“DO NOT BE AFRAID”
Luke 2:1-20
By Reverend Kenneth Sauer, Pastor, Parkview United Methodist Church, Newport News,
VA
George W. Truett, one of the great preachers of the first half of the twentieth century,
said that his experience with people led him to preach on the theme of fear again and again.
And why is this?
Because fear is very much a part of our lives. Maybe you’re afraid of losing your job, or
your health, or losing your finances. Maybe you’re afraid of not being accepted by others. Or
maybe you’re just afraid of growing old. The list could go on and on, because all of us have
things that cause us to experience the emotion we call ‘fear’.
When I was working in the television business, a friend of mine told me, “You know
Ken, when I was a child I used to be afraid to go to sleep because I would have these terrible
nightmares. Now the nightmares begin when I wake-up.”
Unfortunately, I’m afraid that many of us can relate to this sad statement.
So what is it that causes all this fear?
I think that ultimately it is the fact that we are living in a fallen world.
Fear entered the world at the same time that sin entered the world.
When Adam and Eve ate the fruit off the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they hid
from God.
They hid because they were afraid.
For the first time human kind felt that horrible sensation that we all know as fear.
And ever since, fear has been surrounding us, paralyzing us, and often overcoming us.
So, is there any remedy for fear?
Do we have any chance at getting this demon off our back?
Often, people will try to get rid of their fear by turning to alcohol, drugs, and violence.
But in the end, these things only lead to more fear and more problems.
Some of us try to solve our battles with fear by making money. But this only results in
more fear as we become afraid that we will lose this money, or that Mr. Jones across the street
has more money than we do, and therefore we must compete with Mr. Jones out of fear.
The only remedy to conquering fear comes from God!
Before the Fall, there was no fear in the garden of Eden, there was no separation from
God, there was no reason to be afraid.
So in order to conquer fear, we must regain that relationship that we were created to have
with our Creator.
And on this Christmas Eve we have come to celebrate the birth of the One who came into
this world in order to re-establish that relationship.
The angel spoke to the shepherds on the night that Jesus was born and said, “Do not be
afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of
David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”
The message of Christmas is that if Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, we do not need
to be afraid.
Because God is not a God of fear--God is a God of peace and perfect love.
And as the Bible says in 1st John, “Perfect love drives out fear.”
So the closer we get to the love of God, the farther we get from fear.
And the way that we get close to God is through faith in Christ Jesus.
As the Bible says, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the
man Christ Jesus.”
What does this mean in practical terms?
Well, for one thing, it means that our security is in our faith in God, not in the things of
this world.
Security is not about safety, it is about faith and courage.
There are many people in our culture who live in great safety and prosperity, yet their
lives are consumed by worry and fear.
On the other hand, there are people in this world who live in very difficult and dangerous
places but they have security, because they are full of faith and hope.
We want to be safe, but it is more important for us to be secure in our faith and to find
our courage in God.
The Bible says, “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be
shaken but endures forever.”
Security is not the absence of trouble, but it is the confidence and courage in the midst
of trouble.
And this confidence and dcourage comes from our faith.
The angel said to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid.”
What a wonderful and beautiful and magnificent statement!
Do not be afraid!
God does not want us to be afraid.
Just think, God could have come into this world anyway He wanted to.
He could have come in and exploded on the scene in a very intimidating manner.
He could have chosen to be born in some royal fashion, in the most comfortable of all
settings, with His army by His side.
But this is not our God.
This is not how our God operates.
Instead, God chose to be born in the most humble of settings, with no one by his side
other than Mary, Joseph, and maybe some farm animals.
How scary is this?
How intimidating is this?
There is an old saying that the greater you are, the less you feel the need to impress, and
God has proven that He is the greatest of all....because He didn’t feel the need to impress
anyone!
So the angel said to the shepherds, “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the
people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”
Wow!
These were the first persons to hear this amazing announcement!
These were the persons whom God chose to reveal Himself to first.
These shepherds!
Shepherds were really looked down upon in Jesus’ day.
Their reputations were lowly at best, and religious people snubbed them and ignored
them.
They were despised because they were unable to attend religious services and to keep the
ceremonial laws of washing and cleansing.
Their flocks just kept them too busy.
What a beautiful foretaste of the salvation to come: God gave the first message of His
Son to common shepherds, those who were looked upon as sinners.
And the angel of the Lord told them “Do not be afraid.”
The angel told the shepherds to go and find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a
manger.
Then, “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising
God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor
rests.”
The word “host” means an army of angels--probably ten thousand times ten
thousand--and they cried out for peace, for good will toward men.
By peace they meant the peace that passes all understanding.
The peace that brings calm in the face of fear.
It’s the peace of reconciliation.
Reconciliation between God and humankind.
And the angels were praising God that this reconciliation had now begun--was now
going to be possible through the birth of a Savior--Christ the Lord!
And when the angels left them, and had gone back into heaven the shepherds were not
afraid!
No, they were excited!
They were so excited that they rushed to see this Savior for themselves.
And when they had seen Him, they told everyone they could about Him, and all who
heard them were amazed.
And when the shepherds returned to their fields, they were “glorifying and praising God
for all the things they had seen and heard!”
The fear that had siezed them and terrified them was gone...because they had seen
for themselves that God is good, and humble, and kind.
This Christmas Eve, let’s think about what this means for our lives.
God loves us so much that He chose to come to us in the most humble fashion, so that we
need not be afraid of Him.
And if we need not be afraid of the Soveriegn God who created this universe....if we
know that He loves us more than we could ever imagine....if we know that he has come
appearing to the lowest of the low, to sinners, to people just like you and me...then we can
return to our jobs, and our families, and our homes glorifying and praising God....
Knowing that we need not be afraid of the things in this world which aim to cause us
fear...
There are no guarantees in this life for any of us. We are not always safe, but we are
loved--and this is our security.
A wise person once wrote, “Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen.
Don’t be afraid. God is with you.”
Life is not always safe, but God is good, and we can turn to Him at any time. He is with
us no matter where the journey takes us--and He takes our hands and walks beside us.
There is no better news. There is no greater security.
The New Living Bible puts it this way: “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s
love?
Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are
hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death?...No, despite all these things,
overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing
can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the
demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell
can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean,
nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in
Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Praise the Lord, and Merry Christmas!
