Category: Devotions for the Church Year

Call to Prayer

O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the sheep of his hand. 

Prayer of Confession

Have mercy upon us, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercies, blot out our transgressions. Wash us thoroughly from our iniquity, and cleanse us from our sin. For we know our transgressions, and our sin is ever before us. Create in us a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within us. Cast us not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from us. Restore to us the joy of your salvation, and uphold us with a willing spirit. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon

With everlasting love I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer. I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.

Venite

O come, let us sing unto the Lord;

Let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving

And show ourselves glad in him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are all the depths of the earth, and the heights of the hills are his also.

The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands prepared the dry land.

O come, let us worship and fall down, and kneel before the Lord our Maker.

For he is our god, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Psalm 95:1-7

Psalm: Psalm 32

Gloria Patri

Glory be to the Father, and to the son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen

Scripture Readings

Old Testament: Isaiah 1:10-20

New Testament: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

Gospel: Luke 19:1-10

Canticle

Te Deum Laudamus (We Praise You , O God)

We praise you, O God; we acclaim you as Lord;

All creation worships you, the Father everlasting.

To you all angels, all the powers of heaven, the cherubim and seraphim, sing endless praise;

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.

The glorious company of apostles praise you. The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.

The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.

Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you: Father, of majesty unbounded, your true and only Son, worthy of all praise, and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.

You, Christ, are the king of glory, the eternal Son of the Father.

When you took our flesh to set us free you humbly chose the Virgin’s womb.

You overcame the sting of death and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.

You are seated at God’s right hand in glory.

We believe that you will come to be our judge.

Come then, Lord, and help your people,

Bought with the price of your own blood, and bring us with your saints to glory everlasting.

Intercession

For the Local Congregation

Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear our prayers, and grant that in our congregations the pure Word of God may be preached and the Sacraments duly administered. Strengthen and confirm the faithful; protect and guide the children; visit and relieve the sick; turn and soften the wicked; arouse the careless; recover the fallen; restore the penitent; remove all hindrances to the advancement for your truth; and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within your holy Church, to the honor and glory of your Name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your Name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen

Collect

Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, as we live among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Benediction

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore.

Sources

The Book of Common Prayer. (Huntington Beach, CA: Anglican Liturgy Press, 2019).

The Worship Sourcebook. (Kalamazoo, MI: Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2004).

Worship the Lord, The Liturgy of the Reformed Church in America. (Reformed Church Press, 2005).

Call to Prayer

I was glad when they said unto me, “We will go into the house of the Lord.”

Prayer of Confession

Merciful God, you made us in your image, with a mind to know you, a heart to love you, and a will to serve you. But our knowledge is imperfect, our love inconstant, our obedience incomplete. Day by day, we fail to grow into your likeness. In your tender love, forgive us through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.

Venite

O come, let us sing unto the Lord;

Let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving

And show ourselves glad in him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are all the depths of the earth, and the heights of the hills are his also.

The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands prepared the dry land.

O come, let us worship and fall down, and kneel before the Lord our Maker.

For he is our god, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Psalm 95:1-7

Psalm: Psalm 84

Gloria Patri

Glory be to the Father, and to the son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen

Scripture Readings

Old Testament: Jeremiah 14:1-10, 19-22

New Testament: 2 Timothy 4:6-18

Gospel: Luke 18:9-14

Canticle

Te Deum Laudamus (We Praise You , O God)

We praise you, O God; we acclaim you as Lord;

All creation worships you, the Father everlasting.

To you all angels, all the powers of heaven, the cherubim and seraphim, sing endless praise;

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.

The glorious company of apostles praise you. The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.

The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.

Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you: Father, of majesty unbounded, your true and only Son, worthy of all praise, and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.

You, Christ, are the king of glory, the eternal Son of the Father.

When you took our flesh to set us free you humbly chose the Virgin’s womb.

You overcame the sting of death and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.

You are seated at God’s right hand in glory.

We believe that you will come to be our judge.

Come then, Lord, and help your people,

Bought with the price of your own blood, and bring us with your saints to glory everlasting.

