A couple of Sundays before Christmas last, our pastor delivered a short devotional to accompany the church’s Christmas Cantata in the morning service, and one of his three points was something that really hadn’t occurred to me before…
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
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!”
I always get goosebumps when I read the stories of angelic visits in the Bible and elsewhere; can you imagine the shock experienced by the shepherds when that angel popped in? “Fear not,” they always say… “Too late!” I’d say (if I could say anything, that is.) “‘Scuse me while I go clean out my drawers.” But did you catch that in the second paragraph? It was a heavenly host; not a choir, not a group, not a quartet. A host. The term “host” in medieval Latin literally means “army”. It was an army that was sent to announce the Savior’s birth!
While the message was delivered to the shepherds — they were the only ones mentioned in the narrative — the message was directed more at Satan, challenging the authority he held over the earth. The statement “Glory to God in the highest” was the angels’ way of putting Satan in his place in relation to God; God is in the highest place, and all else is under his dominion, even Satan. And that message delivered by a host — an army of angels… Imagine the sound of that; the mental image I get is of the Promise Keepers events I’ve attended with the sound of tens of thousands of voices chanting or singing in unison. (Like the time Steve Green led us in singing The Battle Hymn of the Republic for the closing song at the Boulder, CO, PK event some years ago. Goosebumps again!)
Back to the sermon; Pastor Petersen said it much better than I can rephrase it, so here’s a transcript of the second point from his message from that day (taken from the message posted online, from 11:43 to 16:20.)
Warfare.
Warfare!
Warfare?
Why are you talking about warfare at a time like this? A time like Christmas?
Because the glory of God is the focal point of all spiritual warfare. Satan, from the beginning, has desired God’s glory. He wanted it, and he did everything he could to get it. And as a result he ravaged the world, set it on a course for destruction.
Listen to what Isaiah wrote in Chapter 14 about Satan himself:
How you have fallen from heaven,
O morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!
You said in your heart, ”Now this is the heart of Satan himself…
“You said in your heart,
“I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. [a]
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.”Over & over Satan’s heart was to be above God!
Listen to what’s said at the birth of Jesus;
“Glory to God in the…” say it with me… “Highest!” The highest!Now also note what we’re told in Luke chapter 2 verse 11. Please note, it doesn’t say there was a choir. There was no choir present at the birth of Jesus. Do you know what was present? A military unit. An army was at the birth of Jesus. Not a choir, not people dressed in white robes playing harps, it was a military campaign. “Heavenly host” means “heavenly army”, an army of God fitted with the angels of heaven. The mighty ones of God. And they were at the birth of Jesus. Not singing lullabies, but declaring warfare.
Satan has been against God from the beginning, he’s trying to take glory from God, and we’re here to tell you the gauntlet has been put down, the war has begun, the Son of God is here, Glory to God in the highest.
Is there another Amen here? Amen!
That little baby grew to be a boy and a man, and went right to the cross, and at the cross the climax of spiritual warfare occurred. where Jesus died for the sins of the world, so that anyone who would receive him would be forgiven of their sins, receive the very power of God in their lives to live for God and to do spiritual warfare in this world.
Because Paul says in the New Testament, Ephesians chapter 6, our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the forces of darkness in this world. How on Earth do we have hope against the forces of darkness? Ahhh! Glory to God… In the highest. Jesus Christ makes it possible.
In all the times I’ve heard that story, that’s the first I can recall where the angelic host was referred to as something other than musical accompaniment to the arrival of the Christ Child. The image of a choir of angels never seemed quite right or satisfying to me… The story of the birth of Jesus plays an important part in the whole of the Gospel narrative, but the glurge that often goes with it can be a bit much. Jesus came to Earth to set things right, and God knew that’s something Satan wouldn’t like. It would take more than a choir to send the proper message, so the angelic army was to show that God meant business; that Jesus had at his disposal all the power of God.
Too many people want to keep Jesus in the manger; he’s safer and more controllable there, but that’s not what Jesus’ mission was. He came to shake things up, and for that I am thankful.
Many people who think of themselves as Christians and “good people” only want to see the calm and peace-loving side of Jesus. I remember arguing with some friends about this subject during the run-up to the Iraq war; they questioned how I could, as a Christian, support the war, because after all, Jesus said to “turn the other cheek”, so Christians were supposed to be all about peace and happiness and forgiving those who’ve wronged us. But Jesus was very upfront about his purpose on Earth;
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn
” ‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her motherinlaw—
a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
Jesus — Matthew 10:34-36
I don’t write this trying to justify the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — that’s far too complicated for one so easily distracted as me — but Jesus knew that his coming would bring conflict, and because he is both God and Man, that conflict crosses over from the spiritual realm to the physical. He also warned his followers that the enemy’s hatred would carry over to them — and to us, two centuries removed. The Fall was a the first earthly manifestation of that conflict, and we’ve been suffering in it ever since. The problem is that whether we acknowledge it or not, we’re in a war. I firmly believe that the negative attitudes toward and persecution of Christians and Jews throughout the ages are a direct result of that war, but many think that if we can only convince those doing the persecuting that we aren’t so bad, they’ll be nicer.
The trouble is that there is no logical earthly cause behind their hatred, and all the peace talks in the world won’t end it. The conflict will only end with the triumphant return of Jesus, accompanied by that same angelic host, in even greater force, and with even more to say than on that starry night oh so long ago.
image; “White Rose” by Gustave Doré.