DAY 18

Do not be afraid

That is the message that is spoken repeatedly in the Christmas story. Mary, Zachariah, Joseph, the shepherds, all heard that message. It’s often said that the phrase, ‘Do not be afraid’ appears 366 times in the bible, one for every day of the year and one extra for a leap year. I am not sure if that’s correct, I’ve not counted them! However, it does appear a great many times, and it’s a message that has come through the generations.

Do not be afraid.

We are living in uncertain times. Christmas plans thrown into disarray, job insecurity, fear of covid and other ill health; rising costs of living and more widely some horrific news of cruelty we have seen this week, the eroding of trust in our leaders... all this adds to the general feeling of insecurity, fear and anxiety. Sometimes it feels like our foundations are not secure.

Do not be afraid.

Advent is a time to think about the coming of God to us. The hope of that is that God will make everything right. I am reminded of the saying, made popular by John Lennon, “Everything will be ok in the end. If it’s not ok, it’s not the end”. That doesn’t mean that we leave it all to God to sort out in the end, but it gives us a sure footing to keep standing when our legs feel like they are giving way.

Do not be afraid.

May we find in those words courage to keep standing. May we pray that God will make everything right. And may we see that we can be the answer to that prayer.