"God has not given us a spirit of fear,
but of love and of a sound mind."

~ 2 Timothy 1:7

All Earth Is Waiting

This season we focused on the hymn, Toda la Tierra, “All Earth is Waiting.” And as we do every Advent, we lit one new candle each Sunday, waiting for God’s hope, peace, joy, and love to be revealed in the Christ child. And friends, Christmas Eve is tomorrow. We made it! The wait is almost over.

The wait for Christmas may be waning, yet we recognize that there is much that the world is still waiting for. We live in a world which longs for peace. We live in a world which longs to live without fear. We live in a world that is still waiting for the rough places to be made plain.

This December was the first time that Christians in Bethlehem held their public Christmas tree lighting since the war in Gaza began. In an interview with NPR, Bethlehem Mayor Maher Canawati said, “Despite years of pandemic, war, and hardship, we light this tree to declare that light is stronger than darkness … our people continue to suffer behind walls, under occupation, in exile and displacement. And in Gaza, our children are born beneath rubble. Yet the voice of the angel still whispers, do not be afraid.”

The angel tells people in the Christmas story over and over again to not be afraid. “Do not be afraid” is in the Bible at least 70 times.

In the second letter of Timothy, we read that in Christ we are given a spirit of love and sound mind, not a spirit of fear. When I think about what fear causes in my own life — othering, seclusion, certainty, and scarcity — it is in stark contrast to what God calls us to: community, connection, grace, and sharing. God’s call is not from a place of fear, it is a from a place of openness and vulnerability. We learn that so clearly through the story of Mary the mother mild, and Jesus Christ her little child.

The wait for this Christmas is nearly over. But the work of carrying the message of community, connection, grace, and sharing continues. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow in one of our Christmas Eve services as we tell this story for which all the earth waits.