SAUCIER — To certain poor shepherds

We’ve all been there. The obligatory Christmas pageants: where our related little ones try to recapture the simple essence of Christmas in story and song.

This one, like most, was adorable. Mary and Joseph looked elated as they held their baby-doll Jesus. Three road-weary wisemen offered their iconic gifts.

The other kindergarten boys made up a well-costumed shepherds’ choir, while the girls, in white dresses, golden halos, and vinyl wings, comprised their counterparts.

Our sometimes less-than-cherubic granddaughter was up there with the angels, singing the Christmas hymns with a smiling exuberance we could all use this time of the year.

Their 5-year-old voices and spritely gestures were delightful, but perhaps a little deceptive. We may have domesticated the Christmas story, made a Hallmark movie out of something that was meant to be shocking and disruptive.

No one is going to fear these diminutive darlings, divine or otherwise, but what are the first words of the angel Gabriel to Mary at the Annunciation? “Be not afraid.”

And what does this angel tell Joseph in his annunciation dream? “Be not afraid.”

And those shepherds in the field? “Be not afraid.”

The sudden appearance of an ethereal someone speaking directly to you must be frightening.

But aside from the looks of an angel, Mary had plenty to fear. Betrothed to a man, but pregnant not by him, she could be banished or stoned.

There’s little doubt that Joseph’s angel dream came about in a fitful sleep. A victim of circumstances, should he follow the rigid rules of custom, or open his home and heart to Mary and the prospects of further ridicule?

The shepherds in the fields had reason to quake. It wasn’t just one angel appearing to them, but a host of them, shining in the glory of the Lord.

But shepherds had bigger fears in this hardscrabble life. Was this cold, hungry way of barely making ends meet all they had to look forward to?

For them, and for us, as well, there was something deeper.

Each appearance announced the coming of Emmanuel. It is God with us, God for us, and ultimately, God in us.

It is the God who will not abandon us, who will lead us through terrifying ordeals, who will comfort us in our grief.

For the Nativity players, all that took was trust. But unlike those little angels and shepherds, letting go and trusting is our biggest fear.

So be not afraid, and have a blessed Christmas!