Luke 2:9 (ESV)  And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.

I love Christmas lights - the more the better! Every year, we walk down 34th Street in the community of Hampden in Baltimore City. Every homeowner on the block goes all out. It’s a dazzling sight, and so was the angels’ appearance to the shepherds in the field the night Jesus was born. The response of the first-century shepherds was fear, but an angel said to them, “Fear not.” Why? They were bringing “good news of great joy.”

The incarnation is good news, good news for everyone. The Savior, Christ the Lord, the Messiah, has come to bring joy and peace to every person who looks to him in faith. The good news is God himself has broken into space and time and He is at work putting right the things that were put wrong in us and in the world around us. We no longer need to live in fear. This is something worth singing about. This is something worth lighting up the world about!

Jim Mckee

We aren’t told what Mary was thinking that night before she gave birth, but we could only imagine.  Why me?  Why here?  Is this really where God would have his Messiah be born?  What is going to happen to us? to him?  Questions, fear, anxiety - it happens to all of us doesn’t it?  Our mind gets wrapped around questions about the future in which we have no answers and sometimes we fear the worst, and worry, anxiety and fear begin to rule us.

The irony is that the Prince of Peace was being born into the midst of Mary’s chaos, confusion and fear. The one in which her hope and peace is to be anchored she would be cradling in her arms in just a short while.  

Isn’t this often our irony as well?  We worry and panic about things unknown.  We ask questions we cannot find answers to and it consumes us.  Yet as Christians we have the very Prince of Peace within us as well.  He is our anchor, and the One who holds the world, our lives and our stories in His hands dwells within us. He is the ‘Peace of God that transcends all understanding’ that will guard our hearts and minds in him (Phil. 4:6,7).  May we be reminded this Christmas that our peace abides in the creche of our hearts.

Steve Dallwig

A friend’s 4-year-old nephew was helping her set up Christmas decorations.  Upon completion he said, “I set up the nativity, but I can’t find God.”  We’ve all been there haven’t we?  In the midst of the decorations and activities we often miss God in the whole of the celebration.  Sometimes it’s not the celebration that keeps us from seeing God in the midst.  Sometimes it’s just life.

This season has been tough for me – job loss, the play, relationships – it’s been hard.  And I haven’t quite been able to find God at work in my world.  But, time and again he shows up: in the phone call from a friend, in prayers from Godly women gathered for game night, and in the touch of one walking along side.  Sweet rebukes and tender reminders all point to the promises that God has given us: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 (ESV)  From the beginning of time God has kept his promises, and he isn’t going to change now. 

In the past, God was found: on a hillside to despised shepherds, in a star directing scholars to travel, on the side of the road in a feeding trough.  And he will show up – this holds our hope - the hope that today I will see Him, and tomorrow I will see him, and the next day and the next.  Until one day, we find Jesus in his full glory welcoming us home.

Debby Sutton

 ⁸And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. ¹⁰And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹²And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
 ¹⁴ ”Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”^[c]

They weren’t doing anything special, they were just going about their routine, another night in the hillsides of Bethlehem doing their job keeping watch over their sheep. It was probably no different than any other night but it was in the midst of this daily routine that the Gospel came crashing in.  They weren’t expecting it, but it changed everything.  The entire story of their lives is forever changed because of the birth of this tiny baby.

This is truly the hope of the Gospel and the essence of the Advent season, that our story, which at times is filled with the hum-drum daily routine of life, at times with pain and struggle or at times with great joy and celebration, is so much bigger than we ever thought. God-made-flesh entered our world to incarnate our humanity, and through his life, death and resurrection gives great hope and meaning to our broken and mundane lives and creates a story for our lives much greater than we could possibly imagine.

Steve Dallwig

I love birthdays.  I love celebrating someone who has entered into my world and made it different.  I love the excitement over someone who has affected my space enough to remind me that I need people.  I love almost embarrassing them with giggles, shouts of glee and direct attention just because they are alive!

I’m pretty convinced that’s why I enjoy making Christmas vomit in my house.  There is no simplification of the Christmas experience – it is just everywhere!  Nativities, snowflakes,  Christmas trees, wreathes, ornaments and lights!!!  I love the lights!  I cry in frustration if I don’t get to put up all of it.  Now, you might think it’s going overboard, but think about it.  This is the biggest birthday party of the year.

Jesus’ birth is a sweet reminder each and every year that God was willing to invite himself to our party:  To come and be with us.  He was willing to walk the streets, live the lives, embrace the people, giving us reason to celebrate.  “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full,” John 10:10 (NIV). 

The haunting tune of “O come, O come, Emmanuel” hits me every time – the longing in the hearts of God’s people for him to show up. 

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight. 

We live in that longing today; we long for the day when we will be able to see God again when we are united with Christ and are welcome guests at his party.  Now that will be a celebration.

Debby Sutton

This picture, by Elisabeth Jvanovsky, depicts St. Nicholas.

“The original “Old St. Nick” who inspired the tradition of Santa Claus, Nicholas was bishop of Myra in fourth century Turkey. Little is known about his life except that he entrusted himself to Jesus at an early age and, when his parents died, gave all their possessions to the poor. While serving as bishop, Nicholas learned of three girls who were going to be sold into slavery by their father. Moved to use the church’s wealth to ransom the lives of these little ones, he tossed three bags of gold through the family’s window.”

-       Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals

The gospel story tells us that each one of us is enslaved by our own sin and brokenness. No matter how hard we try to fix our lives or rescue ourselves from our own brokenness, we realize we cannot. Only Jesus could pay our ransom. Only He could save us from our enslavement. He is our only hope. Immanuel (God with us) came and the ransom He paid was his own life. May we rejoice this season that our hope has come!

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1)

Patrick Donohue