“God’s anonymous: Angels”
Luke 2:13
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus.
By June of 1940, Germany had already invaded France, Belgium, Holland, Norway and Denmark. Next on their list was Great Britain.
But since they weren’t able to invade by land or by sea, they conducted what they called a “blitzkrieg,” a word that meant “lightning war,” bombing one city after another. Then a year later, just as soon as the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, we had no choice but to enter the war. And after agreeing to take care of Europe first and then Japan, so began a series of events that would lead to D-Day.
First came Operation Torch in North Africa, under the command of General Eisenhower. Then came Operation Husky, Operation Baytown and Operation Dragoon. Finally, the stage was set for the most important one of all--Operation Overlord--the Battle of Normandy.
The Germans knew an invasion was coming. They could tell that by all the forces that were gathering in Britain as well as the constant airstrikes. They just didn’t know where and they didn’t know when.
Finally, early in the morning of June 6, 1944, the first wave of the attack began with paratroopers, landing in pitchblack darkness behind enemy lines. The second wave came as thousands of planes dropped thousands of bombs on German defenses, and the third wave came as warships fired on the beaches of Normandy.
Finally, at 6:30 in the morning, the main invasion force arrived with six thousand ships, 156,000 troops, as well as countless weapons and tanks. Then within the next ten days, another half a million troops would arrive from as many as twelve different countries.
And so on that day in June of 1944, the offensive had begun.
In the days when Caesar Augustus reigned as emperor, and Quirinius was governor of Syria, another invasion began, quietly and silently, known only to a woman named Mary, and her husband named Joseph. And though it was nothing more than a Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, an offensive, an invasion, had just begun.
I’ll read the words of Luke chapter 2: “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger’” (Luke 2:8-12).
If you think about it, there are many who played a part in Jesus’ birth. Think of that old man named Zechariah as he ministered in the temple. “How can this be?” he said. “I’m an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel said, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.” Think of John, leaping for joy, in his mother’s womb. Or think of Simeon and Anna.
But along with those for whom we have a name, there are many others for whom we have no name--God’s anonymous--people like an innkeeper, shepherds and wise men. And all of them, whatever their names might have been, had the honor and privilege to join in that very first Christmas celebration.
And among those for whom we have no name, there’s one more group--the angels.
So what are angels? Simply enough, they’re spirit beings, created by God, to praise Him (Psalm 148:2), to worship Him (Hebrews 1:6), to serve Him (Psalm 103:20), and to carry out His commands (Acts 12:5-10). They do His will at all times, no questions asked, accomplishing whatever He demands.
Even more, as the writer to the Hebrews said, they’re “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). Though we can’t see them or hear them, God sends them to encourage us and to protect us. And someday He’ll send them to carry us to our home in heaven (Luke 16:22).
And how many angels are there? We really don’t know. When the Bible talks about them, it uses words like “innumerable,” “so many, they can’t be counted,” “myriads,” “thousands upon thousands,” “millions,” and “ten thousand times ten thousand.”
Remember when soldiers came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, and do you remember what He said? He said, “Do you think that I cannot call on My Father in heaven, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions, (72,000!), angels” (Matthew 26:53).
And just how powerful are they? In the book of Exodus, one angel took the lives of all of Egypt’s firstborn, and in the book of II Kings, another angel killed 185,000 men!
No wonder then that, just as soon as that angel appeared to the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem, the Bible says, “they were filled with great fear” (Luke 2:9). And no wonder that the very first words he said was, “Don’t be afraid!” (Luke 2:10).
And why shouldn’t they fear? The angel said: “For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:10-12).
And if that wasn’t enough, a moment later, “suddenly,” the Bible said, a whole heavenly chorus, rank upon rank, company after company, battalion after battalion, the heavenly host, the army of God Himself, came to join in that incredible song: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:14).
For just a moment, let’s take a look at those words that the angels said. First, that word, “Behold!”
What’s it mean? It means, “Look!” “Watch!” “See!” “Stop everything you’re doing! Drop everything you’re doing! For God is about to do something far beyond what you can even begin to understand or imagine! Behold!”
“I bring you good news,” he said, “to you who are caught up in a world of bad news, where there is nothing but loneliness and depression, where there is only sickness and sadness and death. And this isn’t just good news that I bring. It’s good news of great joy!”
And for whom does it come? “For all people!” People of every tribe, every nation, every economic class, every age--young and old and anywhere in between--every man, every woman, every child, every region, every language, every student, every teacher, every criminal, every judge, every sinner, every soldier, every CEO and every employee. Everyone, come and see! Come and see the gift of Jesus!
“Fear not,” the angel said, “for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people” (Luke 2:10).
And what is this good news of great joy? Verse 11: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
It was as if to say, “Do you realize Who has come to you? Can you understand the wonder and the mystery of the gift that you’ve been given?
“The infinite has become finite. The immortal has become mortal. The Creator has become the created. The Almighty has become a helpless baby. The Deity is wrapped in rags. The all-powerful King of the Universe is sleeping in a manger.”
As one author put it: “If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent an economist. But since our greatest need was forgiveness, God sent us a Savior.”
And if all that wasn’t enough, all of a sudden, piercing the darkness, came an angelic heavenly chorus, brighter than the sun, rolling like thunder, like the roar of a waterfall. The shout of worship. The shout of honor and praise. “Glory to God!” they said. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth ‘shalom,’ peace, goodwill toward men!”
“Come! Come see Him in the manger!”
You’ve heard of the Smoky Mountains? Sure you have! Resting on the border between North Carolina and Tennessee, it’s one of our nation’s most beautiful parks, filled with flowers and foliage and wildlife of all kinds.
That’s the Smoky Mountains--S-m-o-k-y.
But you know, there’s another Smokey Mountain--S-m-o-k-e-y. But it’s a place where no one really wants to go.
It’s just outside of Manila, in the Philippines, and it’s the home of some twenty-five thousand people. They call it a mountain because it’s a nearly two hundred foot high pile of garbage--layer after layer of plastic, wood, metal, bottles, iron, cardboard and fabric, all squashed together. And they call it “Smokey,” because it’s always on fire.
So why do people live there? They live there because they’re so poor, they can’t live anywhere else. And the one thing, the only thing, they ever have to look forward to, is when garbage trucks come first thing in the morning, to drop off fresh garbage from the city. Some even jump onto the trucks just so they can be the very first to scavenge the rubbish.
No one has doors. No one has windows. No one has electricity. It’s not a place any of us would want to go.
But wonder of wonders, there’s a group of American missionaries, Christians, who have chosen to make that place their home. And they go there to share the love of Jesus, because they know that those who live there would never otherwise hear it or receive it.
Jesus, the Son of God, made a journey. He knew what He was doing. He knew where He was going. He knew what the sacrifice would be. He came from heaven to earth to save the human race, for all of humanity had gone terribly wrong. What was once a paradise on earth had become a hell on earth. Yet that’s exactly why Jesus came.
No wonder the angels couldn’t help but say: “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).
For us, dear Father, who could never deserve it, You have come to bring hope, forgiveness and peace. Fill us with the joy of the angels and the thrill of the shepherds as we seek to worship Christ our King, for His sake. Amen