Sermonette: February 22, 2021

Without even saying, “be not afraid,” the familiar and beloved Ecclesiastes 3 addresses fear head on.

 I think this is the reason Ecclesiastes is so beloved. Because it’s true. It’s true that half of life is suffering, and half is joy. It’s true that sometimes we need one decision, and sometimes we need a very different one. And sometimes we don’t know what to decide.

 Read here Ecclesiastes 3

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

Here are some modern Ecclesiastes:

There’s a time to be very cautious of COVID, and a time to see (and hug) your friends and family.

There’s a time to travel during a pandemic, and a time to stay home.

There’s a time to hover over your kids, and a time to let them make their own decisions.

There’s a time to be proud of our good works, and a time to stew about how we can do better.

There’s a time to put kindness over boundaries, and a time to put boundaries over kindness.

There’s a time for strict discipline, and a time for bending the rules.

There’s a time for giving advice, and a time to stop talking and just listen.

There’s a time to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, and a time to let go and truly receive the love of God.

We find God in the middle of these paradoxes, these common, everyday decisions that have gray answers. Or where both could be true. Where one person could believe with all their heart one way, and the next, the opposite.

And these paradoxes drive us to the cross. The cross is where we don’t know the answer and can be totally honest about that. Because the cross is where God is most fully with us. With us fully, in our darkest hours, in our deepest pain, when life just isn’t fair. When we’re falling short of who we are, and when others are hurting us. Fully with us no matter our circumstances. Fully with us in our mistakes, in our regrets, in our depression, in our grief.

Of the many, many people in Scripture (and now!) needing “be not afraids”, God always shows up, is present, and loving us more than we could ever think or imagine. All glory be to God.