A People Waiting
“In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock at night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.”
Christ’s birth was heaven’s best-kept secret. He came to a people waiting, yet his coming was unexpected.
This morning, as I meditate on the Christmas story, I am seeing these events through different eyes. Instead of picturing the glistening choir of angels, the thematic music, the emotional expressions of talented actors, or the staging of significant events on the screen, I am seeing a cold and dark night, smelling dirt and dust, and hearing the quietness of society before machinery.
To the shepherds, this night was just another night of the daily grind. Can you picture the absolute insignificance of the night that the shepherds saw the angels?
This translation mentions that the angel suddenly appeared around them. I know that word "suddenly" is important, but then again, I am not sure there is any other word to describe the appearance of a heavenly being. In one moment, in one breath, everything changed. God sent angels with a revelation message about what he was up to, and the shepherds never could have seen it coming.
The shepherds were just a few of the people who experienced the breaking through of this story. I want us to try and zoom back even further from the scene we are used to seeing. Even Luke and the gospel writers stage this story through scenes that run into each other, so I want you to join me in imagining what the actual story was.
The real-time story was not frame after frame edited down for the big screen. It was brief moments of divine nature. It was the gloom of oppression interrupted for a few moments by the archangel delivering the promise to Mary. It was the tension of navigating Mary’s situation where Joseph had a divine dream. It was shepherds pinching themselves after they witnessed heaven. It was Simeon and Anna with beating hearts holding the promise they interceded for, scarcely believing it could be so.
All these moments were a blink of an eye for these characters. We see the whole picture, but of these people waiting in darkness, only a few experienced that revelation, and they had just their moment, not the whole story.
The Christmas story is in many ways much more beautiful when we can see it as scattered and separated events. Though Satan was reigning in oppression, heaven was breaking through with brilliant bursts of light, strategically and faithfully executing the prophetic destiny of the godhead.
Surrounded by supernatural signs and wonders, Jesus came on that day like any other baby. He was born without the accompaniment of emotional music and perfect lighting. He was delivered to the sound of labor pains and stable animals. Still, the shepherds ran through the silent night to find the baby, and when they saw him, they fell down and worshipped.
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