“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to all on whom his favor rests. When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’” – Luke 2:8-15
“Do not be afraid,” these words appear a lot in the Bible and are a big part of the Christmas story. Angels, in our culture, are typically represented as beautiful winged creatures, even cute at times, but that may not be entirely accurate. In fact, in nearly every biblical encounter, angels can be described in one word – terrifying! People to whom they appeared shook with fear and often fell before them. The common angelic greeting was, “Do not be afraid.”
Elizabeth and Zechariah, the parents of John the Baptist, were shocked and amazed by their visitation. Mary needed the angel’s reassurance that there was no reason for fear, as did her future husband Joseph when the angel appeared to him. Then there are the shepherds. These working men, doing their job out in the fields, we not trained to receive angelic announcements. They were doing what needed done, when suddenly an angel appeared to them and, they were terrified. They desperately needed the angel to tell them to be fearless.
Sometimes, we need reassurance and encouragement, even when we are receiving a word from God. Just like these faithful people surrounding Jesus’ birth into the world, we need to know that God is not the author of fear, and that we have not been given a spirit of fear. We need the reminder that we can trust God, not just when things are bad, but sometimes, when things are quite good.
The announcement the shepherds received was some amazingly good news, but first they needed to move beyond their fears. Once the angel assured them that they were blessed, they were able to hear the word God wanted to share with them, and when a whole multitude of angel armies joined in the joyous song, the fear was gone. With that obstacle removed, they could respond to message and set off to be the first to greet the holy family.
Fear can be debilitating, but God is in the business of liberating, setting us free from the fears that hold us back. One of the wonderful truths of Christmas is God’s desire to remove our fear and replace it with faith. We all have fears, and sometimes, they keep us from fully enjoying the great things God is doing in our lives. The good news is God wants to help us move beyond our fear, trust his love, and enjoy the life he gives.
This Christmas, give God your fears and receive in their place the faith respond to the invitation of the Savior.
