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"Don't be afraid."

That's how I usually start my conversations with humans.

"Are you all right?" For some reason, whenever I make an appearance, people seem to fall down. They can't talk. They become terrified. We are trained to respond to that kind of reaction and reassure our human clients as the first item of business, "Don't be afraid." Really.

I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God. Yes, near the center of the consuming fire. The overpowering glory of His presence would burn the best among you to a crisp in an instant, unless you were especially prepared to bear it. And the faintest trailing wisps of His glory that cling to my garments have made the most powerful soldiers melt with terror on some of my visits to earth.

I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God.

And from time to time, I stand in the presence of humans. I bring messages. That's what the word "angel" means--messenger. For instance, I was the one who told Daniel the meaning of King Belshazzar's vision of the ram and the male goat. Daniel fell on his face when he saw me. Out cold. On another occasion, I explained to Daniel how to interpret the vision of the 70 weeks. I have been called upon to deliver many momentous messages, but none can compare with those I'll tell you about now.

I traveled to earth three different times in connection with the events leading up to that first Christmas. I am the voice of disclosure. I was the one who disclosed the good news to Mary and to Joseph. And before that, I disclosed to old Zacharias the priest what part he and Elisabeth would play. All three missions came within months of each other.

I was sent to Zacharias not quite a year before that first Christmas. He was a very godly man, an aging priest who served my Master with distinction. His wife Elisabeth was also very godly. Both of them were getting up in years. They had no children and that was a heavy sorrow for them. But my message would change all that. I am the voice of disclosure, and what I had to disclose to this dear old couple would change their lives forever.

Jehovah sent me to tell Zacharias that soon he and Elisabeth would have a son. Not just any son--their son would be filled with the Holy Spirit from Elisabeth's womb. Their son was to be the promised forerunner of the Messiah. Their son would prepare Messiah's way in the spirit and power of Elijah.

I flew to Jerusalem. Zacharias was in the temple, all alone in the holy place, burning incense. A crowd of worshippers outside in the courtyard were at prayer. I went around behind the altar of incense, which stood before the veil that hung between the holy place and the holy of holies. At the altar of incense, Zacharias was as close as anybody ever got to the mercy seat in the holy of holies, except for the high priest himself, and he only on the Day of Atonement.

I stood just to the south of the altar and watched the old man. Zacharias was intent in his work. Finally, he looked my way and was startled. You should have seen the look on his face. No one is more startled to see someone else than the one who thinks he is all alone.

"Don't be afraid, Zacharias," I started the standard reassurance. "Jehovah has heard your prayers, and He is pleased to answer them. You will become a father. Your wife Elisabeth will bear a son, and together you will name him John." I never know what kind of response to expect. My disclosure should have been cause for celebration. The birth of the son would bring unbounded joy to many people. The son of Zacharias was destined to be great in Jehovah's sight. He would be a special child. A Nazirite from his mother's womb, John would turn many people back to God.

This was news of great hope, but the old priest didn't believe me. He said he and his wife were too old. "I am Gabriel," I said. "I stand in the presence of God." Surely this old priest, who knew how serious a thing it is to minister in an earthly temple, would understand that I must be speaking truth, for I stand in the heavenly temple. But Zacharias did not believe. How could this priest, who was entrusted to handle the mysteries of God, how could he not believe? Disbelief in a holy place. Disbelief at the altar of incense. Disbelief in the very dwelling of God among men. That is the worst kind of disbelief.

If he would not believe my good news, he must believe some bad news. I raised my voice again in disclosure. This time I told Zacharias that because he did not believe Jehovah, he would not be able to speak until the things I told him had all been accomplished. I left him. What a sad irony--that Zacharias the priest, who had received great good news, could not tell it to anyone because of his own doubt.

The first of my three missions was complete. Just six months later Jehovah sent me on my second mission as the voice of disclosure. This time my destination wasn't the capital city or the gleaming temple, but the village of Nazareth on the southern edge of Galilee. "Nazareth?" you ask. "That sleepy little village so far removed from the centers of government and religion? That backwater town? Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" I understand your surprise. But there was no mistake. My contact person was a young woman, a virgin named Mary.

I found her in her parents' home, one of the humble little dwellings of Nazareth. I said, "Be happy, Mary. You are one of the most blessed women on earth." Of course, Mary was startled and afraid, but not like Zacharias or even Daniel. Mary seemed less afraid of me than she was puzzled by my greeting. What did I mean that she was the most blessed woman on earth?

"Don't be afraid, Mary," I continued. "You have found favor with God." That seemed to calm her. I disclosed that she would conceive and bear a son, and that her son's name should be called Jesus. What could I tell her in a handful of words about the birth of God among men? I said that her baby would be great and be called the Son of the Highest. Jehovah would give her son the throne of His father David, and there would be no end to His reign. I stopped. She was quiet for a moment. Then she raised a modest question. She wondered how she could be pregnant, since she had never known a man. She was a virgin. How could this happen? Details, details. Here I was, announcing the great theological event in history, and she wanted to talk biology. But in another way, a very important question. This theological event would mean nothing if not tied to the blood and water, life and death issues, of physical human existence. How do you explain a miracle?

I did my best. I disclosed that the Holy Spirit would come over her in such a way that she would become pregnant. Therefore, the One born from her would be both God and man. I reminded her that her aged cousin Elisabeth was already in the sixth month of her pregnancy. Wasn't that a miracle, too? Nothing is impossible with God. Mary smiled a good smile. Maybe thinking of Elisabeth six months pregnant, and Mary believed God. "Behold, the handmaiden of the Lord." She calmly and graciously accepted the will of God for her.

My second mission accomplished, I had just one more disclosure to make. Some months passed. Mary had gone to visit Elisabeth in the hill country for a few months, and when she returned to Nazareth, it was obvious to all that she was pregnant. Small-town gossip soon filled Nazareth. Joseph was Mary's fiancé, and he was the subject of much unjust speculation. He had painful questions of his own. My mission was to let Joseph know that it was both legitimate and acceptable for him to proceed with his marriage plans. So once more, I raised my voice of disclosure. I appeared to Joseph in a dream.

I said, "Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid. Your beloved Mary is pregnant, but she has not been unfaithful to you. What has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit of God. She will bear a son. When He is born, you will take Him as your own son and give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins." Joseph was to play a special part in a story that began centuries before. In Isaiah's day, the outcome of the story had been guaranteed with the words, "Behold, a virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel." But Joseph, he would have to endure temporary local gossip in Nazareth. But that would never compare to the lasting joy of playing the role he was given in the salvation story of the world.

My third mission was complete. The twelve voices of Christmas. I was the first to speak. It was my voice that disclosed Christmas was coming. Three momentous messages from heaven. Not causes for fear, but reasons for hope. So prepare the way. A son is born to the throne of David, and He will save His people from their sins.