Do
not be afraid
Do
not be afraid
I
have called you by name
I
will save you
I
will be with you
Do not be afraid—I am with you!
For I am the Lord your
God
[from Isaiah 43:1-7]
Fear not [AKJV]
Do
not fear [NRSV]
Do
not be afraid [GNB]
I wonder what comes into your mind when you hear those words.
Maybe
you think of Mary and the words of the angel
Or
the shepherds, with angels again saying: don’t be afraid.
Or
maybe it is some time in your life, when those words came to mind.
Some
time when fear threatened to overwhelm you
But
the presence of God with you enabled you to continue.
There
is a beautiful hymn that begins: [words on screen]
I will come to you in the silence,
I will lift you from all your fear.
You will hear my voice, I claim you as
my choice,
be still and know I am here.
I am hope for all who are hopeless,
I am eyes for all who long to see.
In the shadows of the night, I will be
your light,
come and rest in me.
Refrain:
Do not be afraid, I am with you,
I have called you each by name.
Come and follow me, I will bring you
home;
I love you and you are mine.
©
David Haas, 1991
As
One Voice, vol.II
When
we baptise, these words are spoken to the one being baptised:
N and
N,
for
you Jesus Christ has come,
has lived, has suffered;
for you he endured the agony of Gethsemane
and the darkness of Calvary;
for you he uttered the cry, ‘It is accomplished!’
For you he triumphed over death;
for you he prays at God’s right hand;
for you, N,
even before you were born.
In baptism the word of the apostle is confirmed;
‘We love, because God first loved us.’
has lived, has suffered;
for you he endured the agony of Gethsemane
and the darkness of Calvary;
for you he uttered the cry, ‘It is accomplished!’
For you he triumphed over death;
for you he prays at God’s right hand;
for you, N,
even before you were born.
In baptism the word of the apostle is confirmed;
‘We love, because God first loved us.’
That
is true not only for the person being baptised, but for each one of us,
baptised or not!
[Words on screen]
I am
strength for all the despairing,
healing for
the ones who dwell in shame.
All the
blind will see, the lame will all run free,
and all will
know my name.
Refrain:
Do not be
afraid, I am with you,
I have
called you each by name.
Come and
follow me, I will bring you home;
I love you
and you are mine.
....
In
the gospel reading we heard the story of the Baptism of Jesus.
After all the people had
been baptized, Jesus also was baptized …. heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit came down upon him in bodily
form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my own dear Son. I am
pleased with you.” [Luke 3: 21-22]
This
passage from Luke’s gospel tells us who Jesus is. Son of God.
“… Jesus says, “we’ll do things God’s way.
I’ll go down. With you. Where you are. In the deep. In the dark. Where all your
hard stuff is swirling around. Where there’s the danger you could drown, the
danger you could get lost and succumb to your despair. That’s where I’ll go, a
sibling in your own flesh. That’s where I’ll always be. That’s how you’ll know
that God is not against you. That’s how you’ll know you’re not alone.” http://sicutlocutusest.com/2016/01/08/the-one-down-god-sermon-for-the-feast-of-the-baptism-of-jesus/
[Words on screen]
I am the
Word that leads all to freedom.
I am the
peace the world cannot give.
I will call
your name, embracing all your pain,
stand up,
now walk, and live!
Refrain:
Do not be
afraid, I am with you,
I have
called you each by name.
Come and
follow me, I will bring you home;
I love you
and you are mine.
It
can be hard sometimes to remember that we are precious to God, loved and known
and named,
forgiven
and free.
It
can be hard to remember
when
you are being ridiculed for your weight,
when
you are being ignored because of your age,
when
you are being called names because of your faith
when
the news is about floods and fires
when
politicians speak of terrorism
when
we watch people die of malnutrition while we throw out food
it
can be hard to remember who we are and to whom we belong
Isaiah
reminds us:
That
we are created by God,
To
bring God glory
Being
one of Gods people can sometimes seem difficult,
Am
I good enough?
Have
I prayed correctly?
Am
I living out my faith properly?
I
don’t know how much of my life brings glory to God.
But
I do know that my living in fear and shame isn’t what God has planned for me,
or any of you.
Do
not be afraid
I
have called you by name
I
will save you
I
will be with you
Do not be afraid—I am with you!
For I am the Lord your
God
[From Isaiah 43:1-7]
In
Baptism you are named and claimed by God
In
baptism we are all reminded of how much we are loved by God
Even
before we knew it, God loved us!
We
take some time to reflect and rest in God’s love.
