I have a touch of the Grinch in me this year. I'm so done with decorating, gift giving, cookie baking, partying. I resent the commercialization designed to make me feel guilty for not spending hundreds of dollars on junk neither I nor mine need. This Christmas I plan to focus on family, friends, neighbors by practicing gratitude and civility. I am looking beyond the hoopla to the underlying meanings and implications of the Christmas narratives. As with all good stories, there are layers of meaning, each offering hope and healing for our tortured times. 

No matter what our religious or ethnic backgrounds, it's easy to see how the time honored birth narratives were written in and for times such as these. A time of fear and mistrust, of economic upheaval. A time of war, terrorism, military occupations, suspicion and political unrest. Into the story come foreigners, cruel dysfunctional governments, soldiers, refugees, massacres, taxation, religious tensions. Their very relevance is exactly what makes these Christmas narratives so powerful. Above all, they are about inclusion, not exclusion. About letting go of fear, Of loving and being loved. Not hatred or revenge. I find it instructive the angels visit, not those in power, but the least, the oursiders, women, shepherds, foreigners. Those with little or no status or legal protection. And the message they all receive? “Fear not. Your hope lies in one greater than you.” What a profound message for us today.

Christmas, this year, comes in the wake of Paris, Mali, and other “terrorist” attacks, stirring up our xenophobic fears and rancid debates on immigration, fueling the race to see which political candidate can be more outrageous. While I understand some of the angst created by this latest wave of “terrorist” attacks, I'm confused as to why they are scarier than those we're regularly experiencing from our own homegrown terrorists: Oklahoma City, Newtown, Columbine, Aurora, Charlestown, Colorado Springs. We have a much greater chance of being shot by some local person with a grudge and a gun than by a Muslim extremist. But whether the source of our fear is local or distant, the Christmas message remains. Fear not. Good news! One has come to show us the way to create peace on earth. A peace that starts within us and flows out from our acts of kindness, forgiveness, and generosity like ripples in a pond. Peace experienced by embracing God's will and way for our lives, no matter how difficult. Yes, these are troubled times, but they are also times of immense opportunity. 

In these darkest days and nights of the year may we turn our hearts toward the promise of God's love and light. May we find the courage to break the chains binding us to fear, distrust, unforgiveness, and failure. May we embrace the promise that we guarantees our freedom and grace by providing freedom and grace to others. May we find in the lights, fragrances, and melodies of Christmas a transcending harmony enabling us to hear the angels' song beautifying all and the star leading us to the manger where we see the in face of God justice, forgiveness, and mercy.

“Fear not.”

Joyce Shutt is pastor emeritus of the Fairfield Mennonite Church.