"The Gloria" Luke 2:8–14

As a minister, I have lots of opportunities to talk with people about spiritual things or philosophical things, things that aren't exactly about weather or politics.

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Because my body, well, it just doesn't heal as quickly as it used to. And, you know, a half an hour or 45 minutes, rather, on a massage table without phones and conversations can lead to a really interesting topics of conversation.

And in this conversation, we ended up talking, myself and the gentleman that was trying to put my body back together, we talked about all sorts of different bits about the spiritual world.

Is there a spiritual world? If so, can we get access to it? And if we get access to it, are we getting access to a good portion of the spiritual world or a very scary portion of the spiritual world?

Well, this gentleman was not very religious. A lot of more questions than he had answers. And to be honest, I have a lot of questions as well.

But it was a really interesting conversation because that is not an isolated conversation I had.

I have conversations, not every day, but often enough where it seems that the here and the now, the material world that we live in, it's not enough for people.

There's a desire for more, a desire for something transcendent, a desire for something that is eternal and big and magnificent.

So how do we get access to it? Is this just simply the function of religion? In our conversation that I had with this gentleman, we ended up talking a lot about hallucinogens.

Is that the way that we access the spiritual world? Is there a heaven? A paradise? Some kind of celestial utopian existence out there for us to experience?

And how do we make sure that we get there?

Maybe the biggest, the bigger underlying question is this.

Why does the desire of heaven seem to be, and whatever heaven looks like, whatever vision that might be,

why is that a pretty ubiquitous desire?

That spans time and culture and regions and languages.

So as we explore these questions, and I'm putting forward to that, it is a universal question.

Let's focus on the third of our four songs for the Savior recorded in the gospel according to St. Luke.

Luke's gospel account is a very thorough investigation of the birth, the life and ministry, and then the death and resurrection of Jesus.

It was written by a physician to this man named Theophilus.

And it was written in such a way that it is, I mean, we can't say it's like a scientific biography,

but Luke wrote it in such a way that there is kind of caked into it proof texts or footnotes or endnotes.

So that it's not just a story that he made up.

Anyways, the first song, there's four of these songs.

The first song is by Mary, the mother of Jesus, and she magnifies the Lord.

Mary is a nobody from Nowheresville, okay?

She is a peasant woman from Nazareth, very unimportant town.

The second song is by Zacharias.

Now, Zacharias is this elderly priest.

He is a somebody.

He's a religious and cultural elite.

He lives in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem happens to be a very important city.

And he blesses the Lord.

Both of these early songs have to do with God sending to earth this child that would be the Savior.

Now we get into our third song.

The third song is not on the lips of a peasant woman, nor on the lips of a priestly elderly man,

or on the lips of anybody for that matter.

Instead, we find that it is an angelic song.

And the question for us to ask is, will this instance of this angelic song shed any light on this question about the hereafter,

about eternity, about what we seem to be all after?

So we'll take a few minutes this morning and contemplate both the story and the song of the angels in Luke chapter 2.

Luke 2 · chapter mention

And we're just going to take a few minutes.

We're going to look at the shepherd's point of view and then the angel's point of view.

If you have a Bible, you can follow along with me.

If you don't, that's okay.

I'll read the section chapter 2 of Luke's gospel starting in the 8th verse.

And this is what it says.

I'll pause there.

Why the shepherds?

There are a few different comments to make, but I'll share just two.

The first is this.

Throughout the Bible, there is a pattern of God meeting people where they are at.

Not in giant palaces, not in very public spaces, but often in the jobs that people are working at, in secluded places.

And sometimes they are alone.

So an instance that might come to mind is Moses.

He is tending a flock when the Lord visits him in a burning bush.

He was the great emancipator of Israel, but before that he was a simple shepherd.

The second, Gideon, before he was Israel's great deliverer and judge, he was secretly threshing wheat in a winepress when the Lord visited him.

And finally, the third example that I'll give is Elisha.

He was a great prophet.

He came after the prophet Elijah, and he was plowing a field when the Lord visited him.

In all these cases, the Lord had met these people where they were at.

Again, not in prestigious venues or in public places, but where they worked in their day-to-day.

I think it tells us something remarkable about the God of the Bible,

that this transcendent Lord who is the eternal creator,

who is high and above all things, who spoke creation into existence.

He descends to meet people in the mundane and the regular,

rather than commanding them up to unreachable heights, inaccessible to mere mortals.

He visits us.

He doesn't say, come visit me.

I think it tells us what we know deep down.

Namely, that we also desire a divine visitation,

but unfortunately have no way of achieving it or earning it or acquiring it

or somehow getting on some kind of vehicle to take us up into the heavens.

