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Do Not Be Afraid!

These past couple of weeks have been very difficult for me emotionally. As most of you know, I have a sister who was diagnosed with breast cancer 15 months ago (after being cancer-free for more than five years), and then just as she was finishing her treatments and recovering from surgery, two months ago, my mother was diagnosed with liver cancer. Just two weeks ago, my mother had 45% of her liver removed. The fear of what these terrible diseases can do and the real fear of losing our loved ones is never so real as in times like these. In my case, just this week, thankfully my family received good news about both my sister and my mother - in both cases, it appears the cancer is gone.

But the real question for all of us in times like these is, “What do we do?” We feel helpless and we fear what seems to be the inevitable outcome, death. The truth is there is nothing we can do except pray and trust that God will be with us in these times.

This Sunday is Easter, and on Easter the themes that we are called to raise have to do with death and life, despair and hope, and the promise of life in death. On that first Easter morning when the women went to the tomb where Jesus was buried, they went with deep sadness. They went to a place of death with no hope, no anticipation and no vision of the future. But when they got there, they discovered that the tomb was empty and the body was missing, but there was an angel present who said to them, “Do not be afraid. You’re looking for Jesus, but he isn’t here! He’s been raised and he’s gone to Galilee, so go tell Peter and the others to meet him there.” Stunned to see Jesus gone and to hear this news, Matthew tells us that the women left quickly with “fear and great joy.” Yes, as excited as they were, they were also filled with fear.

Even with the good news I received this week about my sister and my mother, I am still filled with fear. I fear that the cancer might come back. I fear for those I know who are still struggling with cancer. And no matter how positive I try to be, I still fear death at times. My mom said it well after her surgery, “I wasn't afraid to die; I just didn’t want to die yet.”

And yet, as soon as I say I am still afraid, I hear those words of the angel at the empty tomb on Easter morning, “Do not be afraid.” Even when we face death, Easter is our reminder that new life is promised and we need not fear death. Death will come to all of us, but as Christians we know it is not the end. Thanks be to God!

Christ is risen!

Christ is risen, indeed!

Shalom, Pr. Dave

Tags: Weekly Word