The glory of God pours like liquid light across the bleak night sky. Shepherds tremble in fear as the angel makes an announcement, and then, for a moment, the door of heaven is cracked open, and those shepherds glimpse the divine worship service, angels praising and singing, “Glory to God in the highest.”
If the announcement of a Savior is so fantastical, being in the presence of that Savior must be even more marvelous. And so the shepherds go. They seek out that newborn King.
The worship of the angels in that darkened sky above the shepherds is one of the most beautiful moments in the Christmas story. It’s a Revelation moment. The book of Revelation is filled with foretastes of the heavenly worship service. What separates the visible reality from the invisible reality is peeled-back and we are allowed a look at the worship that is occurring in the midst of our daily doldrums.
When those angels fill the sky and start to sing, we need to pause. We need to enter into their song. When we face announcements of any kind – job promotion, cancer diagnosis, a friend’s betrayal, our child’s success – we break into song, “Glory to God in the highest.” Because of that first announcement, “I bring you good news of great joy…today…a Savior has been born to you,” we can sing, “Glory to God in the highest,” no matter what the news.
This year, as you hear Luke’s Gospel read, enter into the Revelation moment of the Christmas story. Don’t let the angels sing alone.