There’s plenty to be afraid of. That may be the understatement of the year at the end of 2020. Illness, violence, hatred, unrest, war, isolation. Nothing new really. Just coming at us all at once in a magnified way. There has always been plenty to be afraid of.
Mary had plenty to be afraid of. Unplanned pregnancy. Lack of shelter. Political unrest. Being chosen to bear God in flesh. She was probably afraid. But by sitting with the fear, taking a moment to be with the feelings, she was able to move through it. It’s not that there’s nothing to be afraid of. Rather, God With Us enables us to move through the fear.
The words of the angels : Fear not! can sound like a command, something that requires our efforts to overcome the fear. They can sound like a denial of reality. But maybe it’s more like “Fear need not have a grip on you.” Perhaps try just feeling the fear. Know God is with us. As you feel the fear with another, sometimes it melts away. We can share our fears with God incarnate – the body of Christ – the community that God forms. Then we might discover that the fear has dissipated. That we need not fear.