An Angel Appeared to Them - December 2, 2010

Good Thursday morning! It's time...

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 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." Luke 2:8-11

The Christmas season is here and we get to celebrate the birth of our Lord once more! However, the shepherds didn't seem to find great joy and peace at the appearance of an angel with great news. The scripture records that the shepherds were first filled with fear. The night is usually a time for more fear than the day for us. We like to see and we have difficulty with that at night. Shepherds also kept watch out in the fields; that is, exposed to the possibility of attack from wild animals or bad folks with weapons. And no one warned them to expect a visit from the Lord's messenger on that particular evening. We all fear the unknown and in the night these shepherds got a whole lot of new stuff thrown at them in a short time. We can make a fairly safe assumption that the shepherds had: 1. Never seen the glory of the Lord. 2. Never met an angel. 3. Never been addressed by an angel. 4. No idea what to do, and felt a very strong urge to run really fast in the other direction. We might feel those very things when faced with the sudden appearance of both an angel and the glory of the Lord even in the daytime.

People have met angels. We know this from both Bible accounts and from stories that have circulated since then. Sometimes the angel appears in a form much like our own and only later do people figure out that it must have been an angel that helped them or delivered a message. Other times angels have been visible only to children or to those close to death. Healing miracles have happened over the years. And I have heard stories of angels appearing without disguise as in the times when a prayer of distress was answered by a towering, armed figure of unmistakable strength that sent gang members intent on doing violence fleeing for their lives. Probably all of the stories are not true, but it does seem that angels are still quite active in the world. The angelic activity that doesn't generate stories and that we never know about is probably far greater from the stories and hints we have in the Bible. In any case, the shepherds most definitely had a meeting they were not prepared for!

In the Bible accounts, the glory of the Lord is an awesome thing to behold, as are angels. The shepherds suddenly had both in the dark of the night, which was no longer dark at all. The shepherds quite naturally were filled with fear. However, the message is not one to be afraid of and is one that we have cherished for the past 2,000 years. "Fear not," the start of most or all of the angelic messages in the Bible, and then the good news that Israel had been waiting centuries to hear, "For unto you a Savior is born!' But the good news was not just for Israel alone, the angel tells the shepherds that this good news is for all people. And not just good news, but good news of great joy. Christ the Lord was born and announced to a group we probably wouldn't have chosen first among the groups of people at that time. Why the shepherds? I'll save that for tomorrow. I do love the stories of Christ's birth!

Have a wonder-filled Christmas!

Bucky