The Christmas Carols: Past, Present, & Future HopeSample

Day 22

Angels We Have Heard on High

Read: Luke 2:8-16; 1 Peter 1:8-9

On that first Christmas night, the shepherds could not have imagined the sight they were about to behold. Angels appeared in the sky, singing “Gloria in excelsis Deo” and instructing the shepherds to go to Bethlehem and see the baby who was the Savior of the world.

Imagine the shepherds’ conversation on the way. “What will He look like? What does this mean? Did everyone get this same announcement? How long will we wait in line?”

Upon arriving, I am sure the shepherds were scratching their heads. There was no line of government and religious dignitaries. The stable smelled of animals, not temple incense. No halo circled the baby’s head. Given the disparity between what they saw and what they expected, the shepherds were being asked to take God at His Word.

It is tempting to think that if everyone could see what the shepherds saw then everyone would believe that Jesus is the Savior. The reality, though, is that it took LOTS OF FAITH for the shepherds to believe. In fact, they lacked many of the benefits we have today.

When the shepherds saw Jesus in Bethlehem, they had never heard Jesus preach or seen Him work miracles. They had never imagined the cross or conceived of the empty tomb. They were asked to take God at His Word (through the angels) and trust Him. Today, we have records of Jesus’ preaching, miracles, death and resurrection. We have the testimony of 2,000 years of Church history and corroborating evidence of ancient historians. We are asked to take God at His Word (through the Bible) and trust Him.

Like us, first generation Christians had the testimony of eyewitnesses and Scripture but had not physically seen Jesus. The Apostle Peter celebrates such faith! (1 Peter 1:8-9) Furthermore, when we believe in Jesus based on what we know (but have not seen), we reap the same benefits as His first followers, “an inexpressible joy” and “the salvation of our souls.”

At first glance, it appears we have little in common with the shepherds, but we actually share the same invitation — to embrace by faith that the child born in Bethlehem is Christ the Lord. Will you believe in Him based on what you know, trusting Him with things that are harder to understand? If so, then joy and salvation await.

Angels We Have Heard on High

Angels we have heard on high,
Sweetly singing o'er the plains
And the mountains in reply,
Echoing their joyous strains.
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
Which inspire your heavenly song?
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Come to Bethlehem and see,
Him whose birth the angels sing,
Come, adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King.
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

See Him in a manger laid,
Whom the choirs of angels praise.
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
While our hearts in one we raise.
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!