O Emmanuel,

you are our King and Judge,
the One whom the people await, their Savior.
O come and save us, Lord our God.

Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, "What, then will this child be?" For surely the hand of the Lord was with him. (NAB) Luke 1:65-66

Why did they fear John's birth since it was foretold. He was the one that God sent to shake them up from their slumber. Why do any of us fear the coming of the Lord? Are we afraid to be caught with our hands in the cookie jar. I think many of us are afraid of the coming Judgement. If we all remember how our parents meeted out punishment when we did wrong, it's no wonder we fear the coming of our Lord. God is after all our Parent. He loves us, to send someone to correct us. He loves us much more than we think, because he sent his Son to correct us too. That pretty much tells me that God is very loving, to want us to come to him. He wants us to go to him and be honest with our wrong doings. He has given us John to prepare the world for his Son, teaching repentance. Jesus came into this world to teach us about Love and forgiveness. Are we up to the task to go the Father and ask forgiveness. To look to our neighbors and forgive them also. God is giving us an enormous opportunity to open up our hearts to his love with the birth of his Son. God Bless