“Joseph of Aramethea, a respected member of the council, who himself was looking for the Kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus.” (Mark 15:43 ESV)
Yesterday we talked about the need to do the next right thing when the world’s gone dark. Joseph of Aramethea models that for us and today we note that the next right thing will require courage.
NIV says “…went boldly…”
AMP says “…he courageously dared…”
CEV says “…was brave enough to ask…”
MSG says: “…working up his courage…”
NASB says “…gathered up his courage…”
The next right thing is going to require a gathering of ourselves and a facing of our fears.
Joseph of Aramethea’s desire to honor and serve the body of Christ was greater than his desire to self protect. Read that a second time if you need to, let it sink into your soul amidst our panic-stricken pandemic: Joseph’s desire to honor and serve the body of Christ was greater than his desire to self protect.
Joseph had to overcome his fears in order to serve and so do we. He had to approach Pilate in the hours after he had sentenced our Savior to death. He had to reveal his faith in an environment that had proven itself to be hostile to Christians. We are reminded that courage is not the absence of fear, but the commitment to step forward while we are still trembling.
Fear is rampant right now. We are slammed with it on every screen and over every airwave. We are shook by empty shelves in supermarkets and out of stock items on Amazon. Social distancing only multiplies our apprehensions; unable to gather for church or group hugs or therapy sessions.
Joseph had to face his fear in order to do the right thing. He had to go and ask Pilate for permission to bury his Savior. He had to do the physical work of dealing with his grief. Today we may need to face our fear as well, before we can move forward in Kingdom directive.
When I am afraid I turn to two truths: God is love and perfect love casts out all fear.
“We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love. God is love and all who live in love live ing God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgement but we can face Him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.” (1 John 4:16-18 NLT)
Then I think of Ann Voskamp’s wise words that over and over comforted my heart when my mother transitioned from this world to the next.
“All fear is but the notion that God’s love ends.” A. Voskamp
When we focus on God’s perfect love, fear falls out of focus and we can move forward in obedience. For Joseph of Aramethea that looked like summoning the courage to ask for the body of Jesus. For us, it may mean picking up the phone to call that loved one, choosing to engage with our children rather than letting screens sit them, checking in on our elderly neighbor or going to our knees in prayer.
Joseph looked for a healthy way to work through his high emotions. So can we. It will require honesty, bravery and effort, but there is something we can do today to serve the Kingdom.
Lord, help us see what we can do for You today, even in the face of fear. Give us a path forward, a plan to contribute to heaven’s cause. Show us a healthy way to work through our high emotions. Help us help someone today. Amen.