Angels tell the shepherds, “Do not be afraid. For I am bringing you news of great joy for all the people.”
The Christmas gospel in Luke begins with the decree from Emperor Augustus that “all the world should be registered.” In Ancient Rome, the whole world is not Roman. At least not yet. Luke begins the story of Jesus’ birth reminding us about the ambitions of empire. Everyone gets swept up in the empire’s amibitions. Mary and Joseph are no exception, despite the fact she is highly pregnant. She still needs to make the journey back to their hometown. This is a one size fits all approach to bureaucracy. It’s about making the empire great again, not necessarily making your own life better. The census is being taken, not to make sure there is an equal distribution of medical centres and schools throughout the land, but to make sure Rome can continue paying its army to keep expanding.
And yet as Rome’s influence continues to grow, still the angels say, “Do not be afraid. For I am bringing you news of great joy for all the people.”
Commentator Kari Alldredge notes that the angel’s announcement inverts the empire’s expansion plans bringing a different message to the whole world. The promises of Jesus include promises of great joy for everyone. There is no coercion in the Christmas gospel. Jesus arrives bringing great joy for all people without exploitation. It is the good news of unconditional love and justice for all people. It is the good news that there is room and resources for everyone to flourish, not just for a few people on top.
Jesus isn’t the only one given the title Saviour. Emperor Augustus had also called himself the saviour of the world. After all he has plans to rule the entire world, so the people better get used to it. By contrast, Jesus as Saviour arrives not upon a throne or with a sword, but as a helpless baby. God finds strength in weakness. With God, a teenage mother forced to travel a great distance to register in a census, gives birth to the true Saviour. This is good news for us in times of instability, in times of the rise of empire. Good news that for God all things are possible. That the Christmas gospel reveals to us the genesis, the birth, of the one sent to disrupt fear.
“Do not be afraid. For I am bringing you news of great joy for all the people.” Note to whom the angels first proclaim good news, the shepherds. These are the opposite of the power brokers of the City of David. Some of the shepherds thought they would one day become YouTubers and strike it rich. They too would cash in on AI so that ancient robots could tend the sheep, while they reap passive income. The historic record is unclear whether that ever transpired. We have more in common with shepherds than we might think. Few if any of us sit in the halls of power. Few of us directly chart the path of empire in our midst. Like the shepherds we find ourselves at the whims of the winds of change.
And still the angel’s message, “Do not be afraid,” is for us. Even though at times we find ourselves afraid. Afraid about the direction of the world. Afraid about relationships among family and friends at times we are powerless to change. Afraid of uncertainty around employment, studies, or futures. Fear leaves us tired and exhausted. It renders us incapable of pursuing the goals we desire as a society, as a church, as individuals, and families. We don’t need to give the empire more power than it already has.
The angel says, “Do not be afraid. For I am bringing you news of great joy for all the people.” Luke challenges us this Christmas to embody the gospel in ways that bring hope. The Holy Spirit is already giving us the courage we need to trust change is possible. When Jesus is present, even the powerful become afraid. Those who sit on high thrones are also vulnerable. God bringing us together as community, as church, out of love gives us strength. This Christmas we are reminded that as the body of Christ, we are capable of world-making acts of creativity. Together we create art, build worlds, imagine new futures, and meanwhile God is creating a new world through us.
A story about fear. The other week I was at a local bouldering gym. Perhaps one some of you have visited. For those who may not be aware, with bouldering you don’t climb higher than 13’ or 4 meters. You don’t use a harness because the idea is it’s okay to fall from that height onto the soft mats below. There are prescribed climbing routes, each rated with a different level of difficulty. You can only use the hand and footholds for your route. Generally people try to climb back down and land on their feet, but occasionally you slip and fall. I have made modest gains relative the younger climbers who are human spider monkeys. Something that takes me several attempts to complete successfully is part of their warmup routine that they complete in seconds. One route in particular I found hard because it involves not only climbing up, but also reaching sideways. Even crossing feet. A middle aged climber who has been climbing since a teenager taught me you need to keep your hips close to the wall and reach high, keeping your body and centre of gravity close to the wall. I tried this climb a couple times and couldn’t stay on more than 5 seconds, afraid to cross my feet sideways. What if I lose balance and fall? How embarrassing and worse, how painful. I took the step sideways and I didn’t fall. My foot stayed put. However I stuck there on the wall because to go further I needed a set of skills I didn’t yet have. I made it further than I had before, but I’ll need more practice, maybe a lesson from a more experienced climber, to finish that route. Still that doesn’t stop one of my kids from reminding me, “You find that hard. Dad, that route is so easy!” We each find ourselves in different points along the journey. So often we compare ourselves with people either who have more natural ability or who have been working on a goal for years. What does it look like to let go of what others think and see the opportunities God has put before us? That will look different for each of us. Some of us are mourning the death of loved ones, we are working through serious sickness, we are seeing kids or grandkids go off into the world, we are mourning a world that is changing so quickly around us.
The angel says, “Do not be afraid. For I am bringing you news of great joy for all the people.” What is a way you feel called to show up differently this Christmas for yourself, for your family, for your work, for church, for community? Maybe you have been told “no,” whether by empire, by work, by school, by expectations you assume are real. Today the angel gives us permission to let go of that “no,” to let go of fears that hold us back. To imagine building a better world. New worlds made possible with the birth of a child who is love.
