Texts: 1 Kings 19:1-15a; Psalm 42&43; Galatians 3:23-29; Luke 8:26-39
Do any of you know the story of St. Alban?
I’m not all that surprised if most of you don’t know it. But it’s a good one. It’s a story that is good for all of us to know.
Alban is the first recorded Christian martyr in England. Traditionally, people have placed his death in the year 304 AD, during the persecution under the Roman Emperor Diocletian; but many scholars now date it as around 209, during the persecution under the Emperor Septimius Severus.
Alban was a pagan citizen in the Roman colony of Britannia. He served as a soldier in the Roman Army. At that time, the Church was beginning to spread and to be a major force in the entire Roman Empire, though there continued to be sporadic efforts to suppress this growing movement.
During one such effort, Alban randomly was moved to give shelter to a Christian priest who was fleeing from arrest. As he observed this stranger’s way of life and his devotion, Alban became touched, and he gave himself to learn from this man what it was that had so captured his love and commitment. Over the days that followed, they talked at length, and Alban made the decision to become a Christian.
Finally, word reached the local authorities that the wanted priest was in Alban’s house, and when Alban saw tem approaching, he rashly decided to throw the priest's cloak over his own head and to give himself up in order to protect the life of his new mentor. This priestly cloak had some sort of hood which hid Alban’s face, but when he was brought before the local magistrates, the hood was removed. Since he was a local man who served in the army, it was instantly realized that this was Alban, and not the fugitive clergyman.
The magistrates challenged Alban to offer sacrifice immediately to the pagan Roman gods and to the Emperor, but he refused. Instead, he declared that he was, in fact, a Christian. And so on the 22nd day of June, the first day of summer, Alban was whipped and then beheaded. Thus he became the first Christian martyr of the British Isles.
By God’s grace, when you wake up on Tuesday morning, June 22, remember St. Alban. Remember the power of a life that is given away in sacrificial love, instead of hoarded and guarded out of fear.
On Friday night, I preached at the Gloucester City Junior-Senior High School Baccalaureate Service, and I spoke to all of those young people about the reality of fear, and how fear so easily holds us back from accomplishing what God has called us to do. Fear of failure. Fear of conflict. Fear of loss. Even the fear of death.
But if you look throughout the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, there is one clear instruction for life, one simple commandment that God gives hundreds of times.
Do you know what it is? One simple instruction given far more than any other, though in many different contexts but always with the same implication. It is simple and clear: Do not be afraid!
Do not be afraid! In Alban’s situation, he had many reasons to be afraid. And yet, somehow, his newfound love for Christ set him free from his fear, and he found himself empowered to act in a way which probably surprised even himself. He gave himself away out of love in order to protect another, and he preferred death to betrayal.
The prophet Elijah was bold and strong. But he was afraid when all of the royal power was directed toward his individual death. He even asked that he might die. As an aside, I don’t think this implies any suicidal attempt on his part, but rather a complete abandonment of his hope for life. “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors” (1 Kings 19:4).
He had reason to be afraid, and yet, when he sought God on the holy mountain, at Sinai, he was given new strength to complete the task that God had given him. In the sound of sheer silence, a soft sound, God drew near to Elijah and spoke: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” And after Elijah’s explanation, God responded to him and said: “Go.”
When Jesus had thrown that demon out of the crazy man of the Gerasenes, the people were afraid. You might think that they would recognize this as a great and wonderful action. But it seems that they found this intervention into their community to be threatening. Jesus was frightening to them. He was changing people, making them unrecognizable. He was acting beyond their control. And they were not able to accept his actions. And so Jesus left them and continued on his way.
Fear and love. Two of the most powerful forces in our lives, and yet forces which lead us in drastically different directions. There is a huge difference between actions which are motivated by fear, and those that are motivated by love. A world of difference between these! Think back on your own experiences and you will see that this is true.
Perhaps, on this Father’s Day, if you reflect upon your experiences with your father, perhaps you can see the qualitative difference between those times when fear and love provided the motivating and driving force in your actions.
But today we find ourselves gathered together here in worship. And therefore, to use the same question which God put to Elijah when he sought to draw near to God, now I ask you: what are you doing here? Or more specifically, what is the motivation that is driving you today?
Is it fear, or is it love? Are you acting out of fear of failure, fear of loss, fear of death? Or have you opened your heart to this powerful Lord Jesus who changes things, who acts in ways that are often unpredictable, and yet who always seeks to restore us to our “right minds”?
Paul wrote that “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ” (Galatians 3:27). If we the baptized have put on Christ, if we have clothed ourselves for all eternity with Christ, then we have been immersed in that perfect love which casts out fear.
Embrace it, my friends. Like St. Alban so long ago, allow Christ to set you free to live this life without fear. Allow Christ to empower you to be bold and courageous, firmly set upon the sure foundation of his lovingkindness. Amen.
A Prayer for Fathers:
O Lord, our Heavenly Father:
You, who adopt orphan children and care for the widows;
You stand at the door staring at the horizon,
desiring that your prodigal children come home.
Bless our fathers, wherever they may be this day, with strength and grace
So that orphans may have role models,
that widows may be provided what they need,
that those future fathers in our midst may see Christ reflected in the love
shared in piggy-back rides, wiffle-ball games and also the hard-learned lessons of life.
Through Christ we pray to the Father of all. Amen.
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