“The
shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had
heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” Luke 2:20 NIV
As is customary
for this time of year I will reread the story of the birth of our Lord Jesus.
After all, He is the Reason for the season. Countless times I will read a
passage of scripture and something new will pop out from something old. This
year, it was the ending to this prelude to the Lord’s birth that stood out to
me - the shepherds (Luke 2:8-20). I can just imagine the scene. A hillside full
of sheep in the middle of a clear, cool night. Stars abound. Some shepherds
spread out on blankets. And then POW! An angel of the LORD appears before them.
The King James version says these poor guys were “sore afraid.” megas phobeo in the Greek. “…of natural
events powerfully affecting the senses and emotions of the mind. To put to
flight by terrifying.” These guys were about to turn tail and run. And then, as
is customary with the LORD and His angels - “But the angel said to them, “Do
not be afraid…” And then, before these guys knew what had hit them, the final
course, “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,
good will toward men.””
Now these
trembling shepherds were staring into a sky lit up with a vast host of heaven’s
angels. And they’re all praising God in unison. “Glory to God in the highest!” I
suspect the sheep were so afraid they sheared themselves that night. What an
amazing symphonic chorus that must have been that night. Knowing the
relationship that the psalmist David had with the LORD, these angels must have
been singing and not speaking. We know the whole story. They made their way to
the stable and saw baby Jesus. This celestial exordium comes to an end with the
above in verse 20. “The shepherds returned...”
I have been privy
to many fascinating and exciting moments in my life. Many of these precious times
were spiritual in nature. Some were in churches, some in foreign countries,
some amongst other people and some just me and nature. Some were punctuated
with pomp and some were quietly spoken through the song of a mourning dove. In
any event, they were times where I knew God was trying to say something to me.
Usually, He was reminding me that He loved me no matter what. That He made me.
That He longed to hear from me. That He wanted to be shared with others BY me.
I can recall none of these moments being a megas
phobeo but they all ended with a holy call to “return,” to praise God and to share what I had seen or
heard in my heart.
Christmas wrapped
up yesterday as a holiday. But the Savior Who was born to us and became our Redeemer
walks among us this very day. He sits with us at our desks. He rides with us in
our cars. He sighs when we sin and He smiles when we do good. He orchestrates
situations in our lives where, if we look closely and if we listen attentively,
we will see Him and can know Him. Through our experiences in this life we can
relate to others. We can possibly help others walk this burdensome path; a path
that we know all ends at the grave. But assuredly as the end will come, the beginning
to forever is right beyond that door. The glory of the heavens awaits those who
call Emanuel their LORD and their Savior. Until then, we do well considering
the journey and our experience and “return” to those around us and share, in
love, the joy of knowing God in Christ Jesus.
