Do Not Fear: Unless...

Matthew 2:1-12

“Do not fear, for I am with you.” These words of comfort stand out to me from the prophecy of Isaiah. They stand out because my initial response to being told “do not fear,” is “Really?” Hasn’t fear played a major role in the survival of our species? “I have a bad feeling about that big snarling thing with lots of sharp teeth…I think I’ll avoid it,” that’s the kind of thinking of a caveman who’s living to see tomorrow. Fear is a vital response to physical and emotional danger—if we didn't feel it, we couldn't protect ourselves from legitimate threats. But we are also capable of fearing things that pose no legitimate threat, we’re capable of fearing things that may even improve our quality of life and the life of others. Many human beings also develop phobias, or irrational fears. I don’t mean to make light of phobias, but I mean…Google “phobias” and you’ll find things like consecotaleophobia, which is a fear of chop sticks. So…before we dive into an Advent sermon series on the theme “Do Not Fear,” can we agree upon this: there are many types of fear. So, when God says, “Do not fear, for I am with you,” what type of fear are we talking about? What type of fearlessness shall we associate with Emmanuel, “God with us”?

Legitimate threats to life and safety are things like, for example, King Herod. Herod’s a bad dude. Herod was king, sure…but that wasn’t on account of the popular vote...I don’t know how he become king, but I know there wasn’t an election. And he wasn’t well liked, he kept his subjects in check by keeping them afraid of him. Then these wise men showed up with news of Jesus’ birth and a star that heralded him as King of the Jews. “When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him.” This fear, is an example of a problematic fear, a fear of something that actually improved the quality of life in the world, which we know in retrospect. Herod would have had no access to the Gospels, but he would have had access to the Prophets…say…Isaiah, whom Matthew quotes in his Gospel. Matthew 1:23 quotes Isaiah 7:14, “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel” and Matthew goes on to say, “which means, ‘God with us’.” And then in today’s passage, the wise men quote from Micah to announce that a ruler shall come out of Bethlehem. What reason would Herod have to fear if he didn’t take these prophesies seriously? Herod’s afraid of people being set free from the fear he uses to maintain his power. And so, he has all the children in Jerusalem who were 2 years old and younger killed. No wonder Jerusalem was afraid with him. It’s troubling to see such horrendous and murderous behavior initiated by one who was familiar with the word of God. There are, sadly, many examples of horrendous murderous behavior initiated by folks familiar with the word of God.

So when the prophecies that seek to prepare us for Emmanuel, God with us, say, “Do not fear, for I am with you,” what kind of fear are they talking about? Herod ordered horrendous murderous behavior because he was afraid of not being king any more, his army carried out this horrendous murderous behavior because they were afraid of saying “No,” to a king who was willing to order horrendous murderous behavior to remain king. This is probably the kind of “fear” that God hoped to do away with by sending his son to dwell among us, by sending his son to teach us of a kingdom where manipulative fear has no power.

Terrorism isn’t new. Rulers and fanatics always have used fear make themselves feel powerful and important by manipulating behavior of would-be subjects through horrendous and murderous acts. It goes as far back as God’s warning to Cain, that sin was lurking at his door. Cain felt inadequate, less important, less powerful than his brother, whose offering was pleasing to God. Cain feared being inadequate. And sin masterfully used this fear to lead him to reconcile his feeling of inadequacy by reclaiming power over his brother though horrendous and murderous means. Herod, too, feared being inadequate. And sin masterfully manipulated Herod to reconcile this fear by manipulating his army, also through fear, to carry out horrendous and murderous acts, which further perpetuated the fear his subjects had of him. I’m sure the wise men, too, had a certain amount of fear about what Herod might do to them if they disobeyed his orders. What would have happened had the wise men allowed this fear to decide their actions? But look what happened to the wise men when they encountered the Christ child, they awoke the next day freed from the fear of saying “No” to Herod, and they set off on a new path to confuse Herod as to where he might find this child.

When God says, “Do not fear,” then…I think it means this: “Do not allow yourself to be manipulated by fear such that you confuse horrendous and murderous acts with reconciliation.” Sin will entice us to reconcile horrendous and murderous acts as reasonable and necessary. But reconciliation under the reign of Christ is free from the power of sin. According to Colossians 1:19-20, “In Christ all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Christ God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.” That’s reconciliation with God. God reconciled the world to himself by fearlessly taking up the cross, a horrendous and murderous act through which the powers of sin and death were exposed, and through the resurrection, a miraculous and life-restoring act through which the powers of sin and death were defeated. But all of this—this process of God reconciling the world to himself—began with a birth, a wondrous and life-giving act which was announced to shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night like this, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people.”

“Do not fear, for I am with you.” This is what we are preparing ourselves for throughout the season of Advent. We are not weakening ourselves to manipulation by sin and fear, but strengthening ourselves to be faithful citizens of a new kind of Kingdom, under the reign of a new kind of King, where reconciliation leads to new and abundant life. The wise men stood in the presence Christ child, and then they had a dream which empowered them to act against the fear that Herod used to manipulate and overpower his subjects. Standing in the presence of Christ changes us, empowers us, inspires us. To encounter Christ is to be set free from fear, to be set free from the power of sin, to be set on a new path. Do not fear: unless…your way of life depends on the power sin. But for the rest of you pilgrims on this Advent journey, be at peace, and receive this good news with great joy: Christ is coming, God with us, Emmanuel. Amen.