12/25/2019
Stop Being Afraid!
The most recurrent phrase in the New Testament’s Infancy Narratives is “Fear not!” Koine Greek has two ways to say that. One is “Don’t start being afraid!” the other is “Stop being afraid.” It is this second way that the Greek of these stories is accurately translated. The participants in the story of Jesus’ birth were already afraid before they were encouraged to calm themselves.
That’s not surprising given the circumstances:
• A priest visited by an angel in the Holy of Holies
• A young, unmarried woman startled by Gabriel, only to find out she would carry the Messiah to birth
• A devout young man whose visit by Gabriel assured him that he need not put away Mary because of her pregnancy
• A group of shepherds minding their own business, only to have front row seats to the celestial concert announcing the Incarnation of God through Jesus Christ
In other words, these unsuspecting participants in the greatest birth announcement of mankind could have been told in today’s words, “Stop shaking in your boots!”
Trauma, whether by abuse or neglect, also has a startle effect that leaves victims and survivors trembling and they cannot stop on their own in most cases because the emotions of the experience have become embedded in their bodies. Yet, time and again, Christmas comes, if not on the calendar, then in the care of special God-sent persons, who gently say to the pain-laden survivors, “Stop being afraid,” as they begin to listen to the unspeakable that happened to these victims.
The good news for survivors of trauma, abuse, and neglect at Christmas is that through loving, informed, skilled care, “Stop being afraid,” is not all they hear. In the same breath, the heavenly messenger lets the recipient know that they have found favor with God and that God’s promise(s) to them will be fulfilled in the near future. This is true for even the most wounded survivors who cannot fathom either the existence of a God or His failure to prevent the unspeakable horror from having happened to them.
Through the risky, fragile event where God became little in order for us to know His big love for us through Jesus, God shows up offering His Spirit-imbued healing to His hurting creation who have been violated by others of His creation. Elements of the Incarnation remain a mystery to us. Mystery remains why evil of such magnitude happened to children and adults alike to cause trauma. No mystery, remains though, that God is at work redeeming those who’ve been wounded in heinous, neglectful ways.
In contrast, Matthew’s Gospel tells how someone else was afraid at the hint of what God was up to. That was Herod. The Gospel writer describes Herod as “disturbed” at the news through the inquiry of the magi. And all Jerusalem with him! Not surprising. When a perpetrator is unhappy, ain’t nobody happy, to borrow a phrase! Herod does not get relief from an angel or anyone else. His heart was not a candidate for healing as revealed in his vengeful act of massacre of the innocent male infants who happened to be two years of age or younger in Bethlehem and the surrounding area.
The magi apparently did not hear the words, “Stop being afraid!” Perhaps that is because their eyes were fixed on the star that guided them to their quest to celebrate the Incarnation with their gifts. They also paid attention to their dreams which God used to guide them home on a route that avoided a second appearance before Herod. I can’t help but see in the magi elements of courageous caregivers who are willing to go any distance to bring God’s healing to survivors of trauma, abuse, and neglect. They catch a vision and follow their calling to where they are needed to bring their compassionate, learned gifts to bear to the Christ that is within every victim and survivor. Their inquiries may even take them to the feet of the perpetrator. Nevertheless, tuned to God’s Spirit, they are guided to those they are called to hear and guide toward wholeness. And they leave, going home a different way, not fooled by perpetrators, rather with a sense of fulfillment in their journey—homage to the sacredness of each life wounded by trauma and in a sense of satisfaction that their lives, just like the route home, changed their lives forever, too.
As for the others, the shepherds could not keep quiet about what they saw. They, too, were victims of a cultural trauma that saw them as unclean. Simeon was able to face the end of his life with peace because he had seen God’s salvation. Just like survivors discover that their past does not have to label the rest of their lives. Peace will come to define them. And then there’s Anna. She’s my favorite. She’d been traumatized by the death of her husband early on in her marriage. She did not give up as she remained dependent on the services of the temple for subsistence. She, too, experienced that aha! moment of fulfilled promise. She told everyone she could about her experience.
Overwhelming? Yes, both Incarnation and trauma, abuse, and neglect. At Christmas the two intersect for good. Do we understand it all? No! I don’t understand all the details of how my truck runs. That doesn’t keep me from driving it. And then there’s Mary—front and center participant-observer to Emmanuel—God with us! She didn’t get all of it either! Nevertheless, she treasured what she saw, felt, heard, smelled, and touched. What she didn’t fully comprehend, she pondered them in a safe place in her heart.
This story is not just for December 25 each year. It’s for each and every day. The numbers remain staggering of those of God’s creation who have been harmed by trauma, abuse, and neglect. Join me in providing hope for those who remain to experience God with them in their woundedness and unyielding despair. Invite Trauma Ministry to come to you and your church in 2020 to be equipped to bring tidings of great joy to the survivors with whom we worship and those who live in the communities we serve.
Find us at www.traumaministry.net.
May this be the Holiest of Christmases for you and yours this year!
From your Friends at the Trauma Network Team