Intercession

For the Local Congregation

O God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of the faithful, sanctify our congregation by your abiding presence. Bless those who minister in holy things. Enlighten the minds of your people more and more with the light of the everlasting Gospel. Bring erring souls to the knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ, and those who are walking in the way of life, keep steadfast to the end. Give patience to the sick and afflicted, and renew them in body and soul. Guard those who are strong and prosperous from forgetting you. Increase in use your many gifts of grace, and make us all fruitful in good works. This we ask, O blessed Spirit, whom with the Father and the Son we worship and glorify, one God, world without end. Amen

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your Name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen

Benediction

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore.

 

Sources

The Book of Common Prayer. (Huntington Beach, CA: Anglican Liturgy Press, 2019).

The Worship Sourcebook. (Kalamazoo, MI: Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2004).

Worship the Lord, The Liturgy of the Reformed Church in America. (Reformed Church Press, 2005).

 

The 24th Sunday after Trinity

While in college working toward my religion degree, I studied under a professor who was also an Anglican priest. He introduced our Christian worship class to the rhythms and the schedules of the church year. I’d grown up in a Reformed church, so the terms Advent, Lent, and Ordinary Time were already familiar to me.

But the merging of daily readings of Scripture with written prayers was new. Once I learned how these readings and prayers corresponded with the seasons observed in the church year, my prayer life started to rest on a stable foundation that provided me with the depth and diversity I needed to grow in relationship with God while also engaging in ministry.

The calendar tells us the month of October is the tenth month of the year. It is the season of harvest, changing colors in the leaves, longer hours of night, and cooler days. The calendar also tells us there is something like 65 days until Christmas and nearly three months left of the year.

According to the church year, October is near the end of the year. Already in November, the last Sunday of the previous church year is observed as Christ the King Sunday, and a new year will begin on the first Sunday of December.

Starting this week, as the current church year comes to a close, I am going to observe the church year on my blog. Each weekend I will write a new post specifying where we are in the church year while also including the Scripture readings and prayers designated for that particular Sunday.

Each week of the church year adds another scene to a vibrant and complex story. As you observe the church year, you may begin to see how God uses the rhythm and changing of the seasons to impart grace into your life, supply answers to prayers, and reveal more of himself.

This centuries-old practice of observing the church year is filled with adventure as we listen to our Heavenly Father and recognize his movement in our lives.

Each blog post will look similar to an order of worship we might follow on a Sunday morning during a church service. This is because we as disciples need the regular feeding from the Word, the cleansing of sin, and the opportunity to praise. At the bottom of each post, I will cite the resources I used for the various prayers. These resources come from my own library as a worship leader.

Use these posts as a way to enhance your own personal worship or devotional time, or draw on them for resources to incorporate into Sunday morning worship services.

Please join me in the next months as we observe the church year opening our lives to worship prayer.

The 24^th Sunday after Trinity. (I will explain more next summer what the significance is of the term Trinity and also about the reason for numbering the Sundays following it).

Call to Prayer

Dear God, I come to worship you today.

I come to pray and to listen.

You always hear me. Help me to hear you.

Prayer of Confession

Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep.

We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts.

We have offended against your holy laws.

We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have don those things which we ought not to have done; and apart from your grace, there is no health in us.

O Lord, have mercy upon us.

Spare all those who confess their faults.

Restore all those who are penitent, according to your promises declared to all people in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may now live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of your holy Name. Amen.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Christ, have mercy upon us.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Venite

O come, let us sing unto the Lord;

Let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving

And show ourselves glad in him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are all the depths of the earth, and the heights of the hills are his also.

The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands prepared the dry land.

O come, let us worship and fall down, and kneel before the Lord our Maker.

For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Psalm 95:1-7

Psalm: Psalm 84

Gloria Patri

Glory be to the Father, and to the son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen

Scripture Readings

Old Testament: Jeremiah 14:1-10, 19-22

New Testament: 2 Timothy 4:6-18

Gospel: Luke 18:9-14

Canticle

Te Deum Laudamus (We Praise You , O God)

We praise you, O God; we acclaim you as Lord;

All creation worships you, the Father everlasting.

To you all angels, all the powers of heaven, the cherubim and seraphim, sing endless praise;

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.

The glorious company of apostles praise you. The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.

The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.

Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you: Father, of majesty unbounded, your true and only Son, worthy of all praise, and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.

