My childhood Christmas fear wasn’t ending up on the wrong side of Santa’s list; it was the Christmas tree lights—those big, old-fashioned lights that became hot to the touch in a matter of seconds. Even though my father, the electrician, carefully strung the lights on the tree and nary a frayed cord among them, I remained convinced that the hot lights would touch innocent pine needles, and the entire tree would become engulfed in flames. It never happened, but my fear remained until the tree came down.

That first Christmas was no stranger to fear or troubled hearts.

In a setting ripe with fear (after all, it was in the days of Herod, king of Judea, according to Luke 1:5), we meet righteous Zechariah and Elizabeth—old and childless. Elizabeth’s reproach was about to turn into rejoicing, but not before fear fell on Zechariah when Gabriel, the angel of the Lord, appeared with assurances to not be afraid, because of the good news of answered prayer and John’s birth.

Six months later, Garbriel appeared to Mary. According to Luke 1:29, Mary was greatly troubled at Gabriel’s greeting—not his appearance—“Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28-29), and their conversation continues as we celebrate the child that was born. We also meet righteous Joseph and unsuspecting shepherds who are startled by fear.

What’s curious about this first Christmas fear is the ready obedience that follows. Mary describes herself as a servant of the Lord, and submits to his word, Zechariah writes J-O-H-N on a tablet, Joseph takes Mary as his wife, and the shepherds hurry off to Bethlehem in the middle of the night.

But what to make of the wise men from the east? Astrologers, astronomers, learned. Matthew doesn’t record a troubled heart among them, but an expectation of a newborn king whose star they saw as it rose. In its online seriesTroubled Passages, Crossway Publishers has a post about the wise men in Matthew 2:1-12. Wrote Dan Doriani, “Magi, or ‘wise men . . .' were royal counselors. At best, they were learned and prudent. At worst, they were charlatans, sycophants, and brutes . . . . Whatever their character, the line between astrology and astronomy was thin, if only because stargazing was respectable. Scripture both prohibits and mocks astrology . . ., yet God reversed expectations and spoke to stargazers in language they understood, thereby calling Gentiles to Jesus.”

Actually, there was a troubled heart among them—Herod’s heart, a proud heart that worshiped only himself and his power, contrary to what he told the wise men. Those stargazers, however, never did return to Herod, instead “they departed to their own country by another way.” (Matt. 2:12)

I think the wise men not only went home another way but also went home as changed people because they met Jesus as T.S. Elliot wrote in his poet, “Journey of the Magi,”

We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.

We all are glad for another’s death. We are glad for great news of great joy that a Savior came to save his people from their sin, glad he came to those sitting in great darkness, and glad he came for troubled and fearful hearts that choose to trust and discover all their hopes and fears are met in Jesus now and forever.

Merry Christmas.