And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” -Matthew 8:26   There’s a popular mantra that fear and faith cannot coexist, that when we’re feeling fear, it’s because we’re not trusting God enough. This verse from today’s lectionary is often trotted out as evidence for...

Forget “Merry Christmas” – a more appropriate holiday greeting is “Be not afraid” (perhaps the response could be “Thank you. Nor you”)  Not only would this better capture the tone of the Christmas story, echoing the angel’s greetings to Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds, it would better address the emotional...