Come and See - Pt 5

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 great 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. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:8-14 ESV).

We come back to a previous reading for our look at the fourth candle of the Advent wreath. It represents peace and is called the "Angel’s Candle." The angels announced that Jesus came to bring peace. He came to bring people close to God and to each other again. Angels have a recurring role in the Christmas narrative. An angel is God’s mouthpiece first to Zechariah about the birth of John the Baptist (cf. Luke 1:8–20), then to both Joseph and Mary about the birth of Christ, communicating God’s marvelous plan and the young couple’s involvement in it, even answering their questions and easing their fears (cf. Luke 1:26–38; Matthew 1:20–25). Later, an angel appears to the shepherds at night, surrounding them with God’s visible glory and the famous “fear not!” greeting. The sky bursts with heavenly fanfare, a host of angels heralding the Savior’s birth for their lowly and astonished audience (cf. Luke 2:8–14). Even after Jesus’ birth, Joseph is warned by an angel in a dream to flee to Egypt with his family because of Herod’s vicious intent against the Christ child, thereby fulfilling an Old Testament prophecy: “out of Egypt I called my son” (cf. Matthew 2:13–15; Hosea 11:1). The appearances of these angels are awesome. It is heaven bursting forth into earth at this crux of God’s redemptive plan. We can only imagine what it would be like to stand before such a messenger as Mary did, or gaze with the shepherds into the starry sky and watch it fill with angels proclaiming God’s glory and his humble condescension. But the cornerstone of their messages, their heralding, their warnings, was — and is — Jesus Christ. Angels seem like the most dazzling part of the Christmas narrative, and are certainly the only characters in the nativity with any “sparkle” to speak of. But every angelic appearance, and the amazing spectacle of the heavenly hosts across the skies, proclaimed one unified message: Glory to God, the Savior has come to earth! That is the message that brings “peace on earth.” It is a peace to us as individuals now, and a peace to all the people of God ultimately! Rejoice!