Whereas, throughout scripture and history,

whenever human beings have tried to bring heaven to earth,

what they end up doing is making earth into a kind of hell.

If you can think of tyrants and leaders,

whether they are on the right or the left,

that have this utopian vision for the world,

what often happens is a dystopian nightmare.

But this text, more importantly than that,

tells us that the character of this all-perfect, all-powerful,

all-knowing, all-present, uncreated creator God,

his character is mercy and love.

He understands our humble estate.

He meets us exactly where we are

because he desires to redeem what has been abandoned,

to recover what has been lost,

to fix and to mend what has been broken.

That is the very character of God.

You cannot divorce mercy and love

and a redeeming heart from the one true created God.

And this is the very core, the crux of the good news,

which Christians call what we call the gospel.

The heart of the good news is that all fear is dispelled

and in its stead, great joy is brought.

And it is brought about by a child who had been born,

who is the Savior and Christ and the Lord.

Now we're going to touch on those three titles,

Savior, Christ, and Lord, in a bit,

but just keep that in the back of your mind.

The second point about the shepherds.

Throughout the Bible, the role of a shepherd was depicted favorably.

We read a portion of scripture that spoke of God shepherding his people

and God raising up shepherds to shepherd his people.

You can think again of Moses.

He was shepherding his father-in-law's flock.

Israel's greatest king, King David,

he himself was a shepherd.

And most importantly, throughout scripture,

the Lord himself is likened to a shepherd.

However, by the time of the first century,

some historical documents attest that

the vocation of a shepherd fell into disrepute.

Shepherds were viewed as untrustworthy,

especially because they were not participants

in the communal or cultic life of the nation.

They didn't celebrate the holidays.

They didn't celebrate the Sabbaths.

They were untrustworthy.

In fact, their testimony was not valid in a court of law.

Some scholars liken them to like a step up from lepers.

If you know anything about lepers in the Bible times or in ancient times,

they are the bottom rung, the bottom rung of society.

It's hard to think of a connection here in Canada

to somebody like the shepherds.

But think of somebody that is low class,

working poor, socially outcast, dispossessed, distrusted.

It is therefore remarkable that the birth announcement of the Savior,

Christ the Lord,

the one who would rescue all mankind

from their sins, from their hopelessness,

from their inability to transcend this mortal life,

it was first declared to a group of people

whose testimony couldn't be trusted.

And, not only that, but it was proclaimed to them at night.

If you're coming up with a fantastic PR campaign,

this isn't what you do.

This is not a wise strategy for good PR.

But it is a wise strategy if the gospel is for the marginalized

and also the C-suite executive

and everyone in between.

Why?

Because the good news being for all people,

which we read about in chapter 2,

is for the marginalized

in such a way that all people should see themselves

as shepherds in a spiritual sense.

Those that are far from God,

far from their fellow man,

people that in a very real way

have minimal to no hope

to better their lot in life.

That is why the shepherds are uniquely crucial

as the first recipients of the gospel.

Their need is obvious.

And they receive the gospel

the proper way with great joy.

And I'll say really quickly,

the shepherds seem noble here.

It's a good possibility

that the shepherds were not noble people.

We think of shepherds tending the flock.

It's maybe a bit romantic in our minds.

But almost certainly they stunk.

They didn't have polite speech.

They didn't maybe know how to work a room

or to interact with polite society.

Nevertheless,

it wasn't so much of who they were

or how they acted,

but how they received.

And they received this good news with great joy.

That's the shepherds.

So let's take a look at the angels.

After announcing the good news

of the birth of the Christ child,

there was one angel,

the angel of the Lord.

The angel, it says,

is joined by a host of angels,

verse 13,

which means that they were countless.

One commentator suggested

or imagined every angel

that had ever existed

showed up in the night sky.

Whether it was that or something else,

maybe a contingent of angels,

the point is,

there were many.

And that they reflected the very light of heaven

and they began to sing.

And here is where our third song

for the Savior is found.

Verse 14.

Glory to God in the highest

and on earth peace

among those with whom he is pleased.

Here's the thing about angels.

Okay?

In the Bible,

in the Old Testament

or the Hebrew Bible,

angels appeared to humanity

at God's command.

Sometimes they were relaying a message

or maybe they were assisting humans

in various ways.

They were on special assignment from heaven.

And when they completed their divine task,

they returned to heaven afterwards.

So although it would have been

quite an experience for these shepherds,

it was not the only time

angelic visitation was recorded in Scripture.

Okay?

You read through the Old Testament,

you see angels kind of popping up here and there.

Sometimes it's very clear they're angels,

sometimes it's more mysterious,

like they're kind of these superhumans.

Because anyways,

you'll see them all throughout the Old Testament.

