Text Luke 2:8-15
8 There were in the same country shepherds staying out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified! 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. For behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all people: 11 Today in the town of David, a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude from the heavenly army, praising God and saying, 14“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward mankind.” 15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Now let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
Sermon
Dear Friends in Christ,
Perhaps it has happened to you that you have mailed something or you were supposed to receive in the mail, but it never arrived. The mail never reached its intended destination. There’s a whole section on the United States Postal Service website regarding lost mail and what to do in the event your mail doesn’t arrive.
That’s what makes the Pony Express so remarkable. From April 1860 to October 1861, the Pony Express had a remarkable run of delivering expedited mail between Missouri and California, traveling over difficult and dangerous terrain. Over the year and a half it was in business, riders compiled over 650,000 miles and only once was the mail lost.
Professor John Schuetze in his book “Angels and Demons” notes that angels could be called ‘God’s Pony Express.’ Besides policing the world and protecting the world, the angels are also mail carriers. And in delivering messages, the angels are 100% reliable. Of course, the messages they deliver are on another level. The messages they deliver come from God himself.
During these Wednesday services, we are taking a closer look at three different accounts where angels deliver messages. Today, we are taking a closer look at one of the most wellknown and most treasured pieces of Scriptures. We are looking more closely at the appearance of an angel and then a multitude of angels announcing and celebrating Jesus’ birth with the shepherds.
We begin at verse 8 of Luke chapter 2: “There were in the same country shepherds staying out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock at night.” The preceding verses tell us that Jesus was born. And we find out that he was born in the little town of Bethlehem which is just 5 miles or so south of Jerusalem. In the fields outside of Bethlehem, a certain band of shepherds were tending their flock. It is thought that these were sheep were perhaps being raised to be used for sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem.
“An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified!” Breaking the stillness of the night, an angel appeared to theses shepherds. The sudden appearance would lead any of us to be at least momentarily in shock. But the Bible says that they were terrified. But doesn’t that conflict with the world’s perception of angels? There’s a YouTube channel called Lutheran Satire that I think portrays this well in a video about angels. It begins with the opening screen saying: “What happens when you see a pop art angel.” Then you see a man referring to a pop art angel, saying, “Aw. You’re so cute!” The next frame comes up and says: “What happens when you see an actual angel.” The same man reappears screaming at the top of his lungs for the next 10 seconds or so.
That’s the reality. When angels appeared to people, they were frightened. That was the case when the angel appeared to Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father. The Virgin Mary was also frightened by the angel. The guards at Jesus’ tomb on Easter morning were so frightened by the sight of an angel that they shook and became like dead men.
Why were they afraid? Each of these individuals sensed that they were in the presence of holiness. Here in our text, Luke says the “the glory of the Lord shone around them.” God’s glory had manifested itself in such a way that it was frightening for the shepherds to see.
Even though they may not have expressed it this way, they were experiencing what the prophet Isaiah experienced when he was called to be a prophet. He saw angels called seraphim who were praising God for his holiness. In seeing and hearing this, Isaiah said: “I am doomed! I am ruined, because I am a man with unclean lips, and I dwell among a people with unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies!”
If an angel of the Lord would appear to us with the glory of the Lord surrounding the angel, our reaction would be the same as Isaiah. The holiness of God terrifies us because we know we cannot survive it on our own. Thankfully, God has a solution for us.
“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. For behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all people: 11Today in the town of David, a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. 12And this will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.””
Do not be afraid. If the police show up at your door, wouldn’t you be afraid? What did I do wrong…might be one of your first thoughts. Or did something happen to my loved one?
Since angels are God’s agents for enforcing his will, it is only natural that the shepherds were afraid. That’s why the angel’s message – do not be afraid – was so important. And the angel had news to back this statement up. He was not there as an enforcer. Rather, the angel was on a peace-keeping mission.
In fact, this angel made it known that he had some good news that they would be thrilled to learn. Something monumental had just happened. A Savior was born… FOR YOU! Being in the presence of this holy angel and the glory of the Lord was a reminder to them that they needed saving. And the very salvation they needed was born as a tiny baby!
Who was this tiny baby? He is Christ the Lord! It is the anointed one, the one chosen from long ago. The one promised from long ago. He was born in the town of David. David is mentioned here because he grew up in Bethlehem and was himself a shepherd before becoming the King of Israel. But David’s name is mentioned here for a much more important reason. He was a part of the family line through which the Christ, or Messiah, had been promised.
He had come to rescue them. They were looking for a rescuer. But many underestimated who this rescuer would be. Many thought of him as an earthly ruler who would overcome Roman rule and provide for their earthly needs. But the rescuer that was promised and that was delivered in Bethlehem was a much mightier one who would do so much more. He had come to rescue them from their sins. He had come to ensure that they could stand before the holy God!
But the rescuer didn’t look like much. He was a helpless baby who relied on his mother to feed him and to change his diapers. And this rescuer wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He was born into the world in about the most humble circumstances possible. He was born in a stable; he was wrapped in swaddling clothes or strips of cloth; his bed was a feeding trough; his parents were lower class.
But things aren’t always as they appear on the outside. This rescuer who had come into the world in such humility was actually the Lord, the Almighty God who had left his throne in the highest heaven in order to sink to the deepest depths. He is more than powerful enough to complete his rescue mission. He is exactly the Savior that is needed!
As if the appearance of one angel wasn’t enough for the shepherds to handle, the night’s sky was now filled with them: “Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude from the heavenly army, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward mankind.””
Many translations of the Bible describe these angels as a “heavenly host.” But the EHV translates this as the “heavenly army,” which more pointedly reminds us of the mission of angels: to fight for God and God’s people.
But here, their mission is not to fight or to terrify anyone. Rather it is to back up the lead angel’s message that a Savior has been sent to them. They back him up by declaring what this means for these shepherds, and for all mankind – all people.
It means peace and good will. But there are wars still being fought. Crime is as bad as it has ever been. Relationships are so often strained and broken. Problems greet us each new day. So, where’s the peace?
The peace the angels declared is the peace we sinners now have because our Savior went to war with Satan and defeated him. Our Savior battled for us taking all our sin – all that caused a divide with God in the first place – to the cross. Because of the Savior’s work, we have peace with God.
And that peace is necessary for us as we fight the battles of daily life. Even though things on earth may not be peaceful, we can have peace on earth knowing that our relationship with God has been forever repaired. God’s good will is with us now and even when he returns because it is then he will take us to be with him in heaven where there will be no more battles of any kind. Only enduring peace with God and with all others in heaven. And so, how do we react to this proclamation of peace? How did the shepherds react? “When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Now let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.””
Let’s forge ahead into the season ahead of us with wonder as we ponder the mystery of God becoming human flesh and blood. Let’s forge ahead into the season ahead of us with joy knowing that we have one who has rescued us from our sins. Let’s forge ahead into the Christmas season with humility knowing that like the shepherds we don’t deserve the gift our God has given to us. Let’s forge ahead with thanks and praise that God would deliver such a glorious message through his messengers, the angels. Amen.