Something Exciting

Celebrate

The angels had waited for this for who knows how long. I almost imagine it like this. Imagine it as if it were a play. You have the shepherds sitting out on stage and a single angel gets to go out and start talking to them. Meanwhile, behind the curtains, the rest of the angels are waiting. They have been rehearsing this song for ages, they are so excited to bring this music into the world, some of them are maybe anxious about missing the cue, some of them are maybe going over the lines in their head, some of them are just enraptured by what the angel on stage is saying. Then they hear it, the line,

Luke 2:10–12 (ESV)

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

And all of those other angels flood out and start praising God for what He is about to do. And that is an important response to the news that we are remembering today. Jesus Christ was born in a manger, born a savior, born to save those shepherds, those townspeople, and all of us from sin and death and the power of the devil.

So we come together today and celebrate the birth of Jesus. And we come together regularly, on the first day of the week, to celebrate what Jesus accomplished for us with songs and words and lives that glorify Him. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!

Share

But that isn’t the only reaction we see to this incredible news is it? I want to discard the image of a theater (which I used pretty much because I have no idea what the angels were doing or where they were doing it before they showed up to sing in the sky) and just go back to the field. The bright sky dims back to the deep blue it had been before. The stars shone and the sheep made gentle noises in their sleep. The shepherds looked at each other, asking quietly to make sure they had all seen the same incredible thing. Still not entirely sure what they saw was what they thought they saw, they decided to head into the nearby town of Bethlehem. Maybe they figured if they found this newborn the angels had mentioned it would help to settle things in their heads. So they went into town and found everything exactly as the angels had said it would be, so they started telling everyone what had happened. It was incredible - the angels they had seen and the message they had receive - so they had to make sure other people knew! And that is another important response to the news we are celebrating today. Jesus Christ was born in a manger, born a savior, born to save those shepherds, those townspeople, and all of us from sin and death and the power of the devil.

So we come together today and share with each other the story of Jesus’ birth. And we come together regularly, on the first day of the week, to share the things that Jesus taught and everything that He accomplished with creeds and readings and words that tell about Him. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!

Ponder

But there’s one more reaction we see to this incredible news isn’t there? The shepherds come barging into this space where Mary and Joseph and Jesus are, they’re loud and exclaiming about this incredible experience they’ve had, and when they leave to tell everyone else - the stable seems unnaturally quiet by comparison. And Mary sits, committing all of these things to memory and thinking about everything they could mean. I imagine her sitting, rocking a quietly sleeping Jesus, staring off into the distance. I picture her with that look people get when they’re not really looking at whatever their eyes are seeing. And she keeps thinking about the things the shepherds said, the things the angels had said - turning them over in her mind, analyzing them and over-analyzing them, wondering exactly what all this would mean for her newborn baby boy. It was incredible - the things the shepherds had shared with her and her own experience with the angel talking with her and Joseph before. But it was also hard to wrap her head around - so she had to sit and think on it. And that is another important response to the news we are pondering on this morning. Jesus Christ was born in a manger, born a savior, born to save those shepherds, those townspeople, and all of us from sin and death and the power of the devil.

So we come together today and ponder together on the story of Jesus’ birth. And we come together regularly, on Sundays and during the week in small groups, to ponder and reflect on the things Jesus taught and everything He did with sermons and devotions and Bible studies that help us to understand Him. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!