And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
If you are of a certain generation, I feel very strongly that when reading this passage in the King James Version, you will hear the voice of Linus Van Pelt. And as A Charlie Brown Christmas premiered in 1965, when I was 2 years old, I must admit that I am very much of that generation. When I was little and watching this on TV, I always misunderstood the end of verse 9. “And they were sore afraid.” For years, I believed that this meant that the shepherds were so afraid that it hurt. Once I became a teenager, but still watching Charlie Brown every December, I realized “sore” was just an old-timey word for “very,” and fear doesn’t actually hurt.
But once I hit adulthood, parenthood, etc. (yes, and still watching the cartoon), I realized that my teenage self was an idiot and that fear is real and can be actually painful. So why did God choose to freak out the shepherds, who, though I have spent most of my life trying and failing to be a Wise Man, most closely resemble me?
Fear Keeps Us From God
Before we get too far into this, I want to define my terms. I am not talking about a “Fear of the Lord.” When Proverbs 9:10 reads “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” it is generally understood that ‘fear’ in this context means a healthy reverence and respect. This is where we begin our journey toward wisdom. The fear that I am talking about involves much more running and hiding.
But even in that context, the shepherds were not the first to react in fear when they had an encounter with God. When looking at other heroes of the Bible who reacted in fear, we are able to see two interrelated causes for that reaction: guilt and inadequacy.
Don’t Look at Me!
After eating the apple and breaking what was essentially the only rule they were given, Adam and Eve hid themselves from God in fear, “because I was naked.” Let’s stop a moment here to examine what Adam was giving away. Up to this point in his life, he had been able to walk and talk directly with his creator, but after releasing sin into the world, this level of access is closed this side of heaven permanently, and when challenged on his sin, Adam, out of fear, hides and blames somebody else.
It is our own guilt that causes us to move out of God’s presence. God was forced to kick Adam and Eve out of the Garden, not because he was vengeful, but because once sin was there, it was no longer Eden; it was no longer perfection, and He could no longer stay. When we sin, we often feel shame at our behavior and fear of being rejected by God. In other words, our sin doesn’t cause God to move away from us, but it shames us into moving away from Him.
“Do Not Be Afraid, You Are Not Going to Die”- The Angel
One of my favorite Old Testament figures is Gideon, who also needed to confront an angel or two. But rather than hiding, Gideon continuously tests the angel because he is convinced that God is summoning the wrong guy. “How can I save Israel? My clan is the Weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family?” (Judges 6:15). Gideon then stalls just to try and prove that the orders are actually from God, and why does he do this? Because he is sure that God could not possibly have any desire to work with him. Like Adam, Peter, Esther, Paul, Mary, Joseph, etc., etc., etc., Gideon feels inadequate, not worthy to be in God’s presence, let alone being able to be of any service, so he tries to step away and distance himself from God.
No One’s Afraid of a Baby
So, how do we get past the fear of God and the fear of following what God would have us do? Well, the answer goes back to Linus and Charlie Brown (and King James). Here is the rest of the verse.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
We tend to ‘see’ God as powerful, judgmental, awe-inspiring, demanding, but when he first came to earth, it was as an infant, and unless you are a fan of the 1974 B-movie horror classic It’s Alive, no one’s afraid of a baby.
God is, and always has been, all of the omni’s. He is all-powerful (omnipotent), all-knowing (omniscient), everywhere all the time (omnipresent), but he is also, and always has been, all-loving (omnibenevolent). This Christmas season, let us focus on the “great tidings of great joy.” The child arrived to take on the sin of the world, but more importantly, Jesus gave up his seat in heaven to heal the divide that began with Adam. If it makes you more comfortable to approach the father through the son, even if it is only the son as a child, God will find you there. If you are hiding in fear so great that it hurts, if you, too, are ‘sore afraid,’ God will find you there as well.
You might also enjoy this free resource: Rethinking the Christmas Church Invitation
