Tuesday, December 14

Tuesday

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them,  “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.   - Luke 2:8-11

At first reading, it might seem curious that the shepherds were apparently comfortable outside in the dark night, but they were afraid when the light came.  Of course being shepherds they would have been used to spending nights outdoors with the sheep, so it is not so surprising that they were not afraid of the dark.  But why were they afraid of the light?

This was obviously no ordinary light.  This was the light of heaven and the glory of the Lord that was shining down on them.  I think many of us tend to imagine this scene as something kind of like a lovely renaissance painting; beautiful golden beams coming down out of the night sky and attractive angels with flowing hair descending with serene smiles on their faces (maybe it is just me that pictures that).  This is clearly not the scene in that field outside of Bethlehem that night.  When the text says that the glory of the Lord shone around them, the implication is that it would have been an absolutely overwhelming sight.  It would have been terrifying to say the least. I am sure that for a brief moment before the angel spoke to them, those shepherds thought that they were done for.  This, by the way, is how people respond to the light of heaven pretty much throughout the entire Bible.

In Isaiah ch. 6, Isaiah gets a vision of the glory of the Lord, and he responds with these words; “Woe to me!” I cried.  “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” (Isa. 6:5)

Exodus 34 tells the story of how Moses saw just a glimpse of the glory of God on Mt Sinai and afterward his face was so radiant that the Israelites were afraid to look at him.  Just the reflection of the Lord’s glory was too frightening to them!

In Luke ch. 5, Peter encounters the glory of God in person (Jesus Christ) and this is his response, “When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said,  “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8)

Why do we respond this way?  Why should the glory of God make us afraid and want to hide?  Simply put, it is because we are sinful.  This goes all the way back to Genesis chapter 3.  Adam & Eve experienced the glory and presence of God in the garden every day, yet they were not afraid and they did not hide.  Until one day when everything changed.  Once sin entered their lives, they had something to hide and a reason to be afraid of the Light.

Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.              - John 3:20

Which one of us would not squirm a bit if all of the darkest thoughts we have had over the last 24 hours were somehow texted to 50 of our close friends and family members?

This is not a very popular concept in our culture and it is not preached in many churches today.  We want to skip over this part and go straight to the part where the angels say they have brought  “good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”  But to skip over this is to miss the whole point of the gospel message.  In his book Telling the Truth; The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy and Fairy Tale, author Frederich Buechner writes, “The gospel is bad news before it is good news.  It is the news that man is a sinner, to use the old word, that he is evil in the imagination of his heart.”  Buechner is right.  Without the recognition and acceptance of the bad news (our sinfulness), there can be no good news (God's grace).

Remember the words of that wonderful old hymn Amazing Grace…

Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,

And grace my fears relieved.

Somehow the shepherds out in those fields got this - do you?

Has the light of Christ shoe into your heart?  Have you felt the holy fear that comes from recognizing how unfit and unworthy you are?  Grace will never truly be amazing to you until you do.