If you heard my sermon, “Managing The Unamageable”,  last Sunday, then you’ll remember the fear the disciples experienced in the midst of the great storm and the great calm that followed it.  The first fear (cowardice) caused them to question Christ’s love for them…”Don’t you care that we’re perishing?  The second fear (holy awe) caused them to question Christ’s power/nature: “Who is this that even the wind and the waves obey him.”  Jesus was exploding into the disciple’s minds like fireworks on the fourth of July…equal parts terror because fireworks are loud and part awe because fireworks are mesmerizing.  I don’t know about you, but I need the glory and grace of Jesus to perpetually explode into my mind, heart and soul.  

I love the contrast between those Roman guards – insensible and sprawled on the ground, paralyzed by fear – and the two exuberant women kneeling on the same ground energized by fear.  It’s the same word in both cases – fear.  But it’s not the same thing.  There is a fear that incapacitates us for dealing with God, and there is a fear that pulls us out of our preoccupation with ourselves, our feelings, or our circumstances into a world of wonder.  It pulls us out of ourselves into the very action of God.