"Life Without Fear" - Luke 2:8-20 - December 24, 2000

When the angel appeared to the shepherds they heard the words, "Do not be afraid." Afraid of what? I can’t imagine how these crude, tough, outdoors men would be afraid of anything. But, for some unknown reason the angel found it necessary to give them assurance.

Perhaps the angel’s presence was so mysterious and overpowering that the shepherds would have fled or panicked. Perhaps there was such a bright radiance in the middle of the darkness that they would have been totally bewildered. Or, maybe something else was happening here. The shepherds were not exactly society’s best citizens. They were dishonest, shiftless, nomads who grazed their sheep on other peoples’ land. They were outcasts, poor, dirty and alienated from the mainstream of society.

They remind me of the old man who comes by in the middle of the night and helps himself to the aluminum cans in my recyclable bin. He gets there before the recycle truck then cashes the aluminum cans he has collected for his own profit. I always believed this practice is a bit unethical since he is taking advantage of we who faithfully place our recyclable items by the curb for reclamation by the city.

If I was out in the dark, as the shepherds were, operating independently and helping myself as if it were my own, I would feel sneaky. And if it were me, helping myself to those aluminum cans, and someone confronted me by shining a flashlight in my face, I think I would feel very guilty. Its like getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar, so to speak.

So perhaps the shepherds, who didn’t exactly have warm, caring hearts, were experiencing feelings of guilt of their own. And when the warm, glowing, loving presence of God appeared to them they needed words of reassurance to keep them from running.

When people feel guilty or ashamed they are afraid. Afraid of what others might think, afraid of the potential consequences, afraid of rejection, afraid of the unknown. There are other fears too; the fear of being hurt, the fear of getting sick, the fear of making a commitment, even the fear of giving our love. All of us, at some time or another, experience times when we are afraid.

In his sermon, "Do Not Be Afraid," by Dr. Doug Oldenberg, he said, "Before we can really sing the joyous songs of Christmas, we must first get in touch with the pain and pathos of life. Before we can really hear the angels say, "Do not be afraid," we have to get in touch with our fears."

Fear paralyzes us, imprisons us and often haunts us. Fear holds us back, keeps us from giving, from loving, and forgiving. And just as angels can appear to shepherds they can appear to us. The loving, forgiving, presence of God is always with us, waiting to erase our guilt, replace our shame with joy, and warm our hearts to love our neighbors as ourselves. It may not be as profound as it was that night in the fields near Bethlehem, but it is always there, ready to intervene on our behalf.

In a small, Midwestern community, Brian, was driving home one evening on a two-lane country road. He was unemployed and had been out looking for work all day long. He was driving an old, beat-up Pontiac, its headlights not working. It was getting dark and snow was falling. Because he had no lights he could see along the side of the road. He came upon an elderly woman, her Mercedes parked just off the pavement.

He pulled over in front of her and got out to give her a hand. She seemed worried, unsure about this stranger, especially in a remote area. "Would he hurt her?" she pondered. His tattered appearance and sputtering vehicle was no sign of comfort. To her he looked poor and hungry. On the other hand, to him she seemed very afraid.

"I’m here to help you ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where its warm. By the way, my name is Brian." She had a flat tire, and for an elderly woman, on a snowy, wintry evening, on a remote road, this was a nightmare. Brian crawled under the car and placed the jack and proceeded to change the tire. As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk. She told him she was from St. Louis and just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for stopping and coming to her aid.

Brian just smiled and after changing the tire closed her trunk. She asked him how much she owed him, but he said he was glad to help someone in need. Brian was always helping others because people had helped him in the past. It never occurred to him to act in any other way. He told her if she really wanted to help someone she could give assistance to someone who had need. "And when you do.." Brian said, "Just think of me."

The woman drove off and a few miles down the road she saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat before continuing her journey home. It was a dingy place, with two old gas pumps outside. The decor, the cash register, even the telephone seemed like things from the past. The waitress came over to her and greeted her with warmth and reassurance. From her appearance you could tell she was about 8 months pregnant. She was poorly dressed and never let on that her pregnancy was in any way keeping her from being kind or doing her job.

She wondered how this poor waitress could be so giving and kind. Then she remembered Brian. When the waitress gave her the bill she gave her a one-hundred dollar bill. The waitress went for change, but when she returned the old lady had already left the cafe. She wondered where she had gone. She then noticed a napkin with a note. It said: "You don’t own me anything. I have been there too. Somebody helped me out and now I’m helping you." Underneath the napkin were four one-hundred dollar bills.

After the waitress had returned home for the night she was wondering how someone could be so kind. How did she know that her family needed it? With the baby coming soon, times would be hard. She knew her husband was worried about them and doing his best to be supportive. She kissed him goodnight and then said, "Everything’s going to be all right, don’t be afraid.... I love you, Brian."

What is it that overcomes fear? Faith. Faith in a God who loves us. Faith in others who come to our aid in times of need. Faith in ourselves to live our lives, with assurance that God is with us whatever we face.

After being encountered by the angel and feeling self-assured, the shepherds proceeded to Bethlehem to see the baby in a manger. These same, hoodlums of the darkness, became God’s first messengers to tell the story. Had it not been for their witness, the world might never know of God’s intervening love.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio