Anxiety, Fear, and Peace

 

John 14:23-29

Easter 6 / Year C

Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you… Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” (John 14:27)

A woman with a counselling practice had an office next to mine at the church I served when I was first ordained.  She once said to me something I have never forgotten: Strong emotions are contagious.  Think about this for a second.  We are susceptible to picking up on the emotions of another person and making them our own.  Some, like those who have what we describe as a ‘calming effect’, are helpful.  Others, like when panic spreads causing people to hoard toilet paper… not so much. 

This morning we hear Jesus talk about peace, anxiety, and fear.  I suspect the more negative an emotion, the more potent its sway will be.  The more positive the emotion, the softer it is.  Thus, anxiety and fear can be ratchetted up to a very high level in no time at all.  Peace, on the other hand, doesn’t normally barge its way into a chaotic situation.  Often it has to be invited or even cultivated before it takes root and bears fruit.

Anxiety is one of the more powerful emotions which can overtake us and dominate our existence.  I doubt there has ever been an age when the folks of that era were completely at ease, never having a worry or a care.  Anxiety, like oxygen, is ever-present.  It is woven into the very fabric of human existence.  Because we have the cognitive ability to anticipate future outcomes we worry about what is to come, even if we can (to a greater or lesser degree) shape and influence them.  In the great family of emotions, fear a close relative of anxiety.  It is what we feel when we anticipate an outcome will be detrimental and we sense we have no control over it. 

When thinking about anxiety, it is important to differentiate between responding to a typical anxiety-producing event (like waiting for the hospital to call back with your test results) and mental health conditions identified as disorders.  These fall into one of four broad categories: generalized disorder (intense worry about a lot of things), social anxiety disorder (emanating from some form of contact with other people), panic disorder (feeling trapped), and specific phobias (snakes, heights, and the like).  One in every five people suffers from an anxiety disorder and of these just a little more than a third seek professional help.  Some 50 million Americans have an anxiety disorder which is never identified or addressed. 

If you are anxious, a spouse or friend is apt to say something like, “Just calm down” or “Why do you let yourself get so stressed out” or “You need a drink.”  A well-meaning Christian is likely to tack on “You should pray about this” or “You just need to have faith” or even worse, “It is a sin to worry so much.”  In one form or another their message is you should be stronger and you should have more faith.  If you are planning an outdoor wedding and are stressed about the possibility of bad weather, this is not at all helpful.  If you suffer from an anxiety disorder, it can be downright destructive. 

Into all of this we hear Jesus say, “Peace I give to you; my own peace I leave with you… Do not let your hearts be troubled; and do not let them be afraid.” 

As with last week’s reading, the context of the passage is significant.  Jesus says this to his disciples during the Last Supper.  Before the sun rises their world will undergo a jarring change.  They will flee in fear from the scene of Jesus’ arrest.  When they gather, it will be behind locked doors.  Even the report of the empty tomb troubles them.

When Jesus offers peace to his followers, he is not separating the sheep from the goats – the goats being the ones who don’t trust enough and the sheep being those who are able to chill when times are troubling.  How do I know Jesus is not judging them for their crippling unease?  Because I read my bible and Jesus says in John 12:27: “Now my soul is troubled.”  If Jesus can be anxious about his impending arrest, torture, and death, then we can be assured we are not judged when we are anxious and fearful. 

Jesus is able to experience peace by giving his life into God’s care.  The peace he finds he offers to us as a gift to transform how we experience and react to the stresses in our lives.  Let me suggest an analogy.  Imagine you are standing outside on a day so clear the sunlight is too intense to bear.  Allow this image to stand for anxiety.  Then imagine someone hands you a pair of sunglasses which you put on.  The sun is still as severe, but wearing the sunglasses makes you better able to hold up under it.  This is what Christ’s peace offers to us as we learn to live and move and have our being in God.  Living with this peace isn’t a skill you master once and then you have it, like swimming.  It is more like learning to play a musical instrument.  It requires work, dedication, and practice in order to get better at it.   

All of this links well with today’s observance of Rogation Sunday, a name deriving from the Latin word meaning ‘to ask.’  The ritual dates back to 470 AD when Bishop Mamertus faced a crisis in his diocese.  It seems the region was inundated with plagues, earthquakes, pestilence, bad weather, and all manner of things which go bump in the night.  It was an anxious time.  So, the good bishop called the people to prayer, and not just any prayer.  He crafted a litany to address all the problems.  And the faithful were not instructed to drop to their knees in the church nave.  He led them in procession and pageantry around the bounds of village; stopping and praying as they went.  And guess what.  It worked!  Things improved dramatically.  As word spread, so did the practice.  It became popular because it imparted a certain level of peace.  The people did what they could and gave the rest to God.

There are many ways to access the peace which Jesus offers.  Some are spiritual, some are just good, common sense, and some happen as you engage mental health professionals.  There is no one path to the peace Jesus offers but know this – Jesus gives us his peace.