You, Christ, are the king of glory, the eternal Son of the Father.

When you took our flesh to set us free you humbly chose the Virgin’s womb.

You overcame the sting of death and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.

You are seated at God’s right hand in glory.

We believe that you will come to be our judge.

Come then, Lord, and help your people,

Bought with the price of your own blood, and bring us with your saints to glory everlasting.

Intercession

For the Unity of All Christian People

O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace to take to heart the grave dangers we are in through our many divisions. Deliver you Church from all enmity and prejudice, and everything that hinders us from godly union. As there is one Body and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so make us all to be of one heart and of one mind, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and love, that with one voice we may give you praise, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God in everlasting glory. Amen

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your Name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen

Benediction

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore.

Sources

The Book of Common Prayer. (Huntington Beach, CA: Anglican Liturgy Press, 2019).

The Worship Sourcebook. (Kalamazoo, MI: Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2004).

Worship the Lord, The Liturgy of the Reformed Church in America. (Reformed Church Press, 2005).

“Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11

According to the church calendar, today is the fortieth day after Easter, the day when Jesus ascended into heaven. Jesus spent the weeks between Easter and his arrival in heaven appearing to his disciples, eating with them, talking with them, and inviting them to touch his side and to see his hands and feet. Why? Because the resurrection was real. As the Apostle’s Creed states, “He was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell and on the third day he rose again and is seated at the right hand of the Father.”

These things really happened, and Jesus wanted his disciples to grasp the meaning and the power of the resurrection. He calls them to be witnesses of all they have seen and everything they have experienced.

But more was still to come. The disciples must stay in Jerusalem until Jesus sent what the Father had promised (Luke 24:49). Acts 1:5 tells us this promise was the Holy Spirit. The disciples would get baptized with it, empowering them to preach the gospel and spread the transforming news of repentance and forgiveness of sin.

What does the ascension of Christ mean for us today? We are people who live half-way across the world from Bethany, the place where Jesus left earth. Maybe those angels didn’t know what they were talking about. “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you . . . will come back in the same way . . .” Two thousand years have passed and we are still waiting and watching.

We can trust in the fact that Jesus ascended to a certain place. He didn’t perform a magic trick and disappear or disintegrate making people wonder if he still exists. Jesus went to a place, and that place is heaven, the home of God, a sovereign King who sits on an eternal throne.

Going to this place, Jesus broke the trail for us so that we have a path in which to follow. Because of his redemptive work, we will someday rise and join him in heaven. Paul writes in I Thessalonians 4:17, we who are still alive will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. John 14:2-3 also picks up this theme with Jesus’ words. He goes to prepare a place for us and will come back and take us to be with him so that we may also be where he is.

Because of Christ’s ascension, we share with him in his power. Not a political power such as the disciples asked about in Acts 1:6 when they still held out hope that Jesus would restore the kingdom of Israel. This is a spiritual power that sets people free and grows in them the likeness of Christ. Jesus has authority over creation, sickness, evil, and death. We share in that authority as we live in relationship with him, offering prayers to him and trusting his power.

Are you standing with the disciples today, staring intently into the sky wondering, confused, and maybe even a little mystified? The season of celebration isn’t over yet. Eastertide, the season following Easter Sunday, still has ten days to go. The disciples spent these ten last days waiting for God’s promise to arrive. I wonder if heaven needed that long to attend the grand coronation of the Prince of Peace as he took his place at the right hand of the Father.

When there are delays in our lives and we are waiting around in the city for God to deliver his promises to us, maybe the wait is because something must happen in heaven (the spiritual realm) first before the promise can arrive. These are the times to follow the disciples’ example and continually praise God as they did following Jesus’ ascension. “Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple praising God” (Luke 24:52-53).

This is the note on which the book of Luke ends. In times of waiting for a promise from God, we praise him. In response to his ascension into heaven and his preparation of a place for us there, we live with the mystery. We wait for God’s promises. We receive his power.

This coming Sunday marks the beginning of the events leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection. Holy Week runs the gamut of emotions from high celebration on Palm Sunday, to loss and bewilderment on Good Friday, to amazement on the day of resurrection. If I were one of the disciples watching this drama unfold, I am sure I would have felt completely overwhelmed and utterly confused. Here is Jesus, friend and teacher, who everyone hoped would develop a strong military campaign for reclaiming the nation of Israel, in which he would overpower the Romans and take back the inheritance rightfully belonging to the twelve tribes.

