The Heralds
When I was little, I could scarcely wait for Christmas Eve. It had an almost magical feel about it. First of all, was the fact that we would go to Midnight Mass. Staying up late as a child seemed like a reward. Christmas carols would be sung with vigor, echoing in the church. People would actually smile and wish each other, “Merry Christmas!” Sometimes it even snowed, as it did when I was ten years old.
Then…it was back home to a roaring fire and an amazing brunch. For some reason none of us got tired that night.
One of the highlights of the evening was to place baby Jesus in the manager in the Nativity. It was a joyful time for our family. Tales of old were recounted. The story of the birth of Jesus, the Savior retold. I wondered what it was like for the Shepherds who were “abiding with their flocks by night“?
Shepherds. The dregs of society. They smelled like the sheep they cared for and tended. At the time of Christ, they had lost the status their forefather Abraham had enjoyed. They were not welcome in “polite” society. They were considered on-par with tax-collectors and dung sweepers.
Shepherds were the first to hear the joyous news – and what a delivery!
Can you imagine the sheer terror of being on a windswept hillside in the stygian darkness of an area with no light but the stars and perhaps the moon? Then, in the blink of an eye the entire scene was lit with legions of rejoicing angels. Music! Dancing! Heavenly Hosts full of praise!
Renaissance art did a grave disservice to the imagery of angels. They are not chubby, pink-cheeked Hallmark caricatures. They are Heralds. Warriors. Protectors. Worshippers. There is nothing small or insignificant about them. They are enormous and powerful. When human beings encounter them, the reaction is uniform: terror and awe.
Picture the sky filled with these Heralds of Heaven shouting glory to the newborn King! The One who would set the sons and daughters of earth free at last. The One who was sent for all men.
The angels announced the most significant miracle to some from the lowest echelons. It is a noteworthy parallel that some thirty-three years later, another angel announced Christ’s resurrection to a group of lowly women. In neither circumstance did angels first reveal these miracles to the “elite” or “superstars” of the day.
No. It was to Shepherds and Women. It was to people who had hearts and souls to hear the Good Tidings of Great Joy and respond. They would “hasten” to discover, to share the news, to worship and rejoice in God’s promises delivered.
Let us not lose their wonder and joy of the truly miraculous truth of Christmas. Let us be as eager as the Wise Men from the East to follow the Star. Or, like the Shepherds, leave the flocks behind to give homage to the baby King in the manger. The Women who heard Jesus had risen ran back to tell the others. Encountering Jesus changes people.
They believed. They acted. They are part of a beautiful history and their legacy lives on to this day. Angels came and told them the news and they carried it on to others.
“Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, 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, goodwill toward men!’” Luke 2:10-14
Hark, the Herald Angels!
-RG
