Christmas 2020: Do Not Be Afraid

 

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” Luke 2:8-14

What are you afraid of? Everyone is afraid of something and some of us are afraid of many things. We are in the middle of a cultural season in this country when, I believe, our fears divide and separate us. What we fear determines which side we are on. Do we fear undocumented immigrants, or do we fear a militarized police force? Do we fear, maybe without admitting it to ourselves or even realizing it, people whose skin is darker than ours or do we fear white men in Hawaiian shirts toting guns to the state house? Do we fear economic collapse or a deadly virus? Do we fear the deterioration of long-held relationships over these fears? Or maybe all of it?

Whatever it is that we each fear, the angels bring us good news, and our great joy is that we know we do not have to be afraid. No matter what bad news we hear tomorrow, no matter what wolves or lions surround the sheep we care for, no matter the time or circumstance of our eventual demise, God has now, right this very day, come to live with us and share in our joys and sorrows and pains and to show us a way out of our fears.

I confess that I have not always been able to summon this reminder of good news when my fears close in, but today we immerse ourselves in that beautiful promise of a God who was born and swaddled and laid in a manger and was announced to the shepherds by angels—angels who first said, “Do not be afraid.”

Prayer: Dear Lord, on this day, and every day, thank you for the gift of your embodiment in our world. Help us each day to rejoice and to remember that we need not fear, for this baby born to live among us is the Messiah, Emmanuel, God with us. Amen.