CHRISTMAS
EXCITEMENT!
Luke
2:8-11
8
And
there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch
over their flock by night.
9
And,
lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round
about them: and they were sore afraid.
10
And
the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of
great joy, which shall be to all people.
11
For
unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the
Lord.
The
past few years,
what we call “Christmas spirit” has been difficult for me. This year is no
different as the calendar is chocked full of events that overlap and vie for my
attention and energy. I’ve driven by the fantasy of lights and found it to be
only that. Colors and characters have invaded that have nothing to do with the
Nativity.
Christmas
lights were first brought by the angels. When verse 9 tells us that “the glory
shone” the Bible uses the Greek word perilampo which means “to
shine all around; or to invest with a halo.” It’s not hard to think of a small
fire lit for warmth against the damp of night. The shepherds would have
occupied themselves with general conversation when a multitude of angels
appeared – all of them sending out light.
Did
the angels sing?
Crusty, dusty old theologians have long argued the point while most of us have
decided that they certainly could sing if they wanted to! A multitude of
singing angels would presume harmony and melody but a multitude of speaking
angels might sound like a bee hive in spring. It hardly matters! They were all
very excited.
What
lights your light this Christmas? Send Santa packing! Put all the
decorations back in the box! Where is Christmas then? It still may exist in our
heart with the same joy that the shepherds experienced. It is the “light of the
glorious gospel.”
2
Cor 4:3-4
3
But
if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4
In
whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,
lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of
God, should shine unto them.
Dear
Lord, visit us and fill us with the true excitement of the incarnation. AMEN
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