The Angels' Celebration

And the angels beg, “Come on, we just have to tell someone! This is too wonderful. We’ll go crazy!”

And finally, God says, “All right. But only in one place, not all over the earth. In the middle of the night when most of them will be sleeping. And you only get to tell shepherds. Most people won’t listen to shepherds, anyway.”

Do you think that’s the way it happened? I don’t think so. I think God was really excited about this, too, and he obviously wants us to know. And I don’t think God ever misses any important details. But the Bible mentions the angels rejoicing several times and I think my scenario catches something important about them.

But, however it happened, the angels remind us that the birth of Jesus just has to be celebrated. It’s not right to keep it inside. It’s not right to keep it quiet.

And the world is telling us more forcefully year by year, keep it quiet! Keep the celebrations to yourself.

There’s been a lot of discussion on whether Mike Huckabee was out of line to actually mention the name of Jesus Christ in public this past week.

I appreciated the comments of my favorite news analyst, David Brooks on the Jim Lehrer News Hour. He said he isn’t a Christian himself, (I assume he’s Jewish) but most people have figured it out by now that Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and he had no problem with Christians speaking their principles in public. Why not??

And some of us have bigger obstacles inside ourselves. I’m the son of an engineer. Arams work to use words very carefully, so they often come out slowly and cautiously. And don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment.

Arams have strong control over the emotions. I remember when I was a boy that we had a lawn mower that was running crazy, fast, slow, fast, slow, up and down. And my father said that the governor needed adjustment. And once he had it right, the engine ran perfectly steady. That’s an Aram, almost perfectly steady. In a crisis, when people can panic and make things worse, you want an Aram to be there. A couple of Christmases ago our son, Justin, was driving home from visiting in-laws in Minnesota. The interstate was crowded and the pavement was slick. There was one fender bender and people started slamming on their brakes and jerking their steering wheels and spinning out of control. Justin kept his head, and used his steering wheel sparingly, and went through it safe and sound. You want an Aram with you when people need to keep calm.

But when something is exciting and needs celebrating, we Arams need to be stretched. If you need a cheerleader, try Marty Linderborg. She’s good at that.

Well, this is a day to override our hesitations, to let go of our emotions, get off the fence, and throw our hearts into the celebration. This is a day to celebrate! God did a miracle of grace for us! We have good news. Jesus, our savior is born.

So I invite you to join me in joyful celebration. Join the angels as they cheer what God has done.

Glory to God in the highest!

He has done great things!