Terrified....at the First Christmas?

I am scared of Santa.  There.  I admitted it.  This isn’t a new phobia …I have been afraid of Santa from the time I was 2 years old.  And the Santa Cow at Chick-fil-a…don’t even go there, I get chills just thinking about it! :)  Some people fear spiders, others fear snakes, but for me….Santa (and the Chick-fil-a cow).

To inhibit my Santa-phobia when we were little, my parents came up with a way to give those “special” presents to us, hence the creation of the Christmas angels.  We would call the Christmas angels a few days before Christmas and then on Christmas Day, the angels would drop off our presents attached with a special letter telling about how proud they and God were of us and all we had accomplished during the year.  It’s a special tradition that I hold close to my heart and plan to continue with my own family one day.

Ironically, just as Santa scares me, the real Christmas angels caused a bit of fright to some of the various characters in the Christmas story.  Imagine it…a strange figure appearing to you out of nowhere.  That would definitely cause quite a bit of fear!  The characters of the Christmas story had no reason to fear, however, because these angels were bringing good news!

The first angel to appear out of thin air was Gabriel, who appeared to Zechariah (Mary’s cousin-in-law).  Luke 1: 12 says that “when Zechariah saw him (Gabriel), he was startled and gripped with fear.”  There was no reason to fear, however, because Gabriel told Zechariah that he was going to be the father of the man who would prepare the world for Jesus.  Unfortunately, Zechariah wasn’t so sure of what Gabriel was telling him and as a result of his unbelief, Gabriel silenced Zechariah until the birth of his son, John (aka John the Baptist).

Gabriel appears once again…but this time to Mary.  She had to have been scared out of her wits because the first thing Gabriel says to her is, “Do not be afraid, Mary (Luke 1:30).”  Gabriel then proceeds to tell her that God had found favor with her and that she is going to be the mother of His most precious gift to mankind – His Son.  While I’m sure she was still a little frightened, she listened and responded to Gabriel’s annunciation by saying, “I am the Lord’s servant…may your word to me be fulfilled” (Luke 1:38).

An angel then appeared to Joseph in a dream, but there is no record of whether or not he was startled because of this appearance…I have a feeling he might have been, though.  I mean, come on, how would you feel if an angel appeared to you in a dream?  You’d probably wake up in a cold sweat!  Through the dream, the angel brought good news to Joseph, “Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save the people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).

Finally, a whole company of angels appeared to the shepherds who were out in the fields watching over the sheep.  Luke 2:9 says that when that first angel appeared, “they were terrified.”  Um…I’m sure they were.  Case in point #1: It’s nighttime.  How would you feel if the heavenly host appeared to you in the pitch black of night?  Case in point #2: The shepherds didn’t get many visitors because they were the lowliest of all the people of that day.  A bunch of shining figures had to have been an overwhelming sight for them!  The angel calmed the shepherds down, though, by bringing good news about a Savior who had been born…a Savior for all people.  And “suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests'" (Luke 2:13-14).  After finding baby Jesus, the shepherds shared this good news that the angels had brought them with all who would listen.

I have a feeling that if I saw the Christmas angels live and in person, I’d probably be just as (if not more) terrified as the characters in the Christmas story (and probably more frightened than I am of Santa)!  Thankfully, the angels’ presence and message was incredibly positive – they were bringing good news about a coming Savior…a Savior who would save all of mankind.  Including me.

Gloria in excelsis Deo!