Merry Christmas Eve to you.
This year has been, well, difficult. Painful. Sad. Confusing.
Grief – laced with a lot of fear – is in the air.
This morning, the word “groan” is stuck in my head.
If you listen closely, you can hear it. We are groaning.
Our hearts are broken. Our world is in upheaval. Our old normal is long gone.
And we don’t know what’s coming next.
Rewind a little over 2000 years ago to the first Christmas.
People were groaning.
People were groaning under the oppression of the Roman Empire.
People were groaning in the vice of economic distress and uncertainty.
People were groaning under the weight of their own personal tragedies and losses.
People were on the move back to their ancestral hometown to register for a census ordered by Caesar Augustus.
In the town of Bethlehem, a young teen was groaning in labor in a stable. There was no room for her anywhere else.
With her man at her side, she gave birth to a son. She wrapped her newborn in rags. His bed was a feed trough.
Amid all this groaning, at least four times in the overall Christmas narrative God says, “Do not be afraid.”
Here’s the last one:
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. 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. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
(Luke 2:10-12)
A poverty-stricken young couple away from home. A stable. Rags and a feed trough. Savior. Messiah. Lord.
Not exactly the beginning we might have expected for One who would be called King of kings and Lord of lords.
While the power brokers toyed with their illusions of control and the world was oblivious, a watershed event in history played out in a small, seemingly insignificant corner of Judea.
God was at work behind the scenes. Things are often not what they appear.
Thank goodness.
“Do not be afraid.”
Amid the upheaval and uncertainty.
Amid the anxiety and worry.
Amid the national crises and global shaking.
Amid the grief and the loneliness.
“Do not be afraid.”
I don’t know about you, but I am sick of fear. I have lived in fear and worry so often in my life. I want to be done with that.
I know fear will come knocking, but I don’t have to let it in the living room of my heart. I want to choose love instead.
“Do not be afraid.”
Merry Christmas to you.
Question: Are you struggling with fear? Feel free to comment and share. Just expressing what we’re afraid of can help.
Related resources:
Fear is Tough on Grieving Hearts – article
Grief Soundbites: Fear – Gary Roe YouTube
3 Things I Wish for You This Christmas – article
