"When You're Afraid, Give Me Your Hand" (December 21, 2025 Sermon)

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Friends, today's theme and sub-theme in our ‘What Do You Fear, Insisting on Hope' Advent sermon series is 'When you're afraid, give me your hands.' Both of the passages Doug and I read are about solidarity. In the first passage, from Isaiah 41, God speaks to a very fearful people in exile, saying, 'Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.' The second passage, from Matthew, shows another act of solidarity between Joseph and Mary. Joseph, described as a righteous man, planned to avoid making a scene about the situation with Mary and decided to divorce her quietly. But in a dream—something that often happens in Matthew's gospel—an angel appears and tells Joseph, 'No, I'm calling you to be in solidarity with Mary.' The angel knew they needed each other, and, in truth, we all need each other. I love that even before Jesus takes his first breath, people are already working together to bring him into the world.

And that is the message of Christmas. My brief remarks today are simply to express gratitude and wonder for the many ways I have seen you all, as your pastor, take each other's hands and link arms in solidarity. I get a bird's eye view of how, both in big and small ways, this congregation has come together to support one another and our neighbors. Earlier this year, you supported me by holding my hand when I was about to lose my mind writing my thesis, but I got through it with your help, prayers, and blessings. You held my hand, and we linked arms together. This summer, our congregation came together to take the hands and link the arms of a dozen or so women experiencing homelessness who were sheltered in the floor right beneath where we sit today. You all prepared the space, organized and served meals, and showed acts of hospitality, and my heart bursts to see how your hearts overflowed with love for our neighbors. We collected over a thousand pounds of food just a few months ago when SNAP benefits were in question. You all also came together this summer during a difficult time marked by the deaths of longtime members of this congregation. That was a tough period, and I saw how we held each other together in Christ's name. As we enter the fourth year of my time as your pastor, I am deeply grateful for the ways you all have come together in Christ's name.

And the ways I mentioned today were quite significant and very public. But the good news of the gospel, every Advent, is that God enters our lives, sometimes in small, subtle, yet equally beautiful ways. There was no grand celebration when Joseph was visited by the angel in his dream, yet what he and Mary chose to do together initiated the process of healing and reconciliation that you and I carry on to this day. So, friends, keep doing good work, because whenever we do, we join Mary and Joseph in welcoming Christ into a fearful and broken world. But that fear and brokenness will not have the final word.

And so I’ll close today with words I share every Christmas from Howard Thurman called “The Work of Christmas.” He once wrote, "When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flock, the work of Christmas begins. To find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among others, and to make music in the heart." Friends, in the name of God, the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, may all of us God's beloved children say.

In the name of God the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, may all of us, God’s children, say: Amen.

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Stephen Fearing

Stephen was born in 1988 in Cookeville, TN, where his parents met whilst attending Tennessee Tech. Shortly after, they moved to Dalton, Georgia where they put down roots and joined First Presbyterian Church, the faith family that taught Stephen that he was first and foremost a beloved child of God. It was this community that taught Stephen that it was OK to have questions and doubts and that nothing he could do could every possibly separate him from the love of God. In 1995, his sister, Sarah Kate, joined the family and Stephen began his journey as a life-long musician. Since then, he has found a love of music and has found this gift particularly fitting for his call to ministry. Among the instruments that he enjoys are piano, trumpet, guitar, and handbells. Stephen has always had a love of singing and congregation song. An avid member of the marching band, Stephen was the drum major of his high school's marching band. In 2006, Stephen began his tenure at Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC where he majored in Religion and minored in History. While attending PC, Stephen continued to explore his love of music by participating in the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, Jazz Combo, Jazz Trio, as well as playing in the PC Handbell ensemble and playing mandolin and banjo PC's very own bluegrass/rock group, Hosegrass, of which Stephen was a founding member (Hosegrass even released their own CD!). In 2010, Stephen moved from Clinton to Atlanta to attend Columbia Theological Seminary to pursue God's call on his life to be a pastor in the PC(USA). During this time, Stephen worked at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Silver Creek Presbyterian Church, Central Presbyterian Church, and Westminster Presbyterian Church. For three years, Stephen served as the Choir Director of Columbia Theological Seminary's choir and also served as the Interim Music Director at Westminster Presbyterian Church. In 2014, Stephen graduated from Columbia with a Masters of Divinity and a Masters of Arts in Practical Theology with an emphasis in liturgy, music, and worship. In July of 2014, Stephen was installed an ordained as Teaching Elder at Shelter Island Presbyterian Church in Shelter Island, NY. Later that year, Stephen married the love of his life, Tricia, and they share their home on Shelter Island with their Golden Doodle, Elsie, and their calico cat, Audrey. In addition to his work with the people who are Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, Stephen currently serves as a commission from Long Island Presbytery to the Synod of the Northeast and, beginning in January of 2016, will moderate the Synod's missions team.