Don't Be Afraid!

Are you having a paraskevidekatriaphobic moment today?  Perhaps you are immune to such things, but there are some among us whose superstitions sometimes get the best of them...of us.  Now most of us would not say we are superstitious, but there are some things in the back of our minds we can't explain that do make us wonder from time to time.  If you suffer from paraskevidekatriaphobia, you have a fear of a particular day and date on the calendar, Friday the 13th.  Perhaps you have been too busy to notice today, but this is Friday, December 13th!  I hadn't really thought about it until I sat down to write these words. I can't say that I have put much stock in such fears over the years...there are enough things to worry about without the infrequent occurrence of Friday, the 13th. Here's a fun fact for you from the cyber source of all knowledge, Wikipedia. "Every year has at least 1 and at most 3 Fridays the 13th, with 688 occurrences during each 400-year Gregorian cycle."  One other bit of good news...there is only one Friday the 13th in 2014, June 13.

 

There was a great deal of superstition in the ancient world.  Perhaps it was a lack of education, a limited understanding of the patterns of nature, or misplaced religious fervor.  Religion is often mentioned in the context of superstition.  There are certainly some today who would equate any allegiance to or practice of religious faith with superstition.  Faith, however, is not simply fear of the unknown, nor is to be used as a charm against the uncertain, unexplainable experiences of life.  Yes, faith values the unseen, but in the context of Christianity, it finds its greatest expression in the birth of a child, Jesus, the Christ...the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. 

 

Luke tells us that the shepherds were filled with fear in the unexplainable sights and sounds on that first Christmas night in the fields outside Bethlehem.  The angels came to them not to frighten, but to bring joyous news. "Don’t be afraid!" the angel said. "I have good news for you."  To a people mired in fear and doubt, the message was powerful... "a Savior has been born to you, he is Christ, the Lord."  The shepherds fears were ultimately overcome when they came into the presence of the child.  The last mention of the shepherds on that night is of them leaving the child, not in fear, but praising God with every step. 

 

In a world where fear often grips with the turn of a calendar page, the ring of the phone in the middle of the night, or the threats of violence and unrest that play out before us nearly every day, it is good to visit once more the manger scene and recognize the depth of God's love in that precious gift of Christmas. Having done so, we too, like the shepherds, can then go out into the world and praise the Lord...even on Friday the 13th. 

 

Jim Abernathy