Glory to God in the Highest

I have frequently written about how Mary might have felt when Jesus was born in a stable and her precious baby was placed in the only cradle available, a manger, a feeding trough for the animals. However this unusual circumstance became a sign for the first group of visitors. 

You might imagine that the religious leaders or the synagogue rulers of Bethlehem would be first to visit the baby Messiah but no. God chose shepherds as the first visitors; uneducated, straight from the fields, probably dirty and smelly working men. 

But God loves shepherds – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David and now his Son who would become the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5: 4). Jesus spoke of himself: I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10: 1 I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10: 14 – 15 So it is not surprising that the shepherds were the first to hear the news and what a way they heard the announcement. 

This is surely one of the great events of history. Here we have shepherds possibly looking after the temple sheep (more symbolism) and suddenly into the darkness an angel appears with the words, ‘Fear not.’ The Bible is full of angels telling people to ‘Fear not.’ Obviously a glorified angel is a terrifying sight. These men would have been used to fighting off wild animals, rescuing silly sheep from their own predicaments, even dealing with sheep rustlers but an angel appearing – and they are terrified. 

The angel then made the royal proclamation. Today, a baby has been born, a Saviour, the Messiah. The shepherds were given the sign. This baby would be found wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. However there was more. 

A royal birth requires the royal choir of heaven to rejoice over the Son of God entering the world of men. Suddenly – I love God’s suddenlys. Suddenly heaven was torn open and the heavenly choir stepped forth. What a sight that must have been! A choir of angels singing glory to God. How amazing! You can imagine the shepherds either lying terrified face down on the earth or standing with their mouths hanging open.

When the angels had gone back into heaven, the shepherds decided to investigate. You can hardly imagine them settling down round the fire again. They ‘hurried off’ and found everything as it has been described to them. What Mary and Joseph thought of this group of uneducated, uncouth men turning up to coo over the baby we do not know but whilst the shepherds went out and evangelised the whole area with the good news of the birth of the Messiah, Mary treasured up these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2: 19). She didn’t need to tell the world that her baby was the Messiah, the shepherds did that. 

Jesus wasn’t born in a palace in splendour to come and spread beneficence to his lowly subjects. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us (John 1: 14). Literally it means the Word tabernacled amongst us – just as God had done with the Israelites in the desert ‘dwelling’ in the midst of the encampment. 

Jesus didn’t come to hob nob with the rich, the famous, the religious. He came and dwelt with ordinary people – shepherds and fishermen, tax collectors and sinners. And he will come and dwell with each one of us – if we will only ask him. Then we will be those ‘on whom his favour rests’ and we will know his peace – ‘the peace that passes all understanding’.

Glory to God in the highest

I have frequently written about how Mary might have felt when Jesus was born in a stable and her precious baby was placed in the only cradle available, a manger, a feeding trough for the animals. However this unusual circumstance became a sign for the first group of visitors.  

You might imagine that the religious leaders or the synagogue rulers of Bethlehem would be first to visit the baby Messiah but no. God chose shepherds as the first visitors; uneducated, straight from the fields, probably dirty and smelly working men. But God loves shepherds – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David and now his Son who would become the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5: 4). Jesus spoke of himself:

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10: 1

I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10: 14 – 15 

So it is not surprising that the shepherds were the first to hear the news and what a way they heard the announcement. This is surely one of the great events of history. Here we have shepherds possibly looking after the temple sheep (more symbolism) and suddenly into the darkness an angel appears with the words, ‘Fear not.’ The Bible is full of angels telling people to ‘Fear not.’ Obviously a glorified angel is a terrifying sight. These men would have been used to fighting off wild animals, rescuing silly sheep from their own predicaments, even dealing with sheep rustlers but an angel appearing – and they are terrified.

The angel then made the royal proclamation. Today, a baby has been born, a Saviour, the Messiah. The shepherds were given the sign. This baby would be found wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. However there was more.

A royal birth requires the royal choir of heaven to rejoice over the Son of God entering the world of men. Suddenly – I love God’s suddenlys. Suddenly heaven was torn open and the heavenly choir stepped forth. What a sight that must have been! A choir of angels singing glory to God. How amazing! You can imagine the shepherds either lying terrified face down on the earth or standing with their mouths hanging open.

