Glory

The shepherds, still on the ground, unable to face the angelic being speaking to them. Announcement made. Message delivered. 

And. Heaven. Erupts. 

Suddenly. 

The armies of Heaven praise God together in plain sight of humanity. Can you imagine the power, the force of hope that ran out in that praise? Could anything on this earth compare? "

Peace on earth to those whom God is pleased.” The shepherds are looking now. How can they not just swallow it all whole? This is happening to them. Perhaps they join the angels in praise. The quiet mountainside is in full revival with a birth announcement like none other. God is not hiding. He has never been. He is breaking open the barrier between His people and heaven. It's a celebration. 

And this same motive pulled me out of my house on many a Christmas Eve night in Mongolia. Even though it was often below zero in temperature, I could not resist the song. Christmas was not yet fully celebrated in Mongolia, which was a post-Soviet nation. Christmas was new to our Christian friends. I could describe Christmas in Mongolia as clean. Clean, pure, Christmas. It was all about Jesus, people, hope. The commercialism hadn't hit yet; it was considered a strictly Christian holiday. To celebrate Christmas was equivalent to carrying your Bible into work; it was a statement of faith. Carols were worship songs to the "one God.”

 I don't know how the tradition began to go out to homes and sing praises on Christmas Eve, but somehow one of us came up with the plan, and the rest bravely jumped in. The joy our songs created was contagious. We would visit the hurting, the sick, the hungry, the addicted, the broken family, the poor and suffering and SING THE GOOD NEWS TO THEM. We’d show up in the dark despair, suddenly, to show the darkness Who is here now, Who has the power over death and hell, Who the winner is. Because as a team, we needed the reminder. We had lived with the sadness of the worst of humanity's suffering. WE saw what evil does to families, children, and entire communities, and it was heavy, too much to bear. 

Our caroling was our fight back. Depression meets joy. Poverty meets blessing. Addiction meets freedom. A reminder to the enemy of all enemies, you have been defeated. And we know it. THE GLORY OF GOD WAS WITH US. On those dark streets, on the coldest Christmas Eves, we were full of the glory of the Lord, and it was beautiful. 

The result of the armies of heaven praising was the world's very first believers. The shepherds would never need to be convinced that Jesus was the Messiah. They had seen and heard all they needed to believe.