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 2:13-14 (ESV)
Angels are terrifying!
Forget those cute little chubby babies that you sometimes see in paintings. They don’t inspire people to say, “Aw, how cute!” Instead, most fall on their faces in terror. In fact, the first words angels say to humans are usually: “Don’t be afraid” (Luke 1:13, 30; 2:10, etc.). Clearly, they’re startling enough to warrant a physical response from humans.
We know little for sure about angels apart from the fact that they’re spiritual beings. They seem to serve a variety of roles, from warriors to guardians to heralds used by God to deliver his messages. It is in this role that we see them on display in the Christmas story.
An angel appeared to Zechariah. And then a named angel, Gabriel, appeared to Mary to tell her that she would give birth to God’s son. Another angel then appeared to Joseph in a dream to let him know about this news too. The next time an angel appeared in this story, it was to shepherds in a field. We spent time talking about shepherds and how we can learn from their example, but what about the angels?
What do they have to teach us about joy in the midst of uncertainty?
The angels were joyful because they had an advantage: they knew the king arriving that night and the hope he would bring mankind. They knew what the weary world did not yet know: hope was coming.
This was a pivotal moment in human history, and this group of angels came together to declare the best news the shepherds would ever hear. The “heavenly host” was a vast number of the Lord’s spiritual servants. You might even call it a heavenly community reflective of the community of believers who will one day be praising God before his throne together (Revelation 7:9).
We know the rest of the story because we have the Bible. We know that Jesus Christ was the true Messiah (Acts 4:10-12) and that he died for our sins and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:4). We know he’s sitting at God’s right hand (Romans 8:34) and will return for us again (John 14:3). We can rejoice in this truth!
The vast host of angels rejoiced together. The shepherds received that joy and spread it to others. Light was spreading, illuminating the darkness. In the midst of your own dark times, you might think that you can’t find words of joy and hope within yourself to lift to God. In those times, you can reach out to others in God’s community so they can encourage you by declaring his promises over you.
Mary, Joseph and the shepherds couldn’t have known the roles they’d play in a story that’s foundational to our faith as Christians. But when nothing around them seemed to make sense, when the world felt weary and hopeless, they clung to the promises of God and trusted in his goodness. Then they shared about that goodness with others. Little by little, hope spread.
We’ve all been hit by hard times. Weariness weighs us down. But one of the best things we can do to lift our spirits this Advent season is to do what the characters in the nativity did and spread Christmas hope and joy to those around us.
- What were you taught about angels growing up? How has your understanding of angels changed as you’ve studied the Bible more?
- Who are people you’ve reached out to in dark or uncertain times in your life? What was their response?
- Who is someone you can declare God’s promises to this week?
