In the first half of the Gospel according to Mark, the writer is concerned with portraying Jesus as “the  one who is stronger.” One way he does this is by telling of several miracles that are tied together by at  least four crossings of the Sea of Galilee. On the western side of this body of water there are the Jews.

On the eastern shore, there are Gentiles. Jesus moves freely, comfortably, among Jews and Gentiles  alike teaching, preaching, and performing miracles.

Among the miracles are the calming of the storm, the exorcising of the demoniac, the healing of the  woman with a hemorrhage, and, the miracle about which we read in today’s Gospel, the raising of the  daughter of Jairus. By this means, Mark is saying, “Jesus Christ is stronger than the cultural differences  that separate people from one another, he is stronger than the forces of nature, stronger than the demonic, stronger than disease, and stronger even than our greatest enemy, death. Nothing in the universe is more powerful than him. The One who is stronger is on our side. He is for us. He commands the  very power of God. He has come into the world, come to all people, come to remove all obstacles,   come to include everyone in his saving, recreating embrace. That is good news. And, because of that,  we have nothing to fear. 

Remember that our word “religion” is derived from the Latin word ligare, which means to bind together. Our word “ligament” is from the same root. Religion, then, is supposed to tie things together.

As Mark has so artfully tied together the accounts of Jesus’ obstacle defying ministry in the Galilean  territory, so Jesus promises to tie our lives together and make us whole. When we place our trust in  mim, we do not need to be overcome by fear.

What fears are you grappling with today? Terrorism? The economy? Supreme Court decisions? Im-

migration? Reproductive rights? Personal finances or health? A family problem?

I believe that fear is the basis for so many of our problems. It is the basis of anger, of prejudice, of a host of psychological disorders, of much disease, and it interferes with just about every relationship we have either with persons or with things. We are afraid of that which we do not know or think we  know all too well. The Jesus of Mark’s gospel is greater than the greatest threat we know, and his perfect love casts out fear.

One of the most courageous people I have ever known is the Pastor for whom I worked in my first appointment  after  completion  of  seminary.  J.  Kenneth  Shamblin  was  Senior  Pastor  of  St.  Luke’s  United Methodist Church in Houston for sixteen years. He left there to become the United Methodist  Bishop of Louisiana. I heard him do and say many truly courageous things in the time I knew him. 

But before he came to Houston, he was Senior Pastor of the Pulaski Heights Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. He led that congregation in building a magnificent gothic edifice and when it was completed, he had television equipment installed and became the first church in Arkansas to telecast its morning  worship services. On the first morning their service was to be seen on the television, Kenneth Shamblin  mounted the pulpit and faced the task of not only delivering a sermon he knew would be carried to  thousands of people whom he could not see, but also a sermon in which he publicly and fearlessly  opposed the Governor of that state on the issue of the desegregation of the Little Rock schools.

Because of that sermon and the subsequent statements Dr. Shamblin made about the need for African  American children to receive the same educational opportunities as Anglo children, his life and that of  his family was threatened. He received obscene telephone calls and hate mail. He had to move his  family to a secret location and live under guard twenty-four hours a day. This went on for weeks until  he felt he was at his breaking point. Fear like he had never known before gripped him. One evening,  he sat down on the steps of that beautiful church building, beaten, bruised, afraid, and contemplating  ways to leave that situation. He felt helpless, hopeless, and very much alone. Just then, the Carillion  began to play, and the tune brought to his mind the words, “God is my strong salvation, what foe have I to fear? In darkness and temptation, my help, my light is near.” It was as if God had extended a strong  hand and a mighty arm to him in his weakest moment and lifted him up, empowering him to stand firm in his conviction and overcome his fears. And, he and God weathered the storm.

When the professional mourners came to Jairus and told him his daughter was dead, Jesus spoke a stronger word to him, “Do not fear. Only believe.”  When he arrived at the house where the little girl lay, he entered that place which death had defiled and spoke a stronger word to her, “Little girl, rise up.” His words are healing words, life giving words, strong words that save us and make us whole.   He speaks them to us today. If fear is overtaking you and causing you to hate, to hesitate, to hibernate,  or to hyperventilate, he calls you to believe - to trust in him - to consider the possibility that there are  other options, other viewpoints, other ways. If you are feeling the threat of your own mortality, if death is washing over you, if something or someone precious to you has been snatched from you, he speaks  to you, “rise up.”

I have struggled with fears over the polarization and the rising tide of anger in our country from some  time. I am afraid that lies, conspiracy theories, lawlessness, and incivility will be normalized and prevail. The rising tide of Christian nationalism is a threat to people of every faith and to democracy itself. I had hoped that last Thursday’s debate would help calm those fears. It did not. In fact, if anything, it seemed to make matters worse, at least for the time being. I need, and I know I am not alone, one of those obstacle-defying miracles of Jesus sooner rather than later.

It is at moments like this that we need to hear the words, “Do not fear. Only believe.”  “Rise up.”  These are words that bind our lives together. Bind our times together. Bind our relationships together. And bind all things together in a perfect oneness with the Shepherd and Lover of our souls. And, you know what?  These healing words are news, good news, for anyone who needs to hear them. There simply are no limits to what God has in store for you and for me. Hang on to them with all your might in the face of your fears.