(Each Saturday, a faith leader offers a personal perspective in this space. To become part of this series, email religion@recorder.com)
We just wrapped up the year 2020, and what a year it has been. A year that you may not want to remember, but also one you will never forget. Just scroll through “The Year in Pictures” that different news organizations put out last month. The wildfires in California, erupting racial tension across the country, an unprecedented presidential election, and of course the coronavirus pandemic. It was a year like no other.
When you peruse those year-in-review pictures, take note of people’s faces. Facial expressions tell a story all their own. I picked up on people’s grief, disgust and anger. But the emotion that struck me most was fear. This past year was a colossal stress-producing year. We fear that which we cannot control, and we were forced to deal with much of that in 2020. It is no surprise that the amount of people looking for help with anxiety or depression skyrocketed. Nor that people reported more frequent thoughts of suicide and self-harm.
We know that fear is not always a bad thing. In moments of crisis, fear helps us to think quickly and act decisively. But fear can also be unhelpful. Anxious thoughts have the capacity to control and paralyze us. To be cautious is one thing, to be almost immobilized is quite another.
When the angel of the Lord announced the good news of Jesus’ birth, the shepherds were filled with great fear. The Bible says these men were “sore afraid.” The word sore is an old English adjective meaning “severely” and it describes very well what fear and anxiety does to our bodies and souls. We have tense neck and shoulder muscles and we get headaches. We can feel restless, preoccupied and even depressed and cannot wait until life returns to some sense of normal.
Two simple words in the birth narrative of Jesus Christ caught my attention this past Christmas. They were spoken each time by an angel addressing individuals rattled with fear. The words were simple and straightforward, yet powerful: “Fear not.” That was the angelic message to the priest Zechariah in the temple and to young Mary whose life would never be the same again. “Fear not” was also God’s word to Joseph, incredibly confused about Mary’s pregnancy, and to a group of shunned shepherds who were given the privilege of seeing the Christ child first.
The “fear nots” in the Christmas story were not just aimed at dispelling fear from being in the presence of an angelic being. It was designed to do more. God wanted these individuals to know that the arrival of Jesus had the power to deal a blow to all their fears. His coming into this world was part of a rescue operation. By turning from our sin and by believing in Jesus’ death and resurrection, our broken relationship with God can be restored. Believe, and you become part of the greatest love story ever. Knowing that this powerful and all-wise Father cares deeply for us can quiet any of our fears.
Life is full of anxieties. We do not need an annus horribilis to realize that. The older we get, the more we realize how little control we have over our personal lives, let alone the world in which we live. But God does have control and in that we can find our rest. He silences our fears with the promise that he is with us and that he will never leave us.
Picture a father walking with his daughter through the dark night. The child is scared. What does the father do? He grabs her hand and says, fear not. Why? Because he is with her. That is all she needs to know. And he never gets tired of reminding her of his presence. This is what our heavenly Father will do for us if we turn to him. Receiving his love will help us be people who are ruled by faith and not by fear, even during a pandemic.
North Leverett Baptist Church can be found at 70 Leverett Road in Leverett. We are an independent church that believes that God exists, that Jesus Christ is real, and that God’s Word — the Bible — is true. Please check out our website at www.nlbcma.org for up-to-date information about our services during the pandemic. Also note that our Food Pantry is open every first and third Monday of the month.