You who bring good news to Zion,
    go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,
    lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
    say to the towns of Judah,
    “Here is your God!”
See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,
    and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
    and his recompense accompanies him.
He tends his flock like a shepherd:
    He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
    he gently leads those that have young.

I was speaking with some friends recently about the sermons on Advent, and they both responded that they avoiding thinking about the second coming because they preferred to look at the positive side of the faith rather than the frightening side.

The answer to that is that the second coming, as presented in the Bible, is more comforting than frightening.

Yes, it has some scary elements, but the frightening things talked about–earthquakes, wars and upheaval–are mostly things that come BEFORE the return of Christ. In other words, the return is what brings an end to the frightening parts.

For those who are oppressed and downtrodden, or grieving or in pain, the second coming represents a release from what is bad in life and a gift of new life, free of the suffering that has defined their life until then.

In this reading from Isaiah, we are told to lift up our voice with a shout, and to not be afraid. That’s the same assurance the angels give to Mary and to the shepherds: do not be afraid.

Why, then, do we so often respond with fear to something God has promised as a gift?