The Angel’s Song – Love (Christmas Songs #4)
Christmas is this week. Anybody willing to admit they are not done shopping?
A few hands. You have three and a half days. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Plenty of time, right? No. It is crunch time.
And here is the thing — the reason you have not bought that one gift yet is probably not that you have not had time. It is that you have no idea what to give this person. You have someone in mind and you are completely stuck.
That desperation makes us do strange things. We start typing random search terms into Google hoping something sparks. We wander through farm supply stores aimlessly, and this person has no interest whatsoever in dog food or tractor parts, but here we are.
Eventually the desperation drives us to ask other people. Coworkers. Classmates. Neighbors. We start texting friends, hoping someone will say, “Last year I got my wife this and it was perfect — she loved it. You should get it.”
What we are looking for is word-of-mouth advertising.
Marketing experts have said for years that word of mouth is the single most effective way to introduce someone to a company or a product. A lot of us — myself included — lean on online reviews, but those are strangers. When the person is physically standing in front of you saying “you will love this,” your likelihood of buying goes up enormously. You can see it in their eyes. You can hear it in their voice. They are raving, and you want in on it.
Today’s Christmas song from the Bible is essentially a word-of-mouth advertisement. A group announces an event. Another group hears about it, wants to see it for themselves, goes — and then turns into word-of-mouth advertisers themselves.
Where We Have Been
Before we get to Luke 2, let me set the stage, because I think it makes today land harder.
We started this Advent series in Isaiah 9 — Isaiah’s song, written seven hundred years before the first Christmas, and yet unmistakably a Christmas song. Isaiah was warning the people of his day that hard times were coming. About a hundred years later they went into exile in Babylon, exactly as he said. It was a brutal season in the life of Israel, and in the middle of their despair Isaiah’s words would have given them hope. Week one: Christmas brings hope.
Two weeks ago we went to Luke 1 and heard Zechariah’s song. He and his wife Elizabeth were righteous people with no children, and while he was serving as priest inside the temple an angel appeared and told him they would have a son and name him John. Sure enough, in their older years — they were probably in their forties — their firstborn arrived. And because Zechariah had not believed the angel, he was mute for nine months. When John was born his tongue was loosed, and the very first words out of his mouth were his Christmas song. Its theme: Christmas brings peace.
Last week we heard Mary’s song. Gabriel told her that although she was engaged to Joseph and not yet married, God would have her conceive as a virgin and carry the Messiah. That meant everyone around her would assume she and Joseph had not waited, and that scorn would follow her. She said yes anyway. And her song — the Magnificat — overflows with joy.
There is one more theme of Advent, and we hear it today in the angels’ song.
Setting the Scene
Luke 2:1–7: “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”
All three Christmas songs we have looked at point to this moment. So do most of the carols we sing, whether on a Sunday morning or going door to door in the neighborhood.
Most of us know the story. Joseph and Mary are betrothed but not yet married. They live in Nazareth up in Galilee, and the Roman emperor happens to call a census requiring them to return to their ancestral town. Joseph was of the line of David — and so, as it happens, was Mary — which sends them to Bethlehem, the city of David. And that lines up precisely with prophecy: from that tiny village would come the Messiah.
So they make the long trip, and while they are there registering, Jesus is born and laid in a manger — a feeding trough.
There has been endless discussion about what kind of building they were in. A barn? A cave outside town? A few years ago I read that many homes were two stories, with the family on the upper level and animals below. Just this past week I read an article arguing the opposite — that the homes were more single-level, with the family in one section and the animals in an adjoining space. And the word translated “inn” may not mean a commercial lodging at all; it can simply mean a guest room. So perhaps Joseph and Mary arrive hoping to stay with relatives, other family got there first, there was no room in the guest room, and Mary ends up giving birth near the animals.
Plenty of debate. For our purposes today, it does not matter much.
Nor are we going to linger on the paradoxes in this story, as much as the nerd in me would love to. The King of heaven arriving as an infant. The King stepping down from His throne to be laid in a feeding trough. The King setting aside heavenly robes for swaddling cloths. Worshiped by the heavenly courts one moment, and now attended by a poor carpenter and his fiancée. It moves my heart and it fascinates my mind. But our series is the Christmas songs of the Bible, and the song comes next.
The Angels’ Song
Verse 8: “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!’
“When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.’ And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.”
Why Shepherds?
Imagine life for these men. You spend your time out in a field, alone, caring for animals. You lead them to grass. You lead them to water. You are exposed to the elements, and whatever the temperature is, you deal with it.
And because you are out there, you are cut off from the rest of society. You cannot participate fully in the culture. You cannot show up for synagogue worship. You cannot be present for the feasts when everyone else is. Over time that made shepherds seem odd to people — outsiders, the strange ones on the margins.
In fairness, I found one commentary arguing that this low reputation for shepherds is a later development. But I also found a Jewish midrash — a commentary on the Hebrew Scriptures — on Psalm 23 that says flatly: there is no more disreputable occupation than that of a shepherd. That is a comment on the psalm that opens “The Lord is my shepherd.” In the social pecking order, leper is at the bottom, thief is above it, and shepherd is right there. These were not respected men.
Which makes them the absolutely perfect audience for this announcement.
Jesus did not choose to be born in a palace and identify with the wealthy and powerful. He is born to a poor carpenter and his fiancée and laid in a feeding trough, identifying with the outcast, the broken, the sinful, the weak — with shepherds. And later in His own teaching He would say, “I am the good shepherd.” It is no insult to Jesus to be called a shepherd. So in God’s perfect providence, the angels announce it to the outsiders.
Two Things in Their Song
They praise God
“Glory to God in the highest.”
