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Christmas Fear Grounds Christmas Cheer by Pastor Kevin Feder

By Anonymous
Have you noticed that the original Christmas story was surrounded in controversy, danger, and difficulty and each person who was closest to Christmas encountered fear? The angel told Mary not to be afraid (Luke 1:30). Joseph was told to not be fearful in taking Mary to be his wife (Mathew 1:20). Zechariah encountered an angel when he went to the temple and he feared (Luke 1:11-13). Fear fell upon all the neighbors of Zechariah when he regained his speech and blessed God (Luke 1:65). The shepherds feared in the fields (Luke 2:10) before they were told of the good news of great joy. Let me offer three takeaways:

We Want The Transcendent...But We Don’t
The Bible tells us all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. To encounter God is to encounter his glory. To encounter his glory is to recognize our sin in his presence and this causes fear. 

Christmas highlights the conundrum that sinful humanity is in. We long for the transcendent and supernatural that only God can provide. Yet, we see that humanity in its sin is unable to encounter it. When the aforementioned people encountered God they feared because they were exposed as what they are, sinners who are unworthy and unable to enter the presence of a Holy God. 

God Enters A Broken World To Redeem It
Why would God impregnate Mary by the Holy Spirit before she was married to Joseph? Perhaps it was because had he waited until marriage, the virgin birth theory would lose all credibility. Yet, impregnating Mary prior to marriage caused a lot of fear for both her and Joseph. It even jeopardized the life of Jesus as Mary faced the death penalty for what seemed like adultery (Deuteronomy 22:21). Jesus enters the world and is immediately subject to its brokenness the same way Mary and Joseph are subject to its brokenness. By so doing, he is able to redeem people not only of their sin but of the brokenness it causes as well. 

Christmas Fear Grounds Christmas Cheer 
Perhaps the stable, with its stench and noise, reveals the attitude of the world and condition of the human heart towards God: there is no room for you. Yet God has brought us a baby, not a warrior. Perhaps the baby God has sent brings humanity to the realization and relief that God has come to make peace, not war. Thus, Christmas fear gives way to Christmas cheer when we hold the baby in our arms and we are lured to find forgiveness from God in Christ. Christmas is the time where sinful humanity has encountered the holy God, and lived! By so doing, Christmas satisfies the human longing for what is transcendent. All glory to God because he alone has done it!
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