Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. Isaiah 41:10
I have always loved the Nativity story. Even before I had a personal relationship with Jesus, the characters fascinated me, the narrative gripping and diverse. The ancient Jewish people may have been foreign to me, but I was always engrossed in their culture and the richness of their traditions.
Hearing the story of Jesus’ birth as a child, I was naïve to the nuances of the story; the implications of an unwed mother; the moral struggles of a righteous man. I was also clueless as to the intricacies of the minutia of such a complicated, miraculous event. We celebrate Christmas with all it’s comfort and joy and tend to forget that the players in the story were most likely terrified. They were going against social norms. Every step they took was a step of faith from Mary, to the Wise Men, to the shepherds. Each one needed to be brave. Each one needed to trust and be obedient to the calling on their heart. Each one needed to…
Fear not.
Biblical scholars believe Mary would have been around 14 years old when the Angel Gabriel appeared before her and said “‘Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.’ And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.’” (Luke 1:26-38 KJV)
Mary knew this would be complicated, since she had never been with a man. The punishment, in those days, for unmarried women to be pregnant was death. However, Mary replied, “‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.’ And the angel departed from her.”
Mary set aside fear and doubt and she became a willing participant in the greatest event in history. “And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.” Her maternal love and sacrifice followed in the footsteps of her son from the manger to the cross.
May we all believe, as Mary did, that God will fulfill his promises to us and may we...
Fear not.
But… Did you know that the Christmas Story doesn’t start with Mary? In the Gospel of Luke, the Christmas Story begins with a righteous man named Zechariah. He was selected, by lottery, to go into the temple and burn incense before the Lord. While he was there an angel appeared to him. Zechariah was, of course, terrified but the angel told him “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John…” This was a miraculous prophecy since Elizabeth was “along in years” and barren.
Unfortunately, Zechariah, doubted the angel and was struck mute.
The prophecy came to pass and Elizabeth became pregnant. Advancing in her pregnancy, Elizabeth’s cousin, Mary, came to visit. “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” (Luke 1:40-45 NIV)
As for Zechariah, he remained speechless until the day came to name his child. It was then that his tongue was loosened and he proclaimed, “He is to be called John.”
How do these events relate to the birth of the Savior? The baby that Elizabeth would bring into the world was none other than John the Baptist, who would “prepare the way for the Lord”.
May we all find the courage, like Zechariah, and faithfully believe, even when we may not understand and may we...
Fear not.
Another important participant in the Christmas story is, of course, Joseph. Joseph of Nazareth was a descendant of Abraham and David. He was an upstanding, faithful Jewish man. He was an active participant in his community and respected.
The marriage customs of the Jewish people are vast and complex, but one expectation that was simple and clear: an engagement would last a year, man and woman behaving as the other’s spouse in all ways except the marriage bed. I can only imagine his shock and heartbreak Joseph must have experienced upon learning of the condition of his betrothed.
The implications of claiming a pregnant girl as his future wife in his culture would have been staggering. Joseph would have been worthy of gossip and subject to ridicule. However, “Because Joseph... was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But... an angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘...do not be afraid.’” (Matthew 18-25 NIV) The angel used the same words to comfort Joseph as he did to Mary and Zechariah. “Do not be afraid...” With those words, Joseph accepted a holy responsibility to be the earthly father of God-in-the-flesh. Obedience without fear takes courage and faith.
May we all be inspired, as Joseph was, to be faithful in our obedience and may we...
Fear not.
The shepherds of Bethlehem “lived in the fields” and “kept watch over their flocks by night”. These were dedicated, hard working men whose lives and livelihood was anchored in their work. Shepherds’ work was physical, demanding and without end. They were probably poor, dirty and uneducated.
However, consider this… These poor, dirty, uneducated men were chosen to be the first to hear the news that the Messiah was born. The Angel appeared to them in the heavens, with a multitude of heavenly hosts, and they were “terrified”. But the Angel said “Do not fear. I bring you good news that will bring you great joy...A Savior has been born.” (Luke 2:8-12 NIV)
The Angel reassured the shepherds that they had nothing to fear. Sound familiar? The shepherds were instructed that they should be filled with joy for the fulfillment of the sacred promise of a redeemer for the Lord’s people. They must have been impressed upon, because when the Angel left them, they “hurried off” and found the baby, “spreading the news” of what they had seen and heard. They couldn’t wait. They couldn’t contain themselves. They felt compelled to find the infant; compelled to spread the joy of the Lord.
May we all hurry to find the joy of the Savior, Jesus, and, like the shepherds, share that joy with others and may we…
Fear not.
And last, but certainly not least, our story wouldn’t be complete without the mysterious Magi.
There are many questions circulated regarding the Wise Men from the “East”. The truth we know from scripture is that several men, who were considered educated and “wise”, rode literally hundreds, if not a thousand miles, following a star to the one they called “the king of the Jews”. They endured this journey to “worship him” and bring him “treasures”. They also avoided a murderous plot by King Herod and were all warned in a dream (bolstered perhaps by an angel?) to avoid Herod on their return.
The Wise Men followed the Star with knowledge and blind faith. They had studied as much as they could before they had to climb on the camel’s back and put action to their faith. Though our contemporary text does not explicitly use the words “fear not”, we know that it must have taken great bravery and faith for them to fulfil the mission that was placed on each of them to honor the Christ Child with the first Christmas gifts. Gifts that would not only honor him, but whisper validation of his divinity, humanity and sacrifice.
May we each, like the Magi, find the determination to seek knowledge of the truth and to apply it as we walk through the coming year with faith, hope and love and may we...
Fear not.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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