DO NOT BE AFRAID
Readings for the Mass at Night
Isaiah 9:1-6; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14
Readings for the Mass During the Day
Isaiah 52:7-10; Hebrews 1:1-6; John 1:1-18
A family was making its Christmas crib; everybody was contributing, putting in the statues and the hay. Five-year-old Scott suddenly ran into his room, brought a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and placed it overlooking Mary and Joseph. It looked so menacing in that manger.
The dad was tempted to tell Scott: “Look, that dinosaur lived millions of years before Jesus was born. He wasn’t around during Christ’s time. And it didn’t look good in the manger.” He added: “I caught myself because I realized that, in essence, he had caught a truth of Christmas. For Christmas came to help us face the dinosaurs in life… those menacing terrors that seem to be so strong, so powerful. Christmas came to defeat them.”
We have so many fears in life! We fear life, we fear death, and everything in between. We fear rejection. We fear an uncertain future. There is fear caused by epidemics and disasters; by a changing economics and a warming planet. We have and face so many dinosaurs!
The antidote to our fears is found in the coming of Christ into the world. Recall that the first words of Adam are “I was afraid.” But the first words that herald the birth of Jesus (the second Adam) are “Do not be afraid.”
There are four times when Gabriel says “Do not be afraid” in the Christmas Story: to Zechariah because his prayer for a son was answered; to Mary because she was the favoured one who would bear God’s Son; to Joseph to take Mary as his wife because what was conceived in her was from the Spirit and would save his people; to the shepherds because he brought good news of great joy. In each case, Gabriel had to tell the recipients of his message not to be afraid.
We still have our fears. And to us, too, the message is: Do not be afraid because our God has provided the remedy for our fears: he has come; he has pitched his tent among us and has given us power to become children of God. He is the light that shines in the darkness to overcome it.
And so: Do not be afraid! Happy Christmas!
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