Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.”
Luke 2:10, NKJV
One December evening in the early seventies, some of the teachers at my church conspired with my parents to dress me in a white sheet and set me in front of the entire congregation, something I had never experienced during any of my seven long and illustrious years. They made the room as dark as possible, knowing how much all seven year-olds love the dark.
The weight of Christmas fell on my shoulders that year. When the big night arrived, I made my entrance, hit my mark, and delivered my line, unprepared for the shock of the blinding spotlight: “Fear not! Good news has CAME!” The grown-ups laughed. Looking back, it was really on them. If they cared about participles, they should never have given the job to a kid. Bad grammar cannot possibly ruin Christmas. Good news has come. Jesus was born for us.