Luke 2:8-14
Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14 “Glory to God in the highest,And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
I would have loved to have been there to hear that heavenly host start singing - what a sound that must have been.
In our own night times may the Lord break though with His Good News.
How we desperately need it today.
Here, more angels were involved in the birth of Jesus than probably anywhere else in the Bible.
Now we see one bursting on the scene announcing the great news to the shepherds who were just ordinary folk.
The peace that the angel declared to them was something eternal - not like the flimsy piece of paper waved by Neville Chamberlain when he declared "peace in our time" before WW2 broke out.
No wonder the shepherds were spooked - who wouldn't be?
There they were, in the field, looking out for their sheep, when "boom", an angel stood in front of them.
Here is another one of the Bible's "Don't be afraids" - calming them down in order to receive the greatest news of all time.
The miracle is that they simply believed.
In our cynical world, how many will receive this message?
Even if an angel appeared to announce it?
But these ordinary guys did - they had the faith to "up sticks" and to discover their Saviour.
How many sit in unbelief when they hear the Christmas message?
Pray that, in this uncertain world, hearts would warm to the message of Jesus.
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