Fear Not

"Fear not...do not be afraid." So spoke angels in Matthew's and Luke's accounts of the birth of Jesus.

I long to hear angels speak to me. I am, in many ways, a somewhat fearful person...more than cautious, less than timid. Many others may not see that in me, because I try to keep my fears hidden, particularly from myself. But I know that I constantly turn over in my mind everything that might go wrong, the imposing barriers that I might face, and threats to which my brave act or definitive word might subject me. And what if–God forbid!–I am wrong? I hesitate, a lot, out of fear.

Angelic assurance might overcome those fears...if I were sure those comforting angels were real.

Luke's angels tell Mary first, and then the shepherds, to "fear not." Why? Because Mary has found favor with God, and is about to become the center of Luke's infancy narratives. She has a promise to fulfill. Because the shepherds will soon hear "good news of great joy for all the people," and will publicly glorify and praise God because of that news. They have a job to do.

Matthew's angels tell Joseph not to "be afraid to take Mary as your wife." Why? Because Joseph will be the center, and the hero, of Matthew's infancy tales. Joseph has work to do.

But King Herod is "frightened, and all Jerusalem with him." The King's fear infests the entire political and social establishment, and so the "slaughter of innocents" is required. What is a fearful king to do?

Through angel-inspired dreams, the wise men are warned to find another route home and Joseph is warned to take his family to Egypt's safety and then back to Nazareth. Herod's fear prompts warnings from God to vulnerable travelers. God warns rich and poor alike to know the real dangers posed by fearful human power and wealth.

These biblical commands to "fear not" prepare the way for holy orders. Orders that will command those who hear them to change their plans and even to take risks to accomplish the purposes of God. "Do not be afraid" is not assurance that the individual who hears that imperative can expect to be kept safe above the fray, in peaceful isolation from the fury of the world. "Fear not" is what it takes, sooner or later, to be useful for the world.

"Fear not" counters the prevailing message of a world driven by fear. Herod is frightened, and all Jerusalem is frightened with him, because something stronger than fear is taking root right under royal power's own nose. Things like hope, love, peace. Those things, in that child.

Our nation, like our world, has never been free of reasons to fear. So much can go wrong, and so much has. It is the nature of life itself.

But since September 11, 2001, fear has been a primary motivator of many of our national decisions. It is a fear so great we call it "terror," extreme fear.

For fifteen years our leaders and we ourselves have talked and talked and talked about terror. We have codified and regularized and indexed and fought terror on as many fronts as we can find. We have even invented fronts just to be sure we cover all the bases.

And so in 2016 we were willing to submit ourselves to a nation-wide political campaign built upon fear and terror. We elected leaders who successfully foisted their fright upon "all Jerusalem," which shudders in the face of fear and terror, real and imagined.

But there is, and in my better moments I hear, a contrary word, which I take to be the word of angels, in my more open moments: "Fear not. Hope, love, peace...those things, this child...will prevail."

The moral arc of the universe still bends toward justice, but it looks to have developed a twist or detour most did not see coming. Herod's infanticide was such a twist, and there have been many others through the centuries. Nevertheless that arc, imperfect as it is, still shines, and is still worth any courage I might possess to follow. "Fear not...do not be afraid."

"Peace on earth, good will to all" endures, from Bethlehem's child to the end of the arc he will follow.  Rise up, shepherd, and follow.