Christmas Eve 2024
Luke 2:1-20
I think it’s impossible to read the Gospels and not walk away in complete awe and wonder... particularly regarding the glory of God. And nowhere in the Gospels, is that awareness greater than in the Gospel of Luke.
As you and I encounter Mary and Joseph… and their visits by Angels, or their journey to Bethlehem… the humble manger. Luke gives us a front row seat to the events of that first Christmas, and the revelation of God‘s glory through the Incarnation of Christ!
Verses 8-9 in particular stress God’s Glory: “There were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over there flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shown around them, and they were filled with great fear.”
Of course, in the King James Version, were told the shepherds were “sore afraid.” Today more modern translations have changed that because we don’t speak that way anymore… I don’t suppose we would ever say someone is “sore afraid.” But there’s something about that phrase that hits home. You know it’s one thing to be “afraid“ but it’s quite another to be “sore afraid.“ And I have no doubt that’s what the original translators of the King James Bible are trying to get at. They’re trying to help us understand that these shepherds, were so fearful, they were so frightened, so terrified, that it hurt. The fear was so tangible that it caused pain. Which kind of makes sense… I mean, I’m sure shepherds were not very accustomed to watching the visible manifestation of God’s glory, with their own eyes.
I can be kinda nerdy at times, especially when it comes to things astrological. I love looking at the stars, the planets. I like to try and find galaxies and nebulae in my telescopes. And anytime there’s an event involving the sun, I pull out my glasses… My eclipse glasses… So I can look at the sun directly. Of course, you’re not supposed to look at the sun directly without such glasses on. Doing so could cause permanent damage… it could burn your retina. The sun’s too bright for your eyes to view directly.
Yet Luke tells us in his Gospel, that when the glory of God shines, it shines all around. It shines with the brightness that eclipse is that of the sun. It shines so brightly, that shadows themselves can’t exist in such brilliant light. After all, 1 John 1:5 tells us explicitly, that, “God is LIGHT in Whom there is no darkness at all!”
Of course, if you and I could NEVER hope to look directly into the rays of the sun, which is a simple work of God‘s hands, how could we EVER hope to look directly into the unveiled, untempered, unrestrained presence of God’s brilliant glory - that casts out shadows! He is a consuming fire. He’s too holy, too glorious for human eyes to look up upon.
In fact... of all the attributes and characteristics of God: from His loving-kindness, His mercy... His forgiveness and grace... ONLY ONE is offered to us in triplicate - ONLY ONE is stressed to the third degree - and that attribute is God’s Holiness. “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, Almighty!” He’s so Holy that we cannot look upon his glory in it’s fullness!
Yet, here were the shepherds. Men of such poor position, they were not even allowed to enter in to the courts of Israel. They were looked down upon as untrustworthy. Shepherds held the lowest of the low jobs. The occupation, no one else wanted to do. Below entry level. They were basically seen as lower class dregs of society, capable of caring for sheep in the darkness of the night, but not much else.
Yet, they were the ones chosen to witness the Glory of the Lord, as it shown about. A glory that was so amazing, so dazzling… so overwhelming… that these hardened, shepherds, who were skilled at fending off predators in defense of their flocks, were terrified beyond explanation. The manifestation of the Glory of God, was followed by the proclamation of God‘s word through the messengers. As we’re told…
“and the angel said to [the shepherds], ‘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.’”
“Fear not,” the angel said. Get up and stand tall… this is no time for fear… it’s a time of unprecedented JOY. It’s the moment the world has been waiting for… And the shepherds (of all people) had been selected to be a witnesses to it. Not Kings or queens, nor princes or princesses. Not the powerful elite… But the lowest of the low. Shepherds. Out in their fields, abiding their flocks by night.
Jesus literally left heaven, taking on the form of a baby… In order that you and I can be glorified with him one day... sharing in this Glory that dispels all darkness. So that we can look into the face of God, and not be afraid.
The angel said to the shepherds, “today in the city of David as Savior has been born to you.“ What wonderful news! What joyful news!
But it was just the second greatest news ever heard by the ear of Man. The greatest news would follow some 33 years later, when another angel of the Lord, would declare the greatest news ever heard, “he is not here. He has risen.”
Brothers and sisters the Savior has been born… The glory of God has come… for you and me. Glory be to God!
Amen.
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