But what happened to him instead? Jesus is captured, beaten, and killed. Pilate acknowledged him as the King of the Jews, but in a mocking, taunting wort of way. Not with the pomp and commanding magnificence usually associated with a king. No one wanted to claim as theirs the bloody mass on the cross anyway. A person convicted of blasphemy and hanging between two thieves did not qualify as trustworthy leader material.

It looks like God’s mission failed. He’d sent the Messiah, the one promised to the Jews for their rescue. But this Messiah had only managed to get in trouble with the Jewish Law and was now dying a criminal’s death.

Where was a disciple to look for fulfilled hopes of restoration? Following Jesus might have been a waste of time. Peter returns to fishing. John takes Mary home. Darkness falls.

The cross was actually the best place to look for those dreams of restoration. Friday afternoon with its agony and suffering ushered in a new order. Redemption came as a vulnerable gift, not as a royal decree imposed by force. Saturday’s silence filled with questions hung as mystifying as the torn curtain in the temple. God’s Son had died. The way was now clear to approach him. Maybe this is what those startling events of the past week were all about. Everyone could view the Holy of Holies now, not just a consecrated priest.

The images from Friday probably played through the minds of the disciples over and over again. The verse from the hymn When I Survey the Wondrous Cross captures what the disciples surely would have felt.

See, from His head, His hands, His feet. Sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did ever such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Sorrow and love. The two qualities of Christ’s crucifixion. It was the best of times for these disciples, knowing their Lord loved them enough to die for them. It was the worst of times, knowing the intense suffering sin caused, and then grieving the loss of him. No one would ever take Jesus’ place. The end had come.

But then Sunday morning arrives. Mary runs into town with the astonishing news of an empty grave. Angels had greeted her with the announcement, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples” (Mark 16:6-7).

Jesus is risen. He conquered death and the grave. Salvation is freely given. Men and women from every nation can receive the forgiveness of their sins. Jesus paid the price. The work is done.

Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.

 

This is a blog I wrote last January as we looked ahead to a new year, so I thought I would share it again as we look ahead to 2019.

She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. –Luke 2:37-38

Nothing stood in the way of Anna loving God. She lived in a time and a culture when women—especially widowed older women like her—faced many obstacles.

The political government and religious community of the day would have looked upon women like Anna as inferior and second class. As a result, she would have been marginalized to the outer fringes of society.

And yet Anna still loved and worshiped God. Even more, God loved and honored her. Anna was known as a prophetess because of the obvious mark of the Holy Spirit on her life. Her testimony of devotion to God shines through her holiness and chastity.

Love for God is what gave her word legitimacy when the baby Messiah came to the temple and she spoke about him to all who anticipated his arrival. Anna’s life teaches us that the religious and political rulers might make the laws and enforce them, but God’s spirit operated outside of or perhaps in spite of man’s structures.

We can’t impose limitations on God. Anna’s devotion asks this question—do we get caught up in adhering to human rules, or are we going to recognize where God is working?

The Christmas story answers that question with proof that God works completely free from power structures, social customs, or religious laws.

Jesus was conceived outside the social customs of marriage.

He lived outside Herod’s palace.

God promised Zechariah a child outside the limitations of old age.

The Holy Spirit appeared in the life of Anna, outside the boundaries of gender roles.

Luke’s account of the Christmas story shows that God is in the submissive, open heart of Mary. He is present in the quiet vulnerability of humble surroundings. His word can be found in the righteousness of obedience and prayer. His delight is in the life of devotion and worship.

All these things—submission, vulnerability, humility, righteousness, obedience, prayer, and worship have the same thing in common which is love.

The love of God transcends any obstacles, barriers, or limitations. Love is where freedom is found. Our love for God and his love for us is the place from where power, value, and peace flow.

Are you longing for freedom today? If so, I encourage you to stand with Anna in the temple—the place of worship and prayer, and offer yourself with new devotion to God’s plans and his purpose for your life.

In my fascination with the angels in the Christmas story, I turned to the last mention of the angels in the events surrounding Jesus’ birth, and pondered how their appearance affected the life of Joseph.