I do not know about you, but generally the longer I know someone, the less impressed I am. Do not misunderstand — I meet people and grow to genuinely love them. But I also start seeing the flaws and the weaknesses, and I realize they are not quite up on the pedestal where I first placed them. Which is why when someone says something glowing about me early on, I think, well, it is downhill from here.
These angels have been in God’s presence generation after generation after generation. And they are not less impressed. They are more impressed. They stand there singing “Glory to God in the highest.” They do not show up saying, “Guess what, everyone, God finally got around to sending the Messiah — took Him long enough.” They are so taken with Him that praise is the only possible response.
They deliver a message
“And on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.”
In that one phrase you find every theme of Advent.
Three weeks ago, Isaiah’s song and the theme of hope — and here the angels are saying that the hope the Jewish people had ached for is finally here. Hope fulfilled.
Two weeks ago, peace — and there it is, sung directly: on earth peace. The Prince of Peace has arrived. Spiritual peace is now yours.
Last week, joy — and you cannot miss the joy in these angels. One angel gives the sign: you will find the baby wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. And suddenly a multitude of the heavenly host appears. “Host” is an army. We are talking thousands filling the sky. Maybe they had been rehearsing this for a millennium. Maybe they threw it together on the spot. Either way, they cannot contain it.
And there is one more Advent theme. That fourth candle on the wreath is the angel’s candle — and it is also called the love candle. Because what the angels are declaring is the love of God.
God So Loved
Think about it. Years later, a rabbi named Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night full of questions, and in the middle of that conversation Jesus says what is probably the most famous sentence in the entire Bible: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son.”
That is about Christmas. God gave a Christmas gift. He gave His one and only Son. Why? Because God so loved the world.
For some of you this year has been brutal, and it has made you doubt the presence of God. Or the goodness of God. Or the power of God. For some of you it has made you doubt the love of God.
What you need to hear today is that God loves you.
And He does not love you because you have your act cleaned up. He does not love you because you are a bit more righteous than the next person. He does not love you because you rank higher on some social scale — because at least you are not as low as a shepherd.
1 John 4:10 makes it unmistakable: “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Propitiation means the wrath of God against sin was fully paid at the cross of Jesus.
If you need a reminder that God loves you, you do not have to look further than Christmas. God in human flesh — incarnate, Immanuel, God with us — lying in a manger is itself the proof.
Some of you need to hear it plainly: God loves you. Passionately.
There is a pastor of a small church I follow online, and nearly every single day the first thing he posts is exactly that: God loves you. Some of us need that daily reminder. God loves you. He is passionate about you.
Then Watch the Shepherds
There is something else in this story, and it is in how the shepherds respond.
Look at verse 15. They start talking to each other: let us head into Bethlehem and see this. So they go, and they find Mary and Joseph and the child. And their reaction is essentially to echo the angels.
First, they praise God. Verse 20: “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.” They are overwhelmed. They heard the advertisement, they went and saw the product, and now they are true believers themselves. They cannot help but praise.
Second, they share the good news of God’s love. Verse 17: “And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.”
Now, given a shepherd’s standing in that society, if it had been one lone shepherd I suspect people would have dismissed him — that guy is out in a field by himself, who knows what he has been chewing on out there, angels, sure. But it was not one man. It was a whole flock of shepherds, if you will forgive the pun. And that made people take notice.
Because look at what these men suddenly did not care about. They did not care what anyone thought of them. And notice where they were: in town, away from their flocks. A good shepherd never leaves his sheep. Yet here they are in the streets telling everyone: we heard angels, they told us about a baby, we went and saw Him, He is right over there — and He is the sign of God’s love.
So the angels praise God and declare God’s love for humanity. The shepherds hear the song, go and find it true, praise God, and start telling people about His love.
And because you have now heard the angels’ song, you get to be like the shepherds. Praise God, and make His love known.
Someone Near You Needs to Hear It
This has been a genuinely hard year for a lot of people. Hundreds of thousands of families across this country will celebrate Christmas without someone they love, because that person died of this virus. Others have lost people to cancer, or to other illnesses, or simply to old age, and the room will feel empty this year.
Others are in their own health battle. Some are facing financial crisis; a great many people lost jobs this year and are wondering how to make ends meet, and this Christmas they cannot buy the gifts they wish they could, and it hurts. Others have been shut in at home together for months. For some families that has been genuinely wonderful — they are getting to know each other again. For others it has taken existing problems and magnified them.
If there was ever a moment when people need to hear that God loves them, it is now.
And if you know this story is true — if you know there is a God in heaven who sent His Son into the world because He loved the world — then be like the shepherds. Echo the angels’ song. Go tell it on the mountain that God loves the world. Because people right now are struggling to believe it. They are doubting His presence, His power, His goodness, even His existence. What they need is the reminder: God loves you.
So believe it for yourself. And then be like the shepherds — stop worrying about what anyone thinks of you, and go tell them God loves them, because He sent His one and only Son to be the propitiation for their sin.
Father, help us to realize this is true — that You love us deeply and passionately. And as we believe it, move us to go share this good news and tell others that You love them.
We pray for those in our church family who are hurting. Through Christmas, help them see Christ, and understand that hope and that peace and that joy — but especially today, to know Your love. And move us to go to our friends at work, our friends at school, our neighbors across the street, and let them know You love them, and that the evidence of it is a baby in a manger.
Jesus, You left Your throne in heaven to come to earth, taking on human flesh, setting aside all that was Yours as God, to live among us and experience the full human experience — and ultimately to live sinlessly so You could go to that cross and die for us. That should give us hope. That should give us peace. That should give us joy. Because through all of it we see the love of God.
So saturate us in that truth. Saturate us with Your love — and as we are saturated in it, let it spill out and reach everyone around us. Do in us what You need to, so that You can do through us what You want to. Amen.