What was special about this angelic visitation, though,

is that there is no other record in the Bible

of angels worshipping on earth.

They warn, they guard,

they intervene, they protect,

but they do not worship and sing on earth.

They sing in heaven,

they glorify God in heaven,

but not on earth.

Why is this significant?

Significant because the angels are supposed

to sing God's praises in his presence.

But they're on earth,

presumably where God is not there.

God is in heaven,

they are on earth,

and yet they are praising God

in a location where he is not to be found.

So either they are breaking protocol,

or God himself is truly present

in some kind of way on earth.

See, in the Bible,

the Christ,

or the Messiah,

Christ is,

some of you may know this,

maybe some of you have forgotten,

maybe some of you do not know,

Christ is a title,

not so much a last name.

It is the Greek term

for a Hebrew title

that merely means anointed one.

Somebody who would

be anointed by God

to carry out redemption.

This Messiah,

or this Christ,

would rescue God's people

from their troubled lives

and troubled hearts.

So using the term as Savior

and Christ

was very fitting for Jesus.

However,

if you remember,

the angel calls

this child Jesus

Savior,

Christ,

and Lord.

Throughout the Bible,

the term Lord

is only used

when referring to God himself.

It would seem

that the angels

are singing

on earth

because the child

born in Bethlehem

is more than some

anointed Savior.

He is God incarnate,

God himself.

Jesus Christ,

the Lord,

is the one true

God,

literally,

enfleshed,

fully man

and fully God.

So when Christ,

the transcendent God,

comes to mortal man,

the spiritual

breaks into the natural

and the result

is nothing less

than peace.

The angels,

they are glorifying God.

Why?

Because he has brought

peace on earth.

A heavenly,

divine peace.

Peace towards mankind

not because mankind

did good by God

but because God

is doing good

to mankind.

God's peace

and pleasure

rests upon all those

that recognize

that there are,

that they are

in no better spot

than a lonely,

a lowly shepherd.

Or maybe,

or maybe,

no better

than a wayward sheep.

I'll wrap it up

with this.

You see,

the question

about the spiritual world

gaining access

to heaven

is less about,

I would humbly put forward,

is less about

transcending

this mortal life

and more about

knowing the God

of peace

who created

this life.

Which means

knowing God

in a very personal way.

It involves

accessing him,

being with him,

being close

to our creator.

It means

a return

to a state

without sin.

One of the reasons

why we open up

Lessons and Carols

not with a gospel reading

but from Genesis

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

because it highlights

the fall of man

where man chose

our forefathers,

chose to glorify ourselves

rather than glorify God

and all of the problems

that ensued

as a result.

It means

a return

to that state

where sin

was not known

to us.

A state

without war

and without pride,

without bravado,

without envy

or greed

or gluttony

or sloth

or lust

or unrighteous wrath.

to want the things

of God

without God

himself

is to miss

the point

and that's why

I think

we struggle

to articulate

what we truly want,

this transcendence,

when what we truly want

is the transcendent one.

to transcend

this world

without being

with God

is not a destiny

that will give us peace.

God knew this

and so he came

to earth

and he united

himself to us

in the person

of Jesus Christ

so that in doing so

that God would

do what only

he could do,

bring mankind

into his presence.

You see,

Christ himself

isn't just this baby

in a manger

but is the promise

of God

to all mankind

that death

would be conquered,

that sin

would be conquered,

that vice

would be conquered,

that every evil force

that oppresses

and friends,

they exist,

it would be conquered

and that grace

and love

and kindness

and mercy

would be extended

to those

who are hopeless

and helpless.

The Savior

and Lord

Jesus Christ

born of man

yet fully God

was wrapped

in swaddling cloths

and laid

in a wooden

feeding trough,

a manger,

yet he was not

destined for a wooden

trough

but a wooden cross

and through

his sacrificial death

those

who are united

to him

by faith

trusting in what

he has done

in his salvation

they will be

where he is

for eternity

and friends

this means

we do have a hope

that transcends

this life

and will satisfy us

for eternity

because we will be

with the one

whom our heart

truly desires.

for those of us

in the Christian faith

remember that

Christ Jesus

he visited

you

when you were

still in darkness

when you were

like a shepherd

alienated

in the dark

alone

and at war

with God

and fellow man

God did not

just give you

a ticket to heaven

but a seat

at his table

and for those

that might be

outside of the

Christian faith

consider that

the one true

God

he is eager

to be found

by you

he is not

far away

he is not

playing hard

to get

he has

condescended

he has lowered

himself

to the very

lowest place

to visit us

and he urges

you

he urges me

this morning

to have eyes

to see

that he truly

has visited

mankind.

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