Luke’s Gospel begins the story of Jesus with this opening line: “In the time of Herod…” This detail may seem minor to modern readers, however, it reveals layers of information about the fearful world Jesus entered. And yet, throughout the stories of Christ’s birth, the whispers of angels deliver a surprising message: “Do not fear.” In our own time, we might ask: is it even possible to be fearless in a fearful world? When Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the magi are each called into God’s redemptive story, they don’t deny their fears – they move through them. They ask questions, hold fast to courage, trust in good news, and say, “Here I am, Lord.” This
Advent, what if we sought to form a different relationship with fear? How might we acknowledge fear without letting it rule us? How might we catalyze our fears into love and action? Together, the stories of Advent invite us to identify the places where fear is present, while also finding our way toward hope.
