Linda's Lightline

DO NOT BE AFRAID, DO NOT BE AFRAID, DO NOT BE AFRAID
By Linda Woodward

Angel after angel after angel has spoken…….

Luke 1:26-33: “In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendent of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting that might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

Yes, Mary found herself in what might just be the proverbial pickle. She found herself in a situation that she barely believed let alone anyone else would believe of her. Yet she did just what the angel said: while she may have felt fear, her faith outweighed her fear and she spoke the words of faith that I know I have fashioned my life around: “I am the Lord’s servant, … May it be to me as you have said.” Yes, bring on the stoning, bring on the disgust, the names, the “un-belief” -- because when it comes down to it, who cares about the un-belief?-- the angel said, “Do not be afraid.” What God had in store was to give His son, who was the Son of the Most High and His kingdom will never end. Was that far more important than the opinions of the unbelieving? The unbelieving……………….like Joseph?

Matthew 1:19-2l: “Because Joseph was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit”. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Joseph had pondered what Mary had said, and he just couldn’t with human heart -- believe her. Therefore, an angel had to be sent. Again. Dis- belief, even in the strongest of believers like Mary and Joseph, warranted angel action to prove, so to speak, that God indeed was behind this tale beyond tales…………….this tale that only those who truly believed…………in God, and in his angels………….would be fit to bring forth. So again an angel was sent, this time in a dream. To deliver the message to Joseph to stop doubting……………stop doubting what Mary said……………………and if he still doubted what Mary said then maybe he would believe an angel of God who re-iterated what Mary said. That in itself is important. She heard first -- he doubted her--- then God sent an angel of the Lord to re-iterate what Mary had already told him. (and that went to bold all on it’s own -- take that to heart.)

Ok so now we have Mary, who believed, but really needed Joseph to believe her, and then we have Joseph………..who didn’t. When Mary was afraid, God sent an angel to calm her --- not to change what she already believed, because she is the one who believed all along…but to validate the fact that what she believed was indeed true. Now Joseph didn’t believe, this truth itself or Mary for that matter, and yes, he too was afraid. So God sent an angel to calm Joseph and to actually change what he believed … for he believed that Mary was somehow mistaken and he would take things into his own hands and handle this his way. God sent an angel to show Joseph that he didn‘t need to be afraid or to doubt, for Mary was indeed telling the truth, the truth really was God’s truth, and God was indeed behind this and He had a plan. Boy, did He have a plan. Joseph and Mary were a big part of this plan: A plan for a kingdom that never ends. Finally we had two believers on the same page: Where two or more of you are gathered, there I am. Where two of you believe, it shall be given. Two faithful. Two strong. Two scared, but Two who truly believed. God, and each other - finally.

God then sent an angel to spread the news further…………by touching the listening ears and hearts of the shepherds…………..the shepherds…..

Luke 2: 8-11: “ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “ Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

If the shepherds didn’t “hear” the message when a multitude of angels sang Glory to God in the Highest around them after proclaiming the good news about Jesus, would that have changed what Mary and Joseph already had heard? Would it have changed Mary’s belief in what she chose to believe the moment the angel told her the unbelievable? Would it have changed Joseph’s belief, his firm assurance of what Mary said that he knew now to be true - that God was in , around and all throughout this miracle?

Did it matter whether all the shepherds believed when the angels finally came to them? Did Mary and Joseph need their ok? Or did the whole plan depend on these two who believed beyond belief --- in the unbelievable ---in God ---the plan ---- and in each other?

Merry Christmas………Believe… Believe ….. Believe. Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid.

For God is with us. He surely is with us. I do believe.

Still.