Phobia

Luke 2:8–14 NIV

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

An angel appears before the shepherds. The glory of the Lord shines about them. And they are scared out of their minds. This is what makes the story believable. The shepherds are absolutely terrified by what they see. We rush over that because we know the story so well. We know the message already—the message of good news that will be for great joy. We love that part, the part about good news and great joy. How quickly we let go of the terror of that moment—if we ever even caught it to begin with. I mean, Luke just gives it a passing nod with one simple phrase: “and they were terrified.”

I want us to hang on to that for a little bit this morning. It might actually be a good thing for us to remember that the first reaction of any encounter with heaven seems to be fear. Let’s spend a little time with the shepherds today and see if there is something in their experience that maybe reflects our own experience of encountering the mysterious interaction of God in this world.

Fear

It is an unusual scene. The choir of angels from heaven come to earth to announce the birth of the Messiah. God has finally come to reside among his people. This is an announcement that merits cosmic splendor. So why does it come to a group of animal caretakers who are working the graveyard shift? Shepherding was a pretty common and mediocre profession for that time. It wasn’t necessarily looked down upon. I mean, after all, king David began as a shepherd. Many of the Psalms make reference to God caring for his people as a shepherd cares for the flock. It is a profession that figured into Israel’s history with a certain amount of importance. But it was just so ordinary. There is nothing special or particularly distinguished about taking care of animals.

To put it another way. Shepherds were the average Joes. These were every-day ordinary people. This is your average middle-class suburbanite who manages a mortgage and a pickup truck. These are the guys who drink grocery store beer, not some kind of aged scotch. These are the guys who sit in the bleachers, no box seats for them. Nobody is asking for their autograph. Nobody is kissing up to them for any kind of special favors or promotions. This is your normal next-door neighbor who lives pretty much the same way you live.

And maybe that’s the point. God is making a statement by sending angels to the shepherds first. This is an announcement that is meant for the world. It is meant for everyone. What better way to capture that than by coming first to the most ordinary average folks imaginable. This is a Messiah who is not reserved for the high-and-mighty. This is a Messiah for all the people.

And this is a Messiah who is himself coming among the ordinary people. A savior born in a stable and sleeping in a feed trough. Shepherds get that. Stables and feed troughs are part of their world. This is not a stretch into some kind of completely foreign unimaginable setting. Everything about this announcement affirms that God has come among his people. We romanticize it and build these beautiful nativity scenes. But that is not helpful for us today. It might be more helpful for us to trade in our ornate nativity scenes and replace them with a little scene of a hospital delivery room and basinet. Of course, there is nothing special about that. This is the setting for the way in which almost every mother in our time and culture experiences childbirth. It is ordinary and commonplace for the most ordinary and commonplace of people in our time in this part of the world. And maybe that’s the statement this Messiah birth is supposed to make. And maybe that’s why average Joe shepherds are the first to get the news.

So, perhaps, it should not be surprising that when the supernatural cosmic divine ruler of the universe collides with every-day mediocre average life, the first reaction to this news is a terrified confusion—a mystified “what-is-going-on-here?” kind of moment filled with dread. I guess this is what happens when God finds a way to come crashing into the ordinary every-day world of ordinary every-day people.

We want Jesus to show up with supernatural power

What about us? I don’t know about you, but I have my wish list of all the powerful supernatural ways that I want to see God come and take over all that’s wrong in my world. I want to see God work in miracles and wonders that grab the attention of our world’s powerful elite rulers and shake them to their knees. I want to see God show up in my life with an unmistakable display of the almighty.

But that’s not how Jesus showed up at Christmas. It was ordinary life with ordinary people. Am I ready for that? How do we react when Jesus forces his way into our every-day ordinary existence? The first reaction of the shepherds to this revelation was to recoil and stay at a distance. What about us?

I think this story compels us today to spend a little time thinking about all the ways that Jesus still shows up into our ordinary everyday kind of world. I think—like the Israelites of the first century—we long for and look for God to show up in supernatural and powerful ways. And like the people of the first century, we might quickly skip over what happens when Jesus collides with our ordinary everyday lives.