When the angels had gone back into heaven, the shepherds decided to investigate.  You can hardly imagine them settling down round the fire again. They ‘hurried off’ and found everything as it has been described to them. What Mary and Joseph thought of this group of uneducated, uncouth men turning up to coo over the baby we do not know but whilst the shepherds went out and evangelised the whole area with the good news of the birth of the Messiah, Mary treasured up these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2: 19). She didn’t need to tell the world that her baby was the Messiah, the shepherds did that. 

Jesus wasn’t born in a palace in splendour to come and spread beneficence to his lowly subjects. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us (John 1: 14). Literally it means the Word tabernacled amongst us – just as God had done with the Israelites in the desert ‘dwelling’ in the midst of the encampment. 

Jesus didn’t come to hob nob with the rich, the famous, the religious. He came and dwelt with ordinary people – shepherds and fishermen, tax collectors and sinners. And he will come and dwell with each one of us – if we will only ask him. Then we will be those ‘on whom his favour rests’ and we will know his peace – ‘the peace that passes all understanding’.

Post Christmas ponder

It is very easy now that Christmas Day has passed to put away the Christmas story for another year, to wind down the carols and to focus on the social aspects of this season. After all by next Sunday we shall be thinking about the New Year and what 2018 will bring.

However before we consign Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, shepherds and wise men to the spiritual attic of our lives, it is good to take a moment to reflect again on these key players in the greatest birth that the world has even seen. The whole event was upside down.

Royal births are a major occasion and Jesus’ birth should have been the most royal of royal events. Yet nothing could have been more removed from this birth of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This was not a birth to royal parents in a palace with every convenience that 1^st century Judea could provide. This was a birth in a stable of all places to two very ordinary but Godly people, carefully chosen by God to fulfil this most precious assignment – to parent the Son of God.

I often wonder what Mary thought when she realised she was going to have to give birth in a stable. She had had to deal with all the social ostracising that her pregnancy had caused, all the gossip and rejection that she and Joseph must have had to bear in small town Nazareth. Now it seemed that God wasn’t even going to provide a small clean room to give birth to his son. Poor Joseph too must have been distressed that he couldn’t provide a suitable place for this royal birth.

As I’ve said before it is so easy with the benefit of hindsight to see the significance of these events but when you are living them, Mary and Joseph had a tough time.  Then the first visitors were not the good and great, the significant and famous as it should have been – it was shepherds – unclean in every way - shepherds. These were probably the shepherds who looked after and provided the sheep and lambs needed for the temple sacrifices. More deep significance that those at the bottom of the social ladder, those providing the sacrifices for the temple, were the first to see Jesus the perfect sacrifice, the lamb who takes away the sin of the world.

I wonder how many mangers in how many stables and outhouses the shepherds checked before they found Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. They would have entered awkward and gauche to see the baby but bringing the story of angels coming to their hillside telling them that a Saviour had been born – the Messiah. They were so excited about what had happened that they told everyone about it. I expect Mary and Joseph received a lot more visitors after that. But the Bible makes clear Mary treasured all these things in her heart and pondered them.

Before we pack away Christmas for another year it is worth taking a moment to also ponder the amazing fact that Jesus came in the most unlikely of circumstances with the most improbable of people as the key players to come and save us, the most underserving of people. Do we treasure up in our hearts the wonder of our salvation by the King of Glory? 

Glory to God in the highest - the shepherd's story

I often wonder what Mary thought about Jesus being born in a stable. Was she a bit disappointed? She was giving birth to the Son of God, the Messiah, surely God could have arranged a room at the inn? The baby Jesus was then placed in the only cradle available, the manger, a feeding trough for the animals. However this unusual circumstance was going to become a sign for the first group of visitors. 

You might imagine that the religious leaders or the synagogue rulers of Bethlehem would be first to visit the baby Messiah but no. God chose shepherds as the first visitors; uneducated, straight from the fields, probably dirty and smelly, working men. But God loves shepherds – Moses, David and now his Son who would become the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5: 4). Jesus spoke of himself:

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10: 1

I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10: 14 – 15

So it is not surprising that the shepherds get the news first and what a way they hear the announcement. For me this is one of the great events of history. Here we have shepherds possibly looking after the temple sheep (more symbolism) and suddenly into the darkness an angel appears with the words, ‘Fear not.’ The Bible is full of angels telling people to ‘Fear not.’ Obviously a glorified angel is a terrifying sight. These men would have been used to fighting off wild animals, rescuing silly sheep from their own predicaments, even dealing with sheep rustlers but an angel appearing – and they are terrified.

