wfn.org | Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson's 2002 Christmas Message

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

November 25, 2002

PRESIDING BISHOP MARK HANSON'S 2002 CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

    Greetings in the name of our Triune God.
    Oh, how fear permeates our lives -- the possibility of war, the
instability of the economy, the uncertainty of our children's future,
the reality of debilitating illness, the finality of death.  Amid all
the fears that haunt us, it is my prayer that we might experience
something of the shepherd's holy fearfulness.  For it is not finally the
power of weapons, wealth, or wisdom that causes us to tremble, but the
incomprehensible possibility that God comes to us in this way and in
this place:

    To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
    who is the Messiah, the  Lord. . . . You will find a child wrapped
    in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.  (Luke 2:11-12, NRSV)

    What fills us with awe and holy fearfulness is not just the
familiar Christmas story, with its miraculous detail or its wondrous
blending of the ordinary and mystical, the lowly and the most high.  It
is the great mystery of God's love for the whole creation, revealed
through Jesus' birth and life, death and resurrection.

    O great mystery
    and wondrous sacrament,
    that animals should see the newborn Lord,
    lying in a manger!
    Blessed is the virgin whose womb was worthy
    to bear our Lord Christ: Alleluia!
    Lord, I heard your call and was afraid,
    I considered your works,
    and I trembled between two animals.
	 "O magnum mysterium," Latin hymn, ca. 11th-13th century;
	 based on passages from Luke and Habakkuk

    The angel's announcement of Christ's birth leaves us trembling in
holy fearfulness.  It stirs us to ponder with Mary the wonder of God's
love.  It bids us to join the shepherds in glorifying and praising God.
For in Christ we are called to faith, not fear; to hope, not despair.
We are set free to proclaim Christ and strive for peace in all the
world.
    "The God of peace be with you all."  (Romans 15:33)

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

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