The Anxiety Antidote (A Study of Luke 2)

Two Announcements of Peace and How We Live In Between

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:8-10).

What a sweet story. We can almost hear Linus recounting the entire passage in “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” We see images of sweet children in a Christmas play. It seems so precious. But it’s not. Virtually everything about this story is subversive.

The Beginning

Let’s start with the shepherds. Though they create a bucolic image in our minds, in the Middle East, they elicited a different feeling. Shepherds were physically and spiritually dirty. Their jobs rendered them ritually unclean and required them to trespass on farmers’ property, which not infrequently led to suspicion. In terms of occupational hierarchy, they were one rung above tax collectors. Furthermore, these particular shepherds were hirelings. They had the night shift, roughly equivalent to being a midnight attendant at a 7-Eleven. They were neither noble nor powerful. The fact that God chose them as the first witnesses to the incarnation was scandalous.

Then there was the message itself: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:11-12).

These events are acted out in Christmas pageants, typically as soft strings play in the background. The beating of a tympani drum—a harbinger of doom—would be more fitting accompaniment. Herod was about to slaughter the other infants of Bethlehem due to this child. The birth of Jesus was good news to the world, for sure, but it came at a terrible price to the locals.

The Messiah was not welcomed by the powerful. And many who followed him in faith paid the price with their lives. Moreover, this Messiah, the hope of Israel, had an inauspicious entrance in a manger. He shared a bed with beasts of burden. His humble beginnings didn’t bode well for his ultimate success. It was an extreme paradox.

Finally, there was the announcement: “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests’” (Luke 2:13-14).

Have you stopped to think about the oddness of this announcement? An army announced there was peace. Has an army ever arrived to announce peace? Oh, sure, some army might return from war declaring they had won. But this was different. This army was invading enemy territory and declaring, prior to the battle, that peace had already been won. This should make us stand at attention.

The End

What we read about in Bethlehem repeated itself in the upper room. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).

The battle was about to rage, yet Jesus announced peace to his disciples. That’s right, he announced peace to those who would flee from the authorities, hunker down in the upper room, preach in the teeth of opposition, and eventually give their lives for their testimony. Peace was upon them. How was that remotely possible? Well, in the same way the angels announced peace. The victory was assured, even in the midst of the fray.

Jesus and the angels agreed. We need not fear in the face of chaos when we know the battle has already been won. Jesus’ death and resurrection promised life beyond death. Our earthly enemies are not our ultimate foes. Jesus’ humble beginnings and humbling end pulled back the veil of eternity so we could see with clarity that our greatest enemy was sin.

Our suffering in the present is barely a blip on the radar of eternity. Our earthly enemies can’t touch eternity and all that really matters. Our sin has been atoned for, our identity has been secured as children of God, and our salvation is firmly established in Jesus. So what, pray tell, is our worry in this world?

In Between

We live between the beginning and the end. The angels announced peace at the beginning of Luke’s Gospel. Jesus promised peace when he comes again. But we live in the middle. And, my, what a middle we have had in 2020. This will no doubt go down as one of the worst years of our lifetimes. We have faced a physical pandemic of COVID-19, which led to an economic crisis due to the lockdown, which led to a social crisis of anxiety.

In a normal year, anxiety disorders affect approximately 20 percent of the adult population. This could include general anxiety, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Because so few seek help, many professionals estimate at least 30 percent of American adults experience an anxiety episode each year. The annual price tag for treatment is approximately $48 billion. These types of disorders are invading the younger ages. It is estimated the average high school student today has a stress level equivalent to a psychiatric patient of the 1950s. Among middle school students, the level of anxiety generally aligns with their engagement on social media. Though anxiety disorders are the most common in today’s greatest mental health crisis, the good news is these disorders are also the most treatable. Unfortunately, only 36.9 percent of sufferers receive treatment.

Then there is the really bad news: COVID-19. In May 2020, a federal emergency hotline for people in emotional distress registered more than a 1,000 percent increase in calls. People are hurting more than ever. Nearly half of Americans report the coronavirus crisis is harming their mental health, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll. In my home state of Arizona, suicide rates are up 162 percent over the same period last year.

Most devastating of all, calls to Arizona Child Protective Services are down 90 percent. No, that is not good news; it is terrible news. We know that child abuse has spiked due to all this anxiety. Yet those with eyes trained to spot abuse are blinded. Schools, churches, and day cares were closed for a considerable time. Hence the closest observers outside the home had no way of monitoring the health of the most vulnerable in society.

How Can We Find (and Make) Peace in a World of Chaos?

If you experience more than two of the following physical manifestations, you may need to seek counseling or medical help: shortness of breath, racing heart, dizziness, persistent digestive issues, insomnia, panic attacks, muscle twitches, or headaches lasting longer than two days. I’m serious—please get the help you need.

Regardless of where you are on the spectrum, all of us can significantly minimize anxiety. The antidote is not a program but a person. A focus on Jesus can mitigate anxiety. An ancient document containing modern wisdom offers four simple steps. Let’s start with the first two:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7, emphasis mine).

1. Pray. There are three different words for prayer in this passage. Pray a lot, pray in every way, and pray for everything. There is much you cannot control but nothing God cannot control. The more we invite him into our chaos, the less room there is for worry.
2. Give thanks. Sit down and make a list of things you are thankful for. Psychotherapists affirm an inverse relationship exists between gratitude and anxiety. If you control your gratitude, anxiety will be unable to control you.

Now, the final two steps:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:8-9, emphasis mine).

• Control the narrative. Set your mind on things that are noble. This may mean altering your playlist, reading more Scripture, journaling daily, or guarding your Sabbath. What you allow to dominate your thoughts will determine your emotional direction.
• Do what you can. Feelings of anxiety swell when individuals feel out of control. Self-determination is an antidote to anxiety. You can never completely control any situation. However, there is always some small thing you can do in any situation. “Put it into practice.”

This lesson is not just for you. As Christ’s ambassadors, your presence of peace can mitigate anxiety in others. When others are at their worst, we need to be at our best. Jesus’ peace will emanate from your presence at home. Jesus’ peace will permeate the room with your words about him at work. Jesus’ peace will incarnate in you when you practice peace with your neighbors. May it be said of you, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9).