Why Are You Afraid?

Fear is weird! Do you know what “arachibutyrophobia” is? It’s the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. How about “ablutophobia?” The fear of bathing. I remember a song from the eighties called, “Somebody’s Watching Me” by Rockwell. One of the lyrics is:

When I'm in the shower, I'm afraid to wash my hair

'Cause I might open my eyes and find someone standing there

People say I'm crazy, just a little touched

But maybe showers remind me of Psycho too much

That's why… I always feel like somebody’s watching me

(Did you know the chorus of this song was sung by Michael Jackson?)

It is purported that the Bible says, “fear not” 365 times. I wish I could confirm this. That would be cool. But it’s not true, as far as I can tell. That said, Jesus does talk about not being afraid a lot, including in this week’s sermon text. He asks: Why are you afraid? Another way of hearing this question is, “what are you afraid of?” Peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth, bathing, spiders, heights, the dark? Fear can be bad, but can fear also be good? Aren’t we supposed to “fear” the Lord. What’s going on with fear? I hope you’ll join us this Sunday as we explore the strange reality of fear.