Fear Not

​Every year at Christmas, I love seeing pictures of the nativity scene with Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus. The sky above is aglow from the light of a brilliant star. Awe-struck shepherds stand nearby or kneel before the manger bed. Sheep and barnyard animals crowd around with bowed heads or sneak a peek at the Christ child.
 
The scenes are peaceful and joyful and beautiful.
 
When we sing about that first Christmas, we remember the angels who spoke of Jesus’ coming. An angel appeared to Mary telling her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus” (Luke 1:30-31). An angel appeared to Joseph to say, “ Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20). And an angel appeared to shepherds in a field near Bethlehem. “Do not be afraid” he told them. “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).
 
“Do not be afraid.”
 
We can only imagine what Mary, Joseph, or the shepherds thought of that angelic command. Or what Zechariah thought of the same command given by the angel who announced he and his wife would have a child in their old age. They were to name him John, and he would “go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:13, 17).
 
Given these messages of joy and hope, what did they expect to happen next? Could they possibly imagine God’s plan included a gruesome death for both John and Jesus at the hands of their enemies, the persecution of Jesus’ followers after his death, and the complete destruction of Jerusalem only a generation later?
 
“Do not be afraid.”
 
In the Bible, that phrase usually appears during a time of turmoil and uncertainty. It’s often followed by circumstances getting worse, not better. “Do not be afraid” is not God’s way of saying, “Don’t worry-everything is going to be great.” It’s his way of saying, “This is going to be hard. Stay focused on me, and don’t let fear get in the way because I have work for you to do.”
 
“Do not be afraid.”
 
Looking back on the year of 2020 we have seen much turmoil and uncertainty, with a global pandemic, civil unrest, a reeling economy, and bitter political battles. Our nation is deeply divided, and many families and churches are finding themselves divided as well. We turn to our Bibles, desperately searching for reassurance and hope, looking for the words, “Do not be afraid.” But we can’t take those words out of context. Not one person who was told to not be afraid received a get-out-of-trouble-free card and a happily ever after. Neither will we. Not yet.
 
Life will continue to be hard. Stay focused on God, and don’t let fear get in the way. He has work for us to do. It’s not time yet for the happily ever after. But God is with us. Jesus the Emmanuel is proof of that. Do not be afraid.