Don't Be Terrified

8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: ¹¹to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ¹⁴ ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’

The call, down through the ages: Do not be afraid for see -- I am bring you good news of great joy for all people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

The angels appeared in the glory of the Lord and announced to a terrified group of shepherds: Do not be afraid.

Do not be terrified.

In the year 2021 the world needs to hear this angelic call to trust in God's wisdom.

It is not a new request. The Prophets of old were continually calling people to remember God's promise of possibility -- the promise that God is to be trusted above all the noise and destructive activity.

"Those who have ears listen."  Was the baby Jesus advice.

 ....for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: ¹¹to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.'

God, wrapped in bands of clothe lying in a manger, on that cold night.

Just think about that.

We hear these words so often that we miss the clue.  

The clue of where the good new of great joy comes from.

God born in the skin of that baby.

A God who cared so much for his human creation that he finally stop living out in cyber space some where. 

He decided to physically, come down among his children, to help them live in peace and good will. 

instead of their own clueless ways of being.

You see, it is my belief that God was completely aware of our inability to comprehend the truth of God's omnipotence -- unlimited great power.

That is, we human beings are so attuned to the human way of thinking and being; that we can only believe in a god that does it our way.  And that way of understanding leads us into false, flawed, conclusions about who and what and how God is.

And thus our fear.

The fear that we can't make life right. So then, neither can God make things right.  And so then how can anything become right?

And our minds go into a huge spinning conversation without any answers.

That is why, I think, God needed to come down to our level.  To actually walk along beside us and help us to finally do it his way.

"Those who have ears listen."

Really try to hear this magnificent, extravagant, promise born that first night as Mary gave birth to a new hope for the entire world.

Don't be so incredulous to something that can move our complicated lives into the possibility of peaceful being.

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. ²This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³All went to their own towns to be registered. ⁴Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. ⁵He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. ⁷And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: ¹¹to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 

¹⁴ ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
   and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ ¹⁶So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. (Luke 2)