, expected income, and retirement savings. Businesses, small and large, find themselves faced with difficult decisions. Without a clear end in sight, insecurity flares.

Businesses, organizations, and churches are all feeling financial pressure. They have paused projects and plans for expansion and growth. Instead, money worries raise the anxiety of survival. Fear of losing everything motivates drastic actions.

And when will it all end? It is a question that festers with uncertainty. Each day that we remain in isolation is costly. We want (need) it to end sooner than later. How long can we afford to sustain this separation?

Even as the medical experts say that we need to keep at it for a while longer, we are tempted to return sooner than later. Resolve falters. Fear pushes a button that distorts reality and we are captivated by wishful thinking and false hopes.

The virus delights in the idea of a premature getting back to business as usual. Did we forget that the virus is a living organism whose own survival depends upon our inability to be patient? It parties when we party.

Fear and worry grow in this petri-dish of fiscal trouble.

Although no one is exempt from these concerns, it hits hardest on those without safety nets. The underemployed, unemployed, and those who work without benefits find it challenging to make ends meet during regular times. Now their struggle is only greater.

How do Christians face fears of economic disruption and insecurity?

That is what we will be addressing this week. As in the previous week, we will offer no magic bullet or recipe to make it all go away. The economic turmoil that surrounds is real, hard, and will be around for a while. What we will be offering, however, is some spiritual help that will help us to hang on.

We will reside in the assurance that God remains with us amid our struggles. Our worth is not dependent upon a bank account or our ability to pay. God's priceless love remains our treasure. We will lean into the wisdom that values life apart from what we earn, save, and spend. We seek a gospel realignment of our values.

STEP THREE: PRAY

Loving God, be present in the midst of our worries and fears. Calm our anxious selves with the peace that comes from you. Enable us to find our worth in your gracious love. Through Christ, amen.

Today’s devotion is by Pastor Walt Lichtenberger.