How Did She Get to be So Calm?

John 14:27

 

Tuesday night, due to an emergency in the Andrews household, I found myself forced to venture out to our local Dollar Store. Like you I am taking this social distancing very serious. Admittedly I have played a lot of golf and gotten a lot of miles on my bike but both are done at a safe distance. Any time I am forced to go out I religiously wear a mask. I donned my protection with I had no idea the reception I would receive inside the doors of this establishment. The aisles are not very wide. If someone was coming my way I would step back and seek another route. The store was incredibly crowed. Everywhere I turned there were children. None of them were masked and they all seemed determined to occupy my space. As I approached the checkout, the floor was appropriately marked indicating where each person should stand. No one seemed interested in the restrictions. I kept my distance from the family in front of me but the folks behind persistently pushed forward. One kid got right in my face and asked why I was wearing a mask. I got out of line, stood in a corner, and waited for things to calm down. Isolated from the madness I quietly whispered, “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

That is easy for Jesus to say. The rest of us are suffering from a combination of fear, frustration, boredom, anxiety, and restlessness. We want answers but no one has them. We want a vaccine but no one can produce it. We want peace but at what cost. I would like for my heart not to be troubled but just about the time I think I have found tranquility, another Dollar Store appears.  Jesus saying, “Let not your heart be troubled” sounds divine. I wish it sounded possible. So many components outside our understanding continue to complicate our lives.

 

John O’Donohue writes,

When the light around you lessens

And your thoughts darken until

fear turns your heart as cold as stone,

Steady yourself and see

That it is your own thinking

That darkens your world.

 

Today is Mother’s Day. I was blessed to know my mom for 69 years. Early on she was not my favorite person. In the Andrews house mom was the disciplinarian. I worshipped my father. I was a little afraid of my mother. Dad and I could go out and throw a baseball, hit a golf ball, even talk about our faith journey. Mom was always cooking a meal, washing clothes, getting us to our designated appointments, and trying to keep us in line. She was a real mess the first 18 years of my life. Then I went off to college and the army. By the time Deb and I got married Mom had become an entirely different person. I would come home to visit and find Mom sitting in her favorite chair reading a book. I never remember Mom having the time to read. What really amazed me was she now seemed so calm. Over her last 40 years I admired her incredible quality of rising above any crisis. Her favorite saying was, “Only worry about the big stuff. And try to remember everything is small.”

I once caught her alone with her favorite book and asked if she would share her favorite Biblical passage. She answered, “Whatever I just finished reading.” While that is an excellent answer I refused off let her off the hook. She thought for a moment and responded, “Let not your heart be troubled. Neither let it be afraid.” I challenged her by asking, “How is it possible to not be afraid?” She replied, “It‘s not. But when has worry solved anything. Sometimes I just have to trust the song that is in my heart.”

I wonder if the disciples had any idea what Jesus was talking about when he promised to place the Holy Spirit in their hearts. Jesus was about to leave. He was preparing them for a time when loneliness and fear could have easily replaced the vacuum his absence would bring. The “Jesus Way” had been different. For the world, peace was the absence of conflict. For Jesus, peace was the advent of harmony and the beginning of righteousness.   Peace proclaimed a new day of trust replacing schemes and love outmaneuvering hate. Instead of worrying about what was mine, we can celebrate what we share as ours. In many ways the coming of the Spirit was a wedding of human yearnings and heavenly promises.  

I know that sounds too good to be true. I also know we are in a critical moment in human history. Within the next few weeks this virus will probably appear in our community. I suspect someone we know, possibly even love, will die. How are we just supposed to remain calm? Are we just supposed to put our trust in an ancient promise that God’s spirit resides within our hearts so we are going to be safe? Absolutely not! The way of the Lord has never been passive. Neither has it been self-centered. We are to practice social distancing. We are to wash our hands. We are to stay home as much as possible. But God also calls on us to check on a neighbor. God calls on us to help a stranger. God calls on us to exhibit calmness even in the midst of chaos. God calls on us to believe, “You are never alone. Let not your hearts be troubled.   Neither let them be afraid.”

If my Mom were here today she would say, “Son, it is not good enough to just wish for peace. You have to yearn for it with every fiber in your heart. When you learn to do this, it is amazing how clear your path will become.

How did she get to be so calm? She spent her whole life yearning for the peace of God.