Do Not Be Afraid

 

What are you afraid of? What fears plague your thoughts? 

All of us are dealing with our first pandemic Christmas and everyone is processing it differently. Fear of the unknown, fear of partial or incomplete knowledge, fear of making the wrong choice and so many more fears just pop up along the way. 

In preparation for our family Christmas, we had a zoom call to discuss how COVID will affect our Christmas gatherings. Sure there is some fear of getting COVID, but the bigger fear is passing COVID on to the more vulnerable members of our family. COVID is a virus we still know very little about, while most who get it will recover fully, we have to acknowledge there is a small percent who won’t. We don’t want our Christmas celebration to compromise anyone. 

I know many of you are asking the same questions and have similar fears. Should we cancel? Should we gather? Thankfully we have a place that is large enough to gather, and though it will be a little different, we will still be together.

Perhaps more than any other year, we need the message that was proclaimed leading up to the birth of Christ that first Christmas, “Do not be afraid!”  

We are continuing on in our Advent series and looking at Christmas through a different lens. Two weeks ago we reflected on how Jesus is the God-Man (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus being the “only begotten of the Father,” the unique Son of God who is 100% God and 100% man, truly one worth celebrating! 

Last week we looked at Mary and Martha and were reminded that Immanuel means “God with us,” shouldn’t we strive to be like Mary during Christmas and spend time with Jesus, the God-Man?

Today, I want us to consider four encounters that happened in preparation for the first Christmas, that declare “Do not be afraid!” 

Read Luke 1:5-19 – Zechariah

Zechariah was a faithful man. He was faithful to his wife, Elizabeth, of many years. He was faithful to his God, and was selected to be the priest to go in an offer incense before the Lord. Zechariah and Elizabeth were in their advance years, and they were childless because Elizabeth could not conceive. What fears do you think they had? 

As Zechariah went about his priestly duties, an angel appeared to him with a message from God! “Do not be afraid, Zechariah! Your prayer has been heard and you and Elizabeth will have a son, and you shall call him John!” 

Try to imagine what it would have been like to be Zechariah going into the Temple to offer incense, and encountering an angel of the Lord. What would that have been like?

Today, Cindy was loading her car to take the gifts the ladies of our church put together for Lydia’s Home. I saw she went out to load them in the trunk, so I thought I’d help. I grabbed one of the gifts and headed outside. Well, Cindy wasn’t expecting the help and as she turned to enter the church she encountered me exiting the church and I startled her. I apologized for the start, but have to admit that something like this happened on a few occasions. I am no angel, but I guess I should start saying “don’t be afraid Cindy”. 

Surely Zechariah would have been frightened by the angel, and so an appropriate message. But raising a child in his advance years, watching his wife go through a pregnancy, trying to explain to everyone what was happening, there was a lot to fear. But this was God’s plan, and the angel said “do not fear.”

Luke 1:26-38 – Mary 

Unlike her cousin’s husband who was old, Mary was very young, probably 13-17 years old. She was just making plans for her life. She met a boy she loved and they were engaged. They had plans for their life, dreams to fulfill. But that was all about to change.

Gabriel, an angel of the Lord, visited Mary and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But that startled Mary and she was troubled by that.

Gabe continued, “Do not be afraid, for you have found favor of the Lord and you will conceive and bear a son, and you shall call him Jesus.” 

If it was strange for Zechariah to hear his message, though old, he was married. Mary on the other hand was young, not married and had never been with a man. You can appreciate her surprise. She was to be the mother of the Son of God. God had a plan, and he wanted Mary to know that nothing was impossible with Him, so he gave her a sign that her cousin, Elizabeth, was already pregnant. 

Mary had a lot to be afraid of with this news. What would Joseph think? What would her parents think? What would the community think? Would she have a husband to help her? Would she be cast out? Yet, she was willing to be the servant of the Lord!

Matthew 1:18-25 – Joseph 

Joseph was a just and righteous man. He was a working man. He had his pride and his dreams. He was engaged to the woman he loved and was preparing to take her as his bride. Then he received word from Mary that she was pregnant. Talk about a lot to be afraid of!

He was preparing to break off the engagement quietly, because he loved her, when Gabriel paid him a visit. What did Gabe say? You guessed it, “Do not be afraid!” 

“Joseph, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for God has a plan and the baby Mary is carrying is the Son of God,” Gabe said. 

If Joseph had a lot to be afraid of before, it was only more magnified. You will take care of the Son of God, don’t mess up! Yet he received the word of the Lord and obeyed. He took Mary to be his wife, but didn’t consummate the marriage until after the birth of Jesus. 

Luke 2:8-14 – Shepherds

Have you ever been on the outside looking in? You have responsibilities that are keeping you from what you really want to be doing? I think of the shepherds that way. Sitting off on a distant hillside overlooking the city. They can see the lights, and maybe even hear the hustle and bustle going on. However, they can’t join in because they have to tend the sheep. 

A thankless job, but one that must be done. What do shepherds have to fear?

Of all the groups of people, it was this group that God chose to send His angels to with the announcement of the birth of His Son. This appearing was quite the spectacle and the shepherds were afraid. The message came, “Do not be afraid, for I bring you good news of great joy! Jesus is born!” 

Do not be afraid because God has a plan and He is working that plan out! This message is weaved throughout the Bible, Do not be afraid, for God is at work, He is with you, He has not forgotten you, and He will keep His promises! 

What are you afraid of this Christmas? Remember the original greetings of the season, “Don’t be afraid!” 

Isaiah 41:10

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.