An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. Matthew 2:13, 19

The appearance of Gabriel earlier in the story brought announcements intended to prepare the listeners for the events God was about to perform. Babies were on the way to Zechariah’s and Mary’s households. Believe and get ready. The Lord is coming.

The host of angels appearing to the shepherds was the height of the Christmas story. They bring the news Zechariah and Mary had prepared for. The baby has come. The Messiah is born. Glorify God.

These appearances of the angel to Joseph carry a different tone. Danger lurks. Act now and act quickly. The angel that appeared to Joseph is unnamed. Unlike the use of Gabriel’s name in Mary’s and Zechariah’s stories, the Bible mentions this angel only as the angel of the Lord. This may imply that the vision Joseph saw was the Lord appearing in angelic form. The message Joseph receives carries urgency. “Get up . . .escape . . .stay there, hidden, until I tell you.” Jesus’ life is at risk. If he is found, the ruthless and tyrannical Herod will murder him.

Joseph seems to me an ordinary, quiet man who would not stand out in a crowd. He was a small town boy, a carpenter, someone who worked with his hands. Drawing attention to himself didn’t find a place in his character. But deep faith did. Descended from the line of King David himself, Joseph was royalty. He knew it. Growing up in his family, he’d heard the stories from Israel’s glory days. Patriarchal lineage would’ve been rehearsed in his hearing enough for him not to just memorize it, but to embrace it to his core as part of his identity. His ancestors were kings, and now his Son, conceived by God, was to be a king too.

Joseph needed no education on the high stakes associated with the angel’s message. Along with the rest of the nation, he’d been reading the prophets, watching, and waiting for the Messiah.

Now he’d come. He’d come into Joseph’s tribe, into his life, and into his very home. And the responsibility to protect him belonged to Joseph. The time had come to let go of all of his expectations for a quiet little life raising his family, to let go of his ties and association to his ancestral land, and maybe even to let go of some of his pride, so that he might fulfill the command to leave for the foreign country of Egypt.

The angel’s directions to escape asked much of Joseph. Beginning with Mary’s pregnancy occurring out of wedlock, he hadn’t gone looking for any of the adventures that had entered his life because of this newborn child.

But God knew what kind of person Joseph was. He trusted God’s word to him. He took risks for the sake of that word. He surrendered every area of his life to follow through on the angel’s instructions.

Because of Joseph’s daring obedience, the prophecies about Jesus were fulfilled. This earthly father to the King of Kings became a beacon to the rest of the world. “Look at this,” Joseph’s life seems to say. “Jesus has come. We know this because of the prophecies spoken about him and the ways events are playing out. The Savior is here.”

The angel of the Lord and Joseph had a beautiful partnership. The angel spoke. Joseph acted. The angel gave direction. Joseph put himself and the Christ child in places that proved the word of God true.

Christmas has come and gone but I am still pondering the angels in the Christmas story. Last week’s post was about Gabriel and his call to faith. This week is about the heavenly host of angels and their call to praise.

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel praising God. Luke 2:13

This passage of Scripture reveals not just one angel acting as a messenger, but what the Bible calls a great company. Perhaps the entire angelic regiment of heaven turned out for this momentous visitation to a gang of unsuspecting shepherds. How fun to join together and crowd in on a quiet pasture where it wouldn’t take much to make a smashing sensation. The brilliance, the power, and the attraction of the glory surrounding them would have been unlike anything these common shepherds had ever seen. Not even Herod’s palace and finery could hold a candle to the pure elegance of heaven.

The lyrics of our Christmas carols have led me to assume angels sing. Perhaps they do and this is a pleasure we must wait to experience until our arrival in heaven. From what I have studied, angels spoke. They were messengers. They deliver God’s word. Gabriel spoke to Zechariah and to Mary. An unnamed angel spoke to Joseph. In Revelation 4, the seraphim say “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God almighty” around the throne.

If this is true, then the fact that the angel of the Lord, joined by a great company, spoke to the shepherds gives the event even more weight. These angels weren’t entertainers. They were on a mission to deliver a world-changing piece of news. And they delivered it to shepherds, men who lived outside. Shepherds lived outside the ceremonial laws for religion and cleanliness. They lived outside social acceptance. They even lived in the hills, their job requiring them to live in the physical outdoors.

