Tuesday, December 5, 2000

Today, as I was thinking about captivity and specifically about how fear can keep us captive I thought about the shepherds in Luke's birth narrative.

They were out doing what they do, tending sheep, watching stars...when suddenly "the angel of the Lord came before them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. (Luke 2:9, KJV )

Well, the angel of the Lord must have been a very wise angel because he knew that if the shepherds were going to listen, if they were going to be open to his good news, their fears needed to be addressed first. And so the angel said, "Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."

We are like the shepherds a fearful people scared of the dangers which surround us, scared of the "wolves" who want to harm us; but, we're also afraid of the angels who come to bring us good news.

We're afraid of rejection and of commitment. We're afraid of others and of ourselves. We're afraid of failure and of our own potential. We're afraid of dying and of living.

Fear is such a powerful thing. It can take hold of us and keep us captive. Janet Wolf, a United Methodist pastor in Tennessee says, "Fear paralyzes us, it really does, it silences our souls, it distorts our vision, it cripples our ability to respond...In the Bible, beginning to end, folks can't recognize God's presence or the possibilities for new life, because they are so scared. And God seems to know so well that the good news has to begin 'Fear not!'" --AD

PRAYER: "Come, thou long-expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee." (United Methodist Hymnal #196)

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