Do Not Be Afraid

Meditation for Soul Space—the Rev Martha Macgill

September 11, 2023

Do Not Be Afraid

Fear Not! Do Not Be Afraid! We find the words in scripture over and over again. With good reason. It is easy to live our lives in fear.

When our plane touched down one day in August, 2000 on the tarmac of Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. We were back on our home turf. Safety and security awaited us. No longer worried about carjackings, home burglary, a sense of danger around every corner. No longer any need to be afraid of daily life.

Our last month in South Africa had been a hard one. Our home had been broken into once again and this time, not just electronics, but the whole house was ransacked. We had come home in-between trips to see the country one last time with good friends. We were just staying overnight in our home and back out the next day. As we came back from dinner out at the Rogans where our friends were staying, we noticed that the plot looked dark. The church gardener Moses and his family didn’t seem to be at home but their lights were all on. As we drove in the church lane, a strange car came down the driveway and out. When we got to the back door of the rectory, the metal bars were pried apart and the door was ajar. As we walked into the kitchen, the refrigerator was open. We had come in on a burglary but there was no one inside. It was eerily quiet. We realized that the burglars were likely hiding in the garden nearby. We had to get out of there fast for we had heard of too many instances of such a situation ending in much worse than a burglary.

I hustled our children, Jack and Anna, into my car and Bryan stayed behind to briefly try to secure the house. We drove to the Rogans who had set up cots for us all. Thankfully Bryan arrived soon afterwards. As I tried to fall asleep, I could only imagine what might have happened.

When we returned to the house in the morning, the burglars had been back. The house was a shambles. Although most of our furniture had been packed up and was on its way home to the States, all our clothes were still there. Most of them were taken. My Bible was ripped apart and thrown into the corner. My vestments including my stoles were gone. Every part of the house was picked through. Strangely the computer was still there. Only the beds remained.

I called Bishop Peter at home. I told him what had happened. On the other end of the phone was a pause and then: “Well, now you know what most South Africans have known for years.” It was said with sadness and compassion. Yes, that was true. I now understood even more closely the fear in which most South Africans lived their lives.

I called my friend Estelle and she drove right over. As I hugged her, I asked “Why?”

It was only a week or two until we left the country. What an ending to an amazing three years.

As we arrived back in the States that early morning in Atlanta, I thought we would be safe forever. In little over a year, that illusion was broken on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. For those of us alive on that day, it is a day we will never forget.

I soon learned that we can not live in full safety anywhere--even in this country of great security and plenty. In the next years, there would be break-ins and crime in our Baltimore neighborhood. There were illnesses and surgeries. There are always things that can happen to us in the course of daily life and we can choose to be fearful of what might happen. But so many wondrous things happen to us as well. In the years since we returned from South Africa, I have had to remember that we live our lives in the midst of death and tragedy but that great love always triumphs over great suffering. Always.

Last November, at the concert at Emmanuel on the day of my retirement as Rector, we sang an anthem by Phillip Stopford entitled “Don Not Be Afraid.” I love this anthem and especially love the words. I hope you find them as inspiration for daily life as I do. Spend some time letting these words wash over you. Then, listen to the recording attached. Then go out and live without fear, remembering that you are enfolded a a great love, even in the midst of suffering. Do not be afraid!

This choral song with words by Gerard Markland is based on four verses from the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 43. The song was a commission that Stopford took in 2010 from Andrew and Kathryn Radley on the occasion of the baptism of their daughter at St Peter and St Paul's Church, Uplyme. It is – like Stopford’s other music – tuneful, melodic, memorable and deeply moving.

The lyrics are:

Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you.

I have called you by your name;

you are mine.

When you walk through the waters,

I'll be with you;

you will never sink beneath the waves.

When the fire is burning all around you,

you will never be consumed by the flames.

When the fear of loneliness is looming,

then remember I am at your side.

When you dwell in the exile of a stranger,

remember you are precious in my eyes.

You are mine, O my child,

I am your Father,

and I love you with a perfect love.

As I now spend my time working to build up the Cumberland community, I hope this weekly meditation will allow you to see hope and wonder in the community around you and in your daily life. To choose life always.

(c) 2023 The Rev. Martha N. Macgill

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