The angel then makes the royal proclamation. Today, a baby has been born, a Saviour, the Messiah. The shepherds are then given the sign. This baby would be found wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. This should surely be enough but no.

A royal birth requires the royal choir of heaven to rejoice over the Saviour of the world being born. Suddenly – I love God’s suddenlys. Suddenly heaven is ripped open and the heavenly choir steps forth. What a sight that must have been! A choir of angels singing glory to God. How amazing! You can imagine the shepherds either lying terrified face down on the earth or standing with their mouths hanging open.

When the angels had gone back into heaven, the shepherds decide to investigate.  You can hardly imagine them settling down round the fire again. They ‘hurried off’ and found everything as it has been described to them. What Mary and Joseph thought of this group of uneducated, uncouth men turning up to coo over the baby we do not know but whilst the shepherds went out and evangelised the whole area with the good news of the birth of the Messiah, Mary treasured up these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2: 19). She didn’t need to tell the world that her baby was the Messiah, the shepherds did that.

Jesus wasn’t born in a palace in splendour to come and spread beneficence to his lowly subjects. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us (John 1: 14). Literally it means the Word tabernacled amongst us – just as God had done with the Israelites in the desert ‘dwelling’ in the midst of the encampment.

Jesus didn’t come to hob nob with the rich, the famous, the religious. He came and dwelt with ordinary people – shepherds and fishermen, tax collectors and sinners. And he will come and dwell with each one of us – if we will only ask him. Then we will be those ‘on whom his favour rests’ and we will know his peace – ‘the peace that passes all understanding’.

Happy Christmas.

Psalm 23

This psalm of David’s is probably most people’s favourite and the best known psalm. It is used extensively at funerals and weddings and anyone who has had some exposure to church or the Christian life will be familiar with it.

The imagery it uses is comforting and we can easily identify with the ideas that David expresses. David was a shepherd both before and after his anointing as king by Samuel. It was a great training ground for a future king as he learned to depend on God to help him protect and look after his sheep. Here he came to understand what it meant to be a shepherd – king; a concept familiar in the Middle East in that time.  So many of the great men of faith in the Old Testament such as Moses and David spent some time being shepherds in preparation for leading God’s people.

Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd and there are frequent references in the Bible to God’s people being sheep. This is so appropriate – sheep need a shepherd and as God’s people we need the Good Shepherd. Independent living does not work for us any more than it works for sheep. Sheep never live alone, they are always in a flock and as believers we are never called to walk alone but to be part of a fellowship of other believers dependent on the Good Shepherd.

Sheep need guiding and looking after – a shepherd keeps an eye on his sheep and leads them to good pasture and quiet waters which is just what sheep need. Sheep panic when attacks come and a shepherd protects them. Sheep need shearing once a year otherwise their coats become burdensome and hot. There are times when God needs to prune or cut us back from things that have become burdensome to us.

We all know that Middle East shepherds lead their sheep; they don’t herd them in front of them. Sheep follow the voice of their shepherd, no one else, just as we follow Jesus. If we do this he will guide us in right paths and we will not dishonour him with poor lifestyle choices and behaviour.

Shepherds tend to every aspect of their sheep’s needs and well being. Jesus looks after his people and will restore and refresh us when necessary. So often we look to the world to do this but Jesus truly knows our needs and he alone can ‘restore our souls.’

Even in dark times Jesus is right there with us and we need fear no evil. Jesus has overcome the enemy completely and totally. Sometimes when under attack I think we try and defeat Satan again but he is already defeated; what we need is to apply the victory of Jesus in our situations and see the devil’s assaults fail. The shepherd’s rod and staff protected his sheep from all attacks. Jesus victory over sin and death is sufficient to overcome every dark time.

The final verses of this psalm are such a source of inspiration for us. We see a great feast laid out for us with our defeated enemies watching enviously. We are anointed for service. This is a wonderful picture that even when surrounded by enemies God provides and inspires us. His favour and anointing rest upon us. Our cup overflows; there are no half measures in the Kingdom and this is forever. God’s goodness, love, mercy and grace will never leave us and we will spend eternity with him.

