“Do not be afraid.”

“But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah.’ ” [Luke 1:13]

“And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary.’ ” [Luke 1:30]

“And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not.’ ” [Luke 2:10]

“...an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear…’ ” [Matthew 1:20]

The world that Jesus was born into is the same world we live in today; while the names of people and some nations may change, the hopes and fears of humanity remain pretty much the same, as Solomon wrote, “There is nothing new under the sun.”

Life is full of the unexpected, and few lives are not touched in some way, at some time, by the unexpected. The lives of Zechariah, Mary, the shepherds, and Joseph were touched by not only the unexpected, but by the Divine bursting into their lives in unexpected ways. While we don’t know what happened to the shepherds after that Holy Night, we do know that the lives of Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth, and of Mary and Joseph, were irrevocably changed. It is natural to be taken aback by the unexpected, it is even natural to fear to some degree, it is especially natural to fear when the Divine invades our lives for God is so “other” than we are, so far above us and beyond us, that when He bursts into life it is overwhelming.

And so we have the repeated assurance of angels to men and women, “Do not be afraid.” God comes in Christ to give peace and relationship, to reconcile us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and in doing so He desires to take our fears, our insecurities, our guilt, our sins...upon Himself. So He comes to give us life and love and to take that which is destroying us; no wonder the angelic message included “fear not”.

The birth of Jesus Christ was accompanied by words of peace.

But let us now look at the man Jesus, the Messiah (the Christ), on the night of His betrayal, the night before His crucifixion. On that night, also a Holy Night, He says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid,” (John 14:27). Now it is not angels giving a word of peace, it is the Son of God giving His word of peace, His very own peace. How could this be? He is about to be betrayed, abandoned, and crucified - how can He speak of peace? Think of how concerned He is that His followers have peace in light of His impending crucifixion. The powers of this age have finally caught up with Jesus, the religious leaders and Roman governor will do what Herod could not do when Jesus was a baby. Soon He that was announced to the shepherds will be tortured and die on a cross. Soon His mother, who laid Him in a feeding trough in Bethlehem, will see unspeakable cruelty inflicted on her son as He is not laid in a manger, but nailed to a cross. The trough made of wood, the Cross made of wood - the trough to feed animals, the Cross to feed humanity.

On Easter evening His disciples are huddled in a room in fear, the door to the room is locked because of fear. Have they forgotten the words of Jesus, the words of peace, the encouragement to not let their hearts be troubled or afraid?

“Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you’...Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.’ ” [John 20:19 - 23]

At the birth of Jesus words of peace are spoken by angels. The night before His crucifixion He speaks words of peace to His followers. The evening of the Resurrection Jesus appears and again speaks peace to His followers.

Isaiah the prophet writes (Isaiah 9:6 - 7):

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end…

The world that Jesus was born into is the same world we live in today, a world of uncertainty, a world of much sorrow, a world of injustice and inequity, and a world of fear. But the same God in Christ who spoke peace in that time is still speaking peace today to those who will hear Him and seek Him and open their lives to Him. God does not want us to live in fear, He wants to come into our lives and draw us into an intimate relationship with Himself and His Son Jesus. He does not want us to live in hearts and minds with locked doors, but to know what it is to open our minds and hearts to Him so that we may know the wonder of His love and care for us.

Yes, there is the unknown when God comes into our lives; yes, our lives will never be the same; yes, there will be the unexpected - but it will be a love we’ve never known, a life that we could have never imagined, and a peace so unexpected that it simply passes all our understanding. Isn’t this what we should expect when God comes in? Isn’t this what happens when He who fills the universe comes to live in a woman, a man, a child?

The angel says to the shepherds, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

You  are included in the all, this message is for you. You may be given many gifts in your life, but the gift of God’s love in Christ is the one gift that I hope you’ll receive and unwrap - do not be afraid, what is in the box was wrapped by God and it has your name on it - inside is His heart for you, inside is Jesus Christ. Many people leave this earth everyday without unwrapping God’s gift - He sends the gift to all, but many leave it under the tree. Jesus Christ gave His life to purchase this gift for you. I can’t say I fully understand all of this, I don’t think anyone really does, but I don’t need to know how a gift was made to enjoy it.

If the Christmas message is not true then it really means nothing; but if it is true it means everything.

Don’t be afraid of the One who loves you beyond all that you can imagine. Allow Him to be born into your life this Christmas.