This weekend, our plumbing backed up. It was gross. And as new homeowners, it was also scary.

The solution, in the end, was quite simple and easily fixed. The plumbers came out, opened a pipe in the backyard and snaked down toward the main sewer lines.

There was little truly surprising about the experience, but it was also terrifying.

Googling brought a lot of clarity to the situation quickly. We felt confident of how a plumber would fix the problem. It also brought new anxiety, as the price ranged from simple-to-complications-we-totally-didn’t-know-about. So it could be $200 or $5000. Somewhere in there.

It’s fascinating to think just how big a role fear of the unknown played in our last 24 hours.

Connecting that to our world right now should be easy. Fear of the unknown is driving conspiracies, anti-immigration rhetoric, and anti-masking. It’s also driving speculations about the election, our safety, and our ability to weather a pandemic into catatonic fear.

There should be little wonder why Jesus tells his followers not to be afraid in light of the storms around us. For it is the fear that drives us into catastrophe and speculation, not honest deliberation and reasoned decisions.

Jesus also tells us that fear is usually the problem. Not the source of the problem, but the actual problem.

Of all the things in our world right now that need fixing, fear makes them all worse.

Not only the fear of the unknown. But the fear of figuring out what to do about it.

And the fear of what we are likely to do about it.

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