What a great psalm!

The heavenly host

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.” Luke 2: 13 – 14

What a night for the shepherds!  Shepherds were well down the social order and whilst not exactly ostracised by society, they were definitely on the fringe, mainly one suspects because they spent so much of their time away from family and friends and probablyfrom  the synagogue looking after their sheep.

Jesus came as the good Shepherd (John 10: 11 ) to save people (his sheep) from their sins.  God seems to love shepherds. Abraham and his family, Moses and David were all shepherds and the last two must have learned a lot about looking after and leading people from their experiences of looking after sheep.  

So it was the shepherds who are chosen for a unique display of heaven’s power and God’s glory. They were terrified by the first angel who appeared and by the ‘glory of the Lord which shone round about him.’  He gave them the good and wonderful news that a baby had been born that would save mankind from their sins and the necessary sign so they could find the baby.

Suddenly!  I love that.  Suddenly heaven rips open and the heavenly host step out to praise God for this auspicious occasion. What else could you possibly have to announce the birth of the Son of God?  It has to be the angelic heavenly host.  What a sight it must have been!

The significance though is as incredible as the event. This baby was not announced by the heavenly host to the religious leaders at the temple in Jerusalem, just 5 miles away, where one might have expected it. No, it was announced to a group of uneducated, poor shepherds out minding their own business, doing their job. 

The significance is that God was announcing that this baby, this Messiah would be for everyone. Time and again Jesus showed that it was not just the religious, the learned, the socially acceptable that he came for but the poor, the marginalised, the hated by society, the tax collectors and sinners. Jesus constantly turned the social norms on their head. He made rough fishermen and tax collectors his disciples. He ate with people like Zacchaeus, he let prostitutes wipe his feet with their tears and hair and he appeared first to a woman after he rose from the dead.

No matter who you are, what your background, social standing, education, marital status, Jesus came for you.  He wants every single one to be not just his friend but his brother. No matter what others may say about you Jesus loves you and came to save you from your sins and in case we are not sure, just remember it was to shepherds, those at the bottom end of the social ladder, that the heavenly host appeared to announce the birth of the Son of God.

Significance not prominence

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. Luke 2:8

Looking today at the incredible birth of Jesus, we are overawed by the significance of this event – God becoming man in order to save the world from their sins.  The shepherds too must have realised this was a significant event though I am not at all sure they realised how significant. The heavenly host turning up in glory on their hillside, telling them of a Saviour born in Bethlehem and now lying in a manger, was a good clue though.

In today’s celebrity crazy, instant fame society of ours, it can be easy to get caught up in seeking prominence to give us significance.  Significance often comes though in places with no prominence; those helping the poor and weak of society in the city slums, those fighting for social justice and those in the mission field far away from the glare of media and cameras are often doing incredibly significant things with no prominence at all.

The Christmas story is full of people of no apparent significance or prominence who have gained significance by being obedient to God’s call on their lives.  Mary and Joseph, a poor couple looking forward to being married and having a life of their own in Nazareth are suddenly thrown into the spotlight on the stage of world history by the appearance of Gabriel. Shepherds, out in the fields doing their job, suddenly find themselves chosen to signify God coming to earth for the poor and marginalised of society again by the appearance of angels.

There must have been many unknown people who helped Mary and Joseph during their journey to Bethlehem and with the birth of Jesus – unknown to us but known to God. I am sure Mary, Joseph and God regard them as significant. 

Society seeks prominence and ten minutes of fame to applaud but God wants men, women and children of significance; significant because of obedience to his call on their lives. Mother Teresa gained prominence but I doubt if she particularly wanted it other than to draw attention to the plight of the poor in India.  For those poor people her life was very significant.

Frank Genor was an insignificant man who for 40 years handed out tracts on a street in Sydney, Australia in obedience to God to thank him for his salvation. He had no idea of the effect of this until just before his death when it transpired that literally hundreds of people had come to faith and were serving God all over the world, because of his obedience.

Has anyone ever come up to you to thank you for some kindness of word or deed that you have done that you have no recollection of but was very significant for them? That is the significance of great value to God; being obedient to his prompting to bless others. Fame and prominence are of little value even though highly prized by our societies. Significance through obedience whether we know about it or not is the prize of the Christian.