I sang in a concert last night for a CD I did with some folks from a church. All the proceeds from the CD go towards a shower trailer for some of the homeless people who live in the city near the church. It was a lot of fun! We ended the set with some Christmas songs and before we sang I made the comment that most of the Christmas carols are songs of joy and celebration yet we still sing them like we’re going to a funeral… and then we sang much more jazzed up and joyful renditions of some of the traditional songs. I think some people were a little shocked, but most had smiles on their faces. Anyway, I don’t understand why so many Christmas songs are so slow and minor and melancholy. They’re about joy and celebration and angelic hosts singing “Halleluja!” And I don’t think the angels were crying as they sang, either. Have you ever thought about the words of the songs? Was it really a silent night? It probably was in the fields, until the angels started singing. It probably was in the inn’s barn, until Mary went into labor. And it probably was almost everywhere, except where the Christ child was born. Can you imagine the entire earth holding its breath as young Mary pushed and cried to bring this incredible gift into the world? And can you imagine the awe and then the mighty roaring cheer that arose from the ranks of the angels and the rocks on the ground when Yeshua screamed his way into our existence? To see the Word made flesh and God become Man, how shockingly wonderful! Hark! The herald angels sing! Why do melancholy as the song rings? They’re singing gloria! Joy to the world! The Lord is come! Shout it from the rooftops! Dance in the aisles! This isn’t a day for sorrow and sadness. It’s a day to sing joy! Our savior has come! He is here! The darkness cringes into its corners and slinks away to lick its wounds, knowing that its time has come. JOY! Luke 2:13 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, good will toward men!”
Psalm 91:11-12 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone. There are a couple of interesting things to notice. First, it’s not just one angel, a “Guardian Angel” that watches over us. There are many angels given charge of each of us. Considering some of the crazy things my family’s been going through, I think we’ve certainly kept those angels busy! And if they’ve been keeping us from hitting the big stones, then man! They must have been horrible, because the small stones are causing enough havoc on their own! Much of the battle has hit home lately as we’ve dealt with the spiritual issues of our past and present. Even though there isn’t a ton of reference to it in the Bible, it’s certainly there. Of course, there isn’t technology in the Bible and it’s there, too… Oh, and this is the verse that is used against Yeshua when He is tempted in the wilderness.
Luke 1:11 Zechariah was in the sanctuary when an angel of the Lord appeared, standing to the right of the incense altar. In church on Sunday the pastor talked about the song the angels sang to the shepherds and it got me thinking about this whole angel thing. 1. Why did God make people if he already had angels? I mean, angels are beautiful and perfect. Was it because they couldn’t choose to love Him or something like that? I mean, really, humans are messy and disobedient and fickle. God knew full well that when He made us He’d have to come save us from ourselves. Why bother? Why not have a relationship with the angels instead? Or is it more fun to have unpredictable, crazy humans? 2. In the book of Daniel the angel tells Daniel that he was sent by God the minute Daniel started praying but that he was delayed by demonic forces. I wonder how often God sends us an answer but it is delayed by demonic forces. I think I’ve covered this in a previous post. 3. Were the angels jealous when God created man? It’s kind of like the older sibling thing. They had been created but it wasn’t enough. Did they ever wonder why they weren’t enough or why God felt the need to have a relationship with something as problematic as humanity? Just sayin’… 4. When the angel appeared to the shepherds in the fields after Jesus’ birth he calmed them down and told them about what had happened. I wonder if the angels were extra bright that night because they were so excited and awed about what God had done. Anyway, the shepherd finally start breathing again and suddenly a vast host of angels appears in the sky. They have another heart attack. I didn’t think about it until the pastor mentioned it but a vast host is something like millions of angels. I always pictured 20-30 angels, but this is a whole different picture. Can you imagine?! Millions of angels singing in the sky! Did anyone else see this?! Seriously, a million, brilliantly shining angels appear in the sky singing the Hallelujah Chorus… That had to light up the fields like the day! Of course, I suppose they could have only been visible to the shepherds… But, wow! That had to be incredible! 5. When Zechariah questions the angel on the validity of him and his wife having a child when they were way too old for that to happen (sounds like Abraham and Sarah!), the angel says, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news!” (Luke 1:19) Dude! I’m an angel! Why would I lie about this?! In this translation, and several others I’ve read, Gabriel sounds like he’s just smacked his forehead in shock that this guy is questioning an angel. It shows some emotion from the angel and is an interesting reminder to me that the angels did have feelings and emotions. I wonder how many times they shook (and still shake) their head at humanity wondering how on earth we could be so monumentally stupid and so incredibly loved by God. So, those are, randomly arranged of course, some of my thoughts on angels. I’m sure there are other thoughts running around in my head, but these are the ones I can remember at 5:00 in the morning.