PENnED

Read Luke 2:1-20 

When we think of Christmas we begin to have this nice, warm feeling. Indeed, how can we not have such good feeling? Our past experiences of Christmas were mostly, if not all, pleasant. Today, Christmas Day, everything around us—the scents, sights, sounds, and, what else, mmm…  sarap (the smell of good food)—seem to conspire to give us that Christmassy feeling.

In the Philippines, Christmas is a long season that begins on the first month that ends with a “ber,” continues on to New Year’s Day and lasts until the Feast of the Magi or “Three Kings” on January 6. So when I talk about Christmas bear in mind that long season of celebration.

Since I was a kid, Christmas has been a pleasant experience for me. But not at the very beginning.  I was born on New Year’s Day, right within the very first hour, so the cacophonous and confusing sound of the world I was born into was just the exact opposite of a quiet and peaceful world that I came from: my mother’s womb.

Do you remember anything when you were in your mother’s womb? Well, when I was in my mother’s womb…. Just kidding! No, I don’t really have any memory of  my “womby” life, and I don’t have any memory of my birth …except that I remember how good looking I was when I was born! (That’s really according to my mother!)

Seriously now, when I was a little boy—not to say that I’m now a big boy!—I was scared to death whenever I heard those firecrackers!  So I assume that when I was born those firecrackers traumatized me! I would go behind my mother’s saya (a huge skirt)–or inside it!– but those loud and scary firecrackers and watusis—small firecrackers that when rubbed against a rough surface crackles into little sparks and jumps around—seemed to chase me wherever I went and I really had nowhere to hide, and I was just terrified!

They were terrified

Because of that terrifying experience I can appreciate that the shepherds in this Christmas story in Luke were at first scared:

 “⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.”

The story of Christmas, as far as the shepherds were concerned, started like a scary movie. Yeah, it was an angel of the Lord, but who sees an angel every day? If a strange figure in white would appear to you in a dark night, wouldn’t you be scared? I would! And yes, the light that shone around them was the glory of the Lord, but who really can tell between the glory of the Lord and St. Elmo’s fire or, as we call it in Tagalog, Santelmo?

But the shepherds’ fear I’m sure went deeper than that. They knew from history that in the past they were enslaved in Egypt, and while exiled in Babylon, life for them as a people became hard. Now, under the Romans, life was no better and they were afraid for them, their future and the future of their children and their children’s children.

Do not be afraid

But tonight, the words of the angel of the Lord calmed their fear and assured them that it was OK.  The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.” Why? Because…

I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Just as I realized that Christmas was not a season to fear but a season to celebrate, so the shepherds’ fear turned into joy and celebration! And they were not alone in their celebration because suddenly a “praise band” of angels appeared, praising God and saying,

 ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

They had a great experience. If something like that should happen in America today, I would not be surprised if somebody would start a church and perhaps call it “The First Church of the Joyful Shepherds.” The problem with some American churches, however, is that they may have everything, including a praise band, but because they have everything they forget about the Savior who gave them everything!

Not so the shepherds!

Let’s go to Bethlehem

 ¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

 ¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 

The shepherds were not content with just hearing. They did not stop in that joyful worship experience with the heavenly praise band. They had to see and encounter the Savior in person. So they said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem….”

So they went to Bethlehem…

¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 

So the shepherds did not just hear about the Savior. They had this personal encounter with the Savior. Having heard the good news and seen the Messiah, they, too, can now tell others about the Savior!

And what became of these shepherds who were initially terrified? They were no longer a fearful group. They became a happy band of shepherds. Yes, they themselves became, in their own way, a praise band! How do we know that? Here’s what it says about them in the end…

²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

So, are you afraid of anything?

Don’t be. Why? Because the Savior is born. Jesus can save you from fear itself, and he can give you peace.

Afraid of death? Jesus offers eternal life.

Afraid of the future or the unknown? Afraid that of the rumor that the world will end in 2012? Afraid that you might lose your job or means of living? Don’t be. Jesus holds the future!

In Jesus you can live a fear-free life. But first you need to encounter  Jesus in a personal way, as the shepherds did. Believe in him as your Savior and Lord. Receive him and let him be born in your heart. When you do, you will be born-again into a new life—a life free from fear. And then, you, too, can begin to spread the word: “Do not be afraid.”