Luke 2:9-12
Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”
John 3:16 has often been referred to as “the gospel in a nutshell.” But these few verses in the middle of the Christmas story would also make a strong candidate for that title.
The shepherds are terrified. Of course they are. They have never seen anything like this. Besides, terror is the uniform response throughout Scripture when mortals encounter the divine. Not because God intends to terrify, but simply because of the qualitative difference between divine and mortal. God – and by extension God’s angels – are so wholly other than we are that all our categories of experience fail and we are left simply overwhelmed, terrified, as finite beings confronted with the infinite, mortal with immortal, imperfect with perfect.
So the shepherds are terrified. And to this holy awe and mortal terror the angel responds with the classic formula of good news: “Do not be afraid.” In some ways, this is a summary of the whole of Scripture’s story of God’s approach to wayward humanity. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be afraid, I will go where you go. Do not be afraid, I will not let you go – not now, not ever.
And then it gets even better: an announcement of great joy, joy beyond wonder not for just some – the lucky, the privileged, the rich or powerful – but for all people. The prince of heaven and savior of the world is being born.
But not just born in general, but born “for you.” As Martin Luther was fond of saying, this “for you” makes all the difference. What difference does it make, Luther once asked in a Christmas sermon, if there is a God, or that God is born, unless I know that God is “for me?”
“For you…” makes the news the angels bring not just news, but “good” news, for good is always in the ear of the hearers. This news isn’t generic; it is news that affects us personally. God has acted for us and all the world. And this message is as wonderful as it is terrible, as unexpected as it is glorious.
Indeed, these “glad tiding” are at the very heart of the Gospel.
Prayer: Dear God, let us rejoice this Christmas and always as we realize that in Jesus you have drawn near to us to tell us of your love and promise us your presence. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Post Image from Chartres, Cathédrale Notre Dame, Bay 50, Infancy and life of Christ (detail).
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