I love the idea of Jesus coming to redeem all the big things—world peace and all that. I love the idea of God showing up to redeem the big issues that get in the way. I love the idea of God curing cancer and the idea of God opening doors to success and the idea of God providing solutions for those in poverty. Redeem the big stuff; that’s what I want Jesus to do. That’s how I want to see the Messiah show up.

How do we react when Jesus shows up in everyday ordinary life?

But I admit that I often look right past all the countless little ordinary ways that Jesus is looking to redeem my ordinary everyday life. I’m pretty content with keeping my relationships right where they are at. Maybe Jesus opens a path to expand relationships into reaching the marginalized, but I think I’m good right where I’m at. I’m content with using my time the way I like. I’ve got my life and my family and my kids’ activities. It’s busy and sometimes feels a bit crazy, but I think Jesus can just leave that alone and I’ll manage. I’m mostly content with school or work. Sure, I could always do a little better, but I’m okay with where things are at. If I’ve already got a good thing going, don’t go and mess that up.

When Jesus shows up and starts colliding with my everyday world, I tend to start getting a little nervous. Maybe I’m not really sure I am ready for Jesus to meddle into my ordinary everyday things. Why is that?

The apostle Paul talks about our sanctification in Jesus as a process whereby the old nature is dying and the new life in Christ is being created in us. It is a constant process of dying to the old self and rising to new life. This is a process of redemption that is always challenging me to let go of an old way of living. Letting go is not always easy. Sometimes I am content with keeping my life right where it is now. I’m not always sure I want to let Jesus in there.

Maybe, like the shepherds, we carry a little bit of fear at the idea of Jesus colliding and meddling in my everyday normal to which I have grown so accustomed. I just want my easy chair and my cup of Schuil brand Guatemala Antigua dark roasted coffee, and I’m good. Leave the rest alone just the way it is. We might actually be afraid of what life will become if we ever acknowledge that God has come to redeem my everyday ordinary life and everything that goes along with it.

Joy

What turned the shepherds' fear in joy?

But something turned it around for the shepherds. Something about the angels’ message convinced the shepherds that they did not need to be afraid. And, in fact, their fear turned into joy. It was more than just a feeling of happiness. The shepherds’ joy was an excitement filled with anticipation.

Maybe it’s not so bad that this everyday Messiah who comes crashing into our everyday world brings a redemption that grabs hold of every corner of my life. One year ago my family was packing boxes in Denver getting ready to say goodbye to a home and a way of life we had known for the past eight years. It was scary. The thought of all new relationships and all new schools and all new routines was going to turn our world upside down.

But it was a move that also turned into moments of realizing joy. There has been joy in the all the wonderful new friendships that have taken place. There is joy in new opportunities to serve and give for our community. There is an excited anticipation for all the potential that still goes before us in the adventure of this move. But it has been something that began with a lot of fear because it is something that has taken hold of every single corner of our everyday lives.

Jesus can do that. Jesus can take hold of every corner of your life. As much as I might just want him to stay on the outside and just handle the big things, God has a way of crashing right into the middle. Jesus came into the ordinary existence of this world so that he can come into the ordinary existence of our world—every corner of it. That can be scary.

Excitement and anticipation for new opportunities for flourishing (shalom)

The angels showed up to a group of ordinary average Joes on that first Christmas and brought an announcement of the Messiah. And it was an announcement that included a message of shalom—peace. It was an assurance that Jesus came for the shalom flourishing of his people. This is a message that was not reserved just for special elite people. This was not a message that was confined just to the big issues. This is a message that impacts every single person in every corner of our everyday existence.

Where have you been holding back? What are the corners of your everyday life that package themselves in fear because maybe you just haven’t been ready to let Jesus come in and redeem the everyday ordinary of your life? Where are there opportunities to embrace an excited anticipation of God’s shalom flourishing in your day-to-day routines—scary as it might be?

Jesus came for you, an ordinary person living an ordinary life. He came to be a part of that life along with you. He came to enter into your world. He came to redeem all those little things that make your life what it is. He came to bring shalom. He came so that this world, and everything in it, can flourish in his peace.