It's Christmas, Jesus has come... do not be afraid...

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. "Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” - Luke 1:26-33

Mary found out she was going to have a baby. I can only imagine how that felt. The joy of an expectant mother is overwhelming, or so it seems from one who is on the outside looking in. But this wasn't just any baby. This was the Messiah. Imagine how that must have felt. Mary was having her first child but this child was going to be the one to save mankind. The King of Kings. The Lord of Lords. Talk about pressure, right? And when the angel showed up to tell her the news he said, "Mary, do not be afraid." Afraid? I wondered why those were the words he chose to say. I wondered why he didn't simply say, "Mary, you lucky duck, you've been selected out of all of the women in the world, in the history of time, to give birth to the Son of God, the long awaited Messiah!" What did she have to be afraid of, after all? This was fulfillment of the prophecy. This was what God's people had been hoping and waiting for. But as I sat in the candlelight service on Christmas Eve, it clicked. I understood what he meant. I understood why he told her not to be afraid. He knew that Mary was about to embark on a new journey, a journey that was going to be riddled with fear.

Mary, do not be afraid. Sure, you've never been a mom before. Sure, you're unmarried and pregnant and this certainly does not match up to the plans you had made for yourself. People are probably going to judge you. People are probably going to give you dirty looks. They'll probably gossip about you and say things behind your back that they'd never say to your face, but do not be afraid. Joseph may very well leave you to raise this baby on your own when he finds out you're carrying someone else's son. He may very well have you put to death for being in circumstances that are condemned by society. He may not believe you when you tell him what's going on. But don't be afraid. And childbirth, yes, it's as painful as it looks. And not only are you going to have to spend nine months growing a person inside your body to then labor for hours while they enter the world in a most painful way, you're going to have to inconveniently travel far from home to give birth. You're not going to get to do this in the comfort of a hospital with your family and friends around to help you out. Your mom isn't going to be close by teaching you how to do this whole mothering bit. You're going to have to figure this out on your own. But don't be afraid. Don't be afraid as you watch your son grow up and begin to put the pieces of the puzzle together. God has called you to a big task, entrusted you to carry out an integral piece of His perfect plan. Don't think you can't do it. You can. It won't be easy. In fact, it'll be one of the most challenging things you'll probably ever do. You'll worry about your son. Just like any mother, you'll worry about the big things, the little things, and all of the things that are out of your control. He isn't going to be treated well. He isn't going to be widely accepted. He is going to be betrayed. He is going to be beaten and whipped and his flesh will be torn. You're going to watch your son drag a wooden cross to a hill where he'll be painfully executed, and you're going to watch him die. You're going to hear him cry out in pain. You're going to watch his life slowly drain from his body as you see blood drip down from his brow where they place a thorn of crowns. You're going to watch people mock him, your firstborn, your beloved son. You're going to hear the horrible things they yell at him. Your heart is going to break a million times over, Mary, but don't be afraid.

Don't be afraid because this baby, this sweet, holy child, is your redemption. Don't be afraid, beloved daughter, because your son, Jesus, is your deliverance. You are birthing hope, Mary. You are changing the course of history by doing this, by agreeing to be a part of this plan. Don't be afraid, Mary, because God knows exactly what He is doing. It seems strange. I know, it seems odd. It seems like a really fragile, confusing, and unusual way to save the world. But it's the perfect way, the only way. And when you begin to feel afraid, remember that His name is Emmanuel, God with us. He is the Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, the Everlasting God. Don't be afraid.

You don't be afraid either, friend. Christ came as a little baby, born in a manger, so that you didn't have to live your life in fear. Sure, God might call you to a path that is scary, just like He did with Mary, but don't be afraid. He has a perfect plan for you. A plan that will far exceed anything that you can imagine or fathom. A plan that, although scary and confusing now, will birth great joy and hope as it unfolds. A plan filled with wonder. A plan filled with God's grace and love and goodness like you've never seen before. A plan that will make perfect sense one day. It's Christmas, beloved, Jesus has come. Do not be afraid.