Jesus is the gift that fits hearts of all sizes.
“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”
2 Corinthians 9:15
My husband and I really love watching Christmas movies at this time of year.
The other day we were watching the 1965 Christmas classic “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” As I mentioned in my post last week about “It’s a Wonderful Life,” https://thoughtsforyourday.com/lessons-from-its-a-wonderful-life/ there are probably few, if any, people who aren’t aware of this delightful, animated story about “Peanuts” character, Charlie Brown’s search for the meaning of Christmas.
My absolutely favorite part of the story is when Charlie Brown’s friend, Linus, says he can tell Charlie what Christmas is all about. Linus proceeds to the center of the stage where they were rehearsing a Christmas play, says, “Lights, please,” and then with the spotlight on him, recites the familiar words from the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2:8-14:
“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign unto you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, 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, goodwill toward men!’”
Suddenly I was struck by something in those verses that I’ve heard a million times and that are so familiar to me.
It had to do with the angels and the shepherds.
Last week I wrote about Clarence, the angel in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” https://thoughtsforyourday.com/lessons-from-its-a-wonderful-life/ He was portrayed as a comical fictional character for the purposes of the story. But angels are real, and real angels are, well, something else altogether!
The Bible has a lot to say about angels, from the Book of Genesis all the way to the Book of Revelation.
They are supernatural beings, living in the heavenly realm. They were created by God to do His bidding. They dwell in God’s presence and are His servants who are at His beck and call. They dutifully obey His commands, carry out His orders, and acquiesce to His will.
As described in the Bible, they are mighty, powerful, and awe-inspiring creatures. When visited by an actual angel, most people just fell down in fright. Author C.S. Lewis wrote about angels, “In Scripture, the visitation of an angel is always alarming; it has to begin by saying ‘Fear not.’”
So, when I heard Linus say, “And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them,” it was like hearing it for the first time.
I was able to picture the shepherds “out in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night.” Imagine how quiet it was, and how very, very dark it must have been. (I live in a suburban area of Chicago, and it is never “very, very dark” because of all the city streetlights). I assume the shepherds were alert, as they were “keeping watch” over their flock. Even so, they had to be terribly startled when an angel of the Lord unexpectedly stood before them.
As if the appearance of the angel wasn’t enough, there also was the glory of the Lord (“the glory of the Lord shone around them”). The Bible says the “appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain.” In another place the glory of the Lord was described as having a glorious radiance like a most rare jewel.
So, the shepherds went from a familiar, quiet, dark, black night to seeing a huge, mighty angel standing before them in a sudden blazing light that was beyond anything earth had ever known. Can you imagine their fear? No wonder, as C.S. Lewis said, the angel’s first words were, “Fear not.”
I never really stopped to think about it like that before.
But wait—there’s more!
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, goodwill toward men!’”
Imagine the already terrified shepherds trying to comprehend what is happening when suddenly—out of the blue, with no warning—a multitude of the heavenly host are with the mighty angel, and they’re all praising God! I don’t know about you, but I need a minute to digest this!
The scene abruptly changed from one angel—which was awesome enough—to innumerable angels in a flash. A multitude, we know, is a great many individuals, a massive crowd. The heavenly host is a vast number of angelic beings. I’ve heard some teach that “host” means “tens of thousands.” At any rate, the angels gathered there were probably too many to count.
Can you envision this scene?
Thousands upon thousands of angels, with all their heavenly brilliance and magnificence, praising God with one voice (I like to think they were singing). What a sound! What a sight! What a miracle to occur on that dark, quiet night in the fields with the shepherds!
That’s what hit me so profoundly as I listened to Linus tell Charlie Brown what Christmas is all about.
And yet, that’s not even the most profound thing that happened to the shepherds that night.
The shepherds—humble, outcast, and socially marginalized—were chosen by God to be the recipients of the greatest news in the history of all the world: “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
I pray that this Christmas you will truly know the love of Jesus, either in a fresh, wonderful, new way, or perhaps for the very first time!
A blessed and Merry Christmas to you all!
