Dangerous Christmas

First published Friday, December 5, 2008 in the Daily Sentinel.


Last Sunday marked the beginning of a special time for Christians. Did you catch it? It marked the beginning of the Christian calendar year. Our common calendar has the New Year another month away, but the Christian year begins with Advent, which started last Sunday.

Advent is a time of preparation – preparing ourselves for the coming of Christ. Most of the time, we think about getting ready to celebrate Jesus’ birth on December 25th. But that was only Jesus’ FIRST coming. There’s still a SECOND coming to get ready to face.

The Bible tells us about some of the preparations made for both of Jesus’ comings. Isaiah 40 says: “A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.’”

That prophecy came true through the birth and ministry of John the Baptist. Luke’s gospel opens with God sending the angel Gabriel to visit Zechariah and telling him that he’s about to be a father – and his son will be John, the one who prepares the way for the Lord. But the first words out of the angel’s mouth were these: “Do not be afraid.”

God’s activities started with Isaiah, then continued approximately 700 years later with Zechariah. That’s a long time to prepare! And yet, the first words were “Do not be afraid.”
I think these words are still powerful and resonate with us even after a time gap of 2000 years! It is so easy to be afraid right now. The American economy seems on the verge of collapse. Wars are still being waged in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. Terrorists are taking over ritzy hotels in India. Protestors ravaged the Bangkok airport in Thailand. AIDS and starvation are killing thousands every day in Africa. There’s no where safe on the whole planet!

And yet, in the midst of this fear, danger, and disaster – we are still supposed to be prepared for Christ’s coming?! Surely, Christmas is not supposed to be this dangerous!

The popular imagery of Christmas in Bethlehem is safely sanitized. Our Nativity set shows a happy baby lying in a bed of straw. Mother, earthly father, shepherds and wisemen gaze contentedly down upon the child. Cows and camels kneel quietly and softly chew their cud.

I don’t think that is anything like the reality of that situation when it occurred! I’ve seen childbirth first-hand three times – and it’s not easy or peaceful. Newborns don’t look like pleasingly plumb 4-month-olds, and they certainly don’t lay there quietly in any kind of bed.

That first Christmas was dangerous! Mothers and babies often died during childbirth. Diseases were rampant. Fleas and rats and other vermin made their homes in stables and on barnyard animals. Joseph is there having to do a midwife’s job – something he probably never expected to have to do in his life. That coming of Christ was very dangerous – but still the angel’s words ring out: “Do not be afraid!”

No matter how bad things may seem, we do not have to be afraid. Danger is irrelevant to God’s grace. You can give you fears to God and receive the peace of Christ in return. And that’s the best way to prepare for Christ’s SECOND coming, too.

Jesus describes his return in rather scary language: “But in those days, following that distress, ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.” (Mark 13:24-27)

The second coming of Christ will be both a dangerous day and a joyous day. The difference between danger and joy is preparation. What are you doing to be prepared? Can you wholeheartedly accept the angel’s message: “Do not be afraid”?