Worrying

‘Zechariah... was terrified’ (Luke 1: 12)

‘[Mary] was much perplexed (Luke 1: 29)

‘ [the shepherds] were terrified’ (Luke 2: 9)

‘Do not be afraid (Matthew 1: 20; Luke 1: 13; Luke 1: 30; Luke 2: 10)

There seems to be a great deal of anxiety and terror in the Nativity accounts in the Gospels. And it is very understandable given all the circumstances!

With the sudden appearance of an angel in the Holy of Holies, news of an unexpected birth to unmarried parents, a heavenly host in the skies above the sheep fields, a demented King bent on bloody murder, a young family fleeing abroad and so on, there is much about which to be anxious and terrified!

Over many years now I have noted how often the main players in these Gospel accounts experience anxiety, perplexity and terror, sometimes explicit and sometimes implicit. But this is the first year that it has occurred to me that the acknowledgement of our own anxieties and terrors may be an important part of our Advent journey.

Like most (if not all) folks, there are times in my life when there circumstances have caused me deep anxiety, perplexity and even – on occasion – terror.

And at the moment, the world around is causing many of us a great deal of anxiety; climate change, political instability, ‘fake news’, the rise of extremism, constitutional uncertainty, growing inequality, and so on and on.

These are worrying times!

There is a simple message repeated time and again throughout the Nativity narratives to those who experience anxiety, perplexity or terror; ‘Do not be afraid’. That is a word for us too!

But is this just a well meaning but unhelpful response in the face of worry, anxiety and even abject terror? Easy for you to say, Mr Angel, but just telling me changes nothing!

I don’t think so.

Rather than thinking of these words of assurance as a kind of encouragement just to whistle a happy tune in the face of an unexpected and unwanted pregnancy that could lead to being ostracised by family and community or even to being put to death; rather than hearing these words as an invitation to always look on the bright side of life while fleeing from the wrath and rage of King Herod, these words are far from simply bland platitudes. We can see in the context of the passages themselves, that there are reasons given why the players in this story need not be afraid (and it is worth looking at the passages to see that this is the case; ‘Do not be afraid for...’!) But perhaps there is also something deeper going on here. Could it be that these words ‘Do not be afraid’ are an eschatological promise?

In other words, the reassuring words ‘Do not be afraid’ also may be pointing to the deeper reality that lies beyond this terror and beyond all our anxieties. And that deeper reality is the awaited Day of the Lord, when pain and sorrow and crying and dying will be no more, when peace will prevail, justice will be fully established, and creation will be reintegrated, when we will walk with God and God will walk with us.

There are often good reasons for us to worry. But there is also the assurance that there are reasons also not to be afraid. God has a plan for us, and for the whole of Creation. And in the end the Day of the Lord will come.

‘Do not be afraid’