After thirty plus years of hearing the Christmas story, I
find myself questioning the deeper meaning of this story. Surely, this story so
beloved by the generations can still speak to a rational, progressive Christian such
as myself. It is clear that the gospels don’t remember this story the same way,
and Apostle Paul, the first Christian writer, did not even know about birth
narrative. There are probably any number
of ways that we can rationalize the Christmas story. In fact, we could even
agree that the birth of Jesus did not happen in this way. Scholars and
theologians over the years have even questioned the authenticity of the birth
narrative and if it is really that essential for the post-modern believer. All of this intrigues me
and over 25 years of interpreting this story, I can accept that Matthew and
Luke each had a different reason for remembering the birth of Jesus the way
they did. I can even accept that maybe this story isn’t literally true and that
this is really an effort on the part of Matthew and Luke to help us understand
the distance that God will go to dwell among humanity. One could debate this in
any different directions and I would welcome such a powerful conversation, but
today I would like to write about one small part of the Christmas story and one
that doesn’t even include Mary, Joseph, the stable or baby Jesus. As I’ve read
and re-read the Christmas narrative this year, I am drawn to a small part of Luke’s narrative, of what the modern believer calls the Christmas story.
In Luke’s version of the story, the angels find the
shepherds in a field watching their sheep and the voice of God says to the
shepherd, “Do not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy
for all the people…” The assumption that the shepherds were afraid
draws me to reflect upon the Christ Child as a 21st Century
Christian who has certainly observed the growing despair, anxiety, and fear of
the America people. It would seem that over the last 8-10 years, our civilized
nation has regressed to a state that seems primitive and out of place for what
many would claim as a strong Christian nation. I would argue that this has never been true, but for the sake of argument, I will accept this assumption.
It would seem to me that the phrase, “…Do not be afraid…” is pointing to what
seems to lie behind our facade as being a great nation of brave men and women. I
think that when we are brave, we are brave for the wrong reasons. We think that
having the best military in the world, somehow justifies our presupposition
that we are a brave and courageous people. I think for some that is what they truly believe. I would argue that we are not. Rather, we are like the shepherds on that first
Christmas morning. In fear they drew away from the voice of God. The fear was so obvious to God that the first words
out the mouth of God was, “…Do not be afraid…” In many ways we are just like the shepherds on that first Christmas morning -- afraid.
It seems that behind our stoicism, our air of confidence and superiority,
we are really people who are very afraid. Many of us would not admit to this,
but we are. We’re afraid of changes and new experiences. We’re afraid to move
away from the communities and families that we’ve known all of our lives. We’re
afraid of sickness, suffering and dying. We’re afraid to be alone or quiet, always
looking for one more distraction so we don’t have to face the monster within. In
the middle of the night, when we find ourselves face to face with our own
insecurities, is probably the only time that we are most honest with ourselves. As even a
casual observer of the American culture, one can see how fearful we are of
religious groups that believe differently than we. We are afraid of people
whose skin is a different color and afraid of people who act and do things
differently than we do. Instead of really having a good conversation with folks,
we talk about the latest football game or basketball game. We bring up the
weather, we complain about the government and we tell people that we won’t talk
about money, politics or religion because we’re really afraid of being relevant,
real, connected, or heaven forbid that we should believe differently than someone
else. We bury our faces in our cellphones when we’re having supper with friends
and choose to surround ourselves with televisions and noise so that we don’t
have to have an honest, interested, and stimulating conversation with other people, lest we disagree or even have a robust debate. We are a fearful people and we are folks who have a lot of difficulty trusting
one another and even trusting God. When we experience a faith crisis in our life, we are more than likely experiencing a lack of trust in God and in God's actions. Ultimately, this translates into fear.
During this time of year, when the world seems safer than
any other time, we are invited into a world where the shepherds heard
about something new, a new King that the angels proclaimed was the Messiah, the one we will come to know as Christ Jesus. The shepherds on the hillside remind us of our own
vulnerabilities, our own insecurities, or our own distrust of God and one
another. In the night, while shepherds watched their flocks, the voice of God
comes into our darkness and touches our fearful hearts with words that inspired
the shepherds to make haste and go to Bethlehem to worship the Messiah who is
Christ the Lord.
Even in times when Christmas is a distant memory or still a
long way off, we can come face to face with our humanness and hear the angels
sing. In our discomfort and in our uncertainty, we can remember the Christ
child who was born in less than ideal circumstances and we can still follow the star that
leads us to a place where we can find peace and comfort, joy and wholeness and
a place where we can hear the angels proclaim to us again, “...Fear not for I
bring you good news!” As the apostle Paul writes, “…nothing can separate us
from the Love of God in Christ Jesus." This I can believe.
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