It first aired on December 9, 1965, as the Peanuts came to life on national television. Wondrously, Charles Schulz determined that our friend Charlie Brown would tee up the question which would send “good tidings of great joy” into family rooms across America: “I guess you were right, Linus. I shouldn’t have picked this little tree. Everything I do turns into a disaster. I guess I don’t really know what Christmas is all about. Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”
You may remember, as he takes center stage, Linus’s riveting response: “Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about. Lights, please. ‘And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not …’”
“Fear not!” Those two small words were among the immortal words which Linus quoted from the old King James version of the Christmas story (Luke 2:8-14).
FEAR NOT. Small words. Gigantic hope.
This is why I love the season of Advent. It pushes me back into God’s Word and into God’s unstoppable promises. Linus began the account from Luke’s Gospel at Verse 8, but the verses right before it are equally amazing: “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus …” The birth name of “Caesar Augustus” was Gaius Octavius, the nephew and handpicked successor to Julius Caesar’s throne. Little did he know it, but as Augustus issued his “decree that all the world should be taxed,” God used him to set in motion the fulfillment of the ancient Messianic prophecies of the Bible.
Imagine this! This edict from a pagan government would bring Joseph – and therefore Mary and Jesus – to just the right Bethlehem (there were two). In God’s providence, “the city of David” was Joseph’s ancestral home (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1). Friends, I tell you, only God would write this story.
FEAR NOT. Those words turn the page. Two small words bring indescribable relief because these shepherds are filled with (literally from the Greek) “mega-phobia” – and who wouldn’t be in the presence of an angel of the Lord? In the king’s English, they’re “sore afraid!”
Those words turn the page for us too. We don’t even need a dazzling light of unknown origin or an angelic visitation to find ourselves afraid. You and I are sojourners here in a land filled with endless fears, living among a people just as terrified as we. As we travel along between Christ’s first and second arrivals, the road can be rough. The waiting can be excruciating. Our haunting middle-of-the-night unanswered questions can be numerous. We’re not alone in our insecurity. The meaning of “Bethlehem” is “house of bread,” but it can also mean “house of war.” Christ is the source of our daily bread, and the authority and power that we need for our spiritual battle.
The battle is real. The 2025 Survey of American Fears reports that 69% of us are afraid of government corruption, followed by 59.9% of us who are afraid of a loved one becoming seriously ill. While those two fears are widespread, a multitude of less common fears consume just about everybody we know.
Facing our own fears is not easy for any pastor. This includes our sins, weaknesses, and failures, and the reluctance to come clean is no less true of me. But, as I’m still learning even at age 62, the more honest I am about my own insecurities – with the Lord, with myself, and with others – the more personal growth in grace I experience. It’s a daily struggle to find my identity in Christ, but I pour dangerous fuel on the fires of my fears anytime I try to find my worth anywhere else, including “ministry success” – which I’m quite sure God defines far differently than we.
You too have your identity crises. They’re as real as the air we breathe. And for good reason.
It’s a scary world! We have plenty of reasons to be afraid of the dark, but Advent reminds us: there’s a light still shining. “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:9).
Even when we’re suffering, we can worship from our heart when we know the One who is bigger than all our pain. The One who created the universe that is 100 billion light-years across, encompassing trillions upon trillions of fiery stars. The One who spoke into being the innumerable planets of the Andromeda Galaxy and our Milky Way. The one who holds all time and human history in His omnipotent hands. The one whose unmatched brilliance is evident in every molecule of DNA. The One who is never less than absolutely perfectly wonderfully good. E. M. Welcher writes: “Advent is the rusty nail holding us together until resurrection day.”
“God with us!” This was the angel’s solemn promise regarding the Christ-child (Matthew 1:23). The promises of Advent help us persevere in grace until we see Christ face-to-face. Just as God was faithful to the saints of old, and in due time sent the long-awaited Messiah, He will be faithful to us. I’ll remind you that God didn’t send us some garden-variety rescuer, but He sent His very best: His Son. Only One who knew the real mess we were in could deliver us from it, and our Savior cared enough to walk among us in our mess. Though you and I traverse the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4), our every fear has already struck the heart of Christ (Hebrews 4:15). So, when we’re sore afraid, our cries for His mercy don’t fall on deaf ears.
This is a God we can trust, friends – a Father who loves us beyond our wildest dreams. “For God so loved …”
FEAR NOT.
Pastor Charles
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