If you open your Bible to the Christmas story, you’ll find an interesting pattern. The angel Gabriel appears to Zacharias and says, “Do not be afraid” (Luke 1:13). Gabriel also visits Mary and says, “Do not be afraid” (Luke 1:30). An angel appears to Joseph in a dream and says, “Do not be afraid” (Matthew 1:20). A host of angels appears to the shepherds in the field, and the shepherds hear, “Do not be afraid” (Luke 2:10).
Of course, the angels said much more than this one phrase, but all of their messages began with the command to fear not. Fr. Thomas Hopko said that “Fear not” is the most frequent command in the Bible, but then he would follow that up with, “But you can’t say, ‘Fear not,’ to somebody who’s not already afraid.”
Someone might be tempted to think that these passages mean that we should never have fear, or that fear is somehow a symptom of weakness or even sin. I think it would be a mistake to think that way. Fear is a normal and healthy emotion that God gave us. In each of the Scriptures mentioned, it was normal for the people to feel fear. The good news of the Gospel is not that we should reject fear, it is that we now have a new response to fear because of the truth we receive in Jesus.
The angels were not saying that these people should not have felt fear. They were saying that they did not need to continue feeling fear. Psychologists tell us that multiple times each second our brain is evaluating whether we are safe and secure. This perceived evaluation determines much of how we live our lives. It is normal for our brain to generate fearful thoughts and feelings, so as Christians, we have the opportunity to bring these thoughts and feelings to the Lord.
It is also probably true that deep down all people have very similar fears. The deepest fears likely have to do with rejection, abandonment, neglect, and futility. These deep fears show up most in our relationships. There is nothing worse than having someone you love to reject or abandon you. Also, many things people strive for are so that they will not be neglected and miss out on the respect, love, and meaning they crave.
It is also very common that if you combine fear with feeling trapped and isolated, you get a recipe for trauma. If we feel fear and we are alone, but we are not trapped, paralyzed, or immobilized, we can take action to find connection and get away from the fearful situation. Or If we feel fear and we are trapped, but we are not alone, we can find comfort to endure the fearful situation. Very often it is feeling both trapped and alone with which we have such trouble coping.
The Good News of Christmas speaks directly to all of these fears. Because of Jesus, we can know how much we are loved. We are precious to God. He will never leave you or abandon you, and you are never alone. The Church as Jesus' body is meant to be a community to help heal our brokenness, and this includes our fears.
I like to remind us to pray the Psalms, so perhaps this week, you could pray Psalm 27 (western numbering). It begins, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Remember, each Psalm is about Jesus, and it is also about you. I hope you will pray the whole of Psalm 27 out loud this week, but the ending says, “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!”
May the Good News of Christmas lead you to the source of comfort for all your fears, and may you find joy, peace, and hope for the eternal life where every tear and every fear will be wiped away. Merry Christmas!
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