My childhood days being not far gone, I can clearly remember the angel from my family’s Nativity scene. A lovely woman with golden wings and a richly colored gown, she looked as if she had stepped right out of a Renaissance painting and into our living room. A banner draped from her delicate hands proclaimed “Gloria.” Her place was at the top of the stable roof, from which she watched the assembled wise men and shepherds below with downcast eyes, smiling demurely.

But I can also remember another Christmas angel, one which stood out starkly from the usual crowd of chubby cherubs and white-robed, haloed heavenly hosts. One of my family’s favorite Christmas books was This Is the Star, by Joyce Dunbar, illustrated by Gary Blythe. The picture book depicted an angel very different from the serene lady of our crèche: a massive fountain of light, stretching its broad wings across the heavens, turning night to day with its brilliant presence. This angel had no face, no comforting smile. It was alien, majestic, powerful – in a word, awe-inspiring.

Even when I was a child, this angel filled me with amazement, and a good amount of fear – a reaction I shared with the shepherds of Luke’s Christmas story. Luke tells us that when the angel appeared, the glory of God himself shone around the shepherds. No wonder they were terrified! A perfectly righteous, all-powerful God had suddenly intruded into their broken, human lives. But the angel brings a message, one he prefaces with the words “Do not be afraid.” Now that Christ – Immanuel, God with us – has been born, we no longer need to fear standing in the presence of a holy God. Like the shepherds, we can go on our way praising God for his miraculous gift, turning our fear to joy and wonder.