God appears to them. The despised and outcast are the first to hear the good news. This might have been the first hopeful message these men had ever been given. The religious authorities offered no hope to them. Neither did the social or economical structures. But God did.

No wonder they hurried off, as Luke records in Luke 2:16. They didn’t scoff at the angels’ announcement or question in disbelief. These men may have felt too down on their luck for that sort of response. All the more reason for them to “go to Bethlehem and see this thing the Lord told them about” (Luke 2:15).

Here was a new order, created and proclaimed by God himself. It restored to men like the shepherds a measure of dignity. Verse 17 says, “When they had seen the baby, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child.”

For the first time ever, the shepherds had influence. Concerning the event of Jesus’ birth, cultural frameworks shifted. Now the shepherds were the ones with the authoritative message. God had appeared to them. They had seen with their own eyes the Christ child the angels proclaimed to be the Messiah.

The angels set a beautiful example for the shepherds when they praised God and declared glory to him. After spreading the word of what had been told them, the shepherds returned and did just as the angels taught them, praising and glorifying God.

The appearance of the angels in Luke 2 is a scene filled with grace. God was gracious to the shepherds by sending the angels. The angels were gracious to God in praising him. The shepherds even knew how to be gracious in believing what they heard, paying Jesus a visit, and spreading the news.

This is how praise works. It ascribes honor and worth to the one who is the subject of the praise. The angels extended the initial call to praise, and the shepherds accepted. As a result, their lives changed. Believing in the angels’ message sent them on the discovery of Jesus. Following their example of offering praise to God gave them a place in his new order. They didn’t know it yet, but these shepherds stepped into the kingdom. In this Kingdom of Heaven, they had value. God’s favor rested on them. Their praises of God brought heaven and its peace a little closer to their dark, outside world.

The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.” Luke 1:19

The role of the angel in the Christmas story has always intrigued me. Those of us living in the centuries following the events of Jesus’ birth take for granted the presence of the angel. In children’s Christmas programs, someone gets dressed up in a white robe with cardboard wings and a tinsel halo and joins the other characters on stage as if the angel was the next door neighbor or a relative known to the people who saw him before the events of the Christmas story happened.

But this wasn’t the case. Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and then to Mary out of nowhere. If Mary and Zechariah were familiar with the stories of the Old Testament prophets, they would recognize the name Gabriel from Daniel’s experience. But no one would have ever anticipated another visit from him. Not during routine worship rituals in the temple and certainly not to a common teenage girl from a small town.

Imagine what a surprise that would have been for them. It makes sense that Zechariah’s and Mary’s initial response was fear. The angel Gabriel, second in command to Michael the archangel captain of angel armies, would have had the essence of a warrior about him. He would have shone with the pure light of God’s glory while carrying the demeanor of a fighter accustomed to victory. Beautiful and militant. Holy and intrepid. This was the angel Gabriel. Enough brilliant glory to light up the entire village. Adequate grace to speak the truth and calmly assure of God’s favor.

What would the Christmas story be without the angel? Zechariah probably would still have had a son. Mary most likely would have given birth to Jesus. John the Baptist and his cousin came into the world according to God’s sovereign plan and therefore would have fulfilled the prophecies about them regardless of the method of communication used at the time of their births.

And yet the angel’s role is vital. Associated with God’s work is his word. He speaks things into creation. Someone needed to be sent as his representative to announce into the earthly realm what God was in the process of creating.

New life in Zechariah’s family would lead to a new order. John would grow up and preach repentance. He himself would become a mouth piece for God making a way for the Lord and his kingdom to come to earth and to enter people’s hearts.

God’s work wasn’t necessarily dependent on the angel’s visitation, but it did benefit from the angel’s prophecies. God had a good reason for sending the angel ahead of time. Without Gabriel, a call to faith would not have occurred.

His words, “I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and tell you this good news” needed to be said. They needed to be heard in order to deepen people’s belief in God. The Messiah had been promised for hundreds of years. Is this announcement by a heavenly being the one to take seriously? Did the people of Israel dare to get their hopes up and keep them there?

God spoke, and he did it through the angel he sent. His work of redemption had begun. Salvation was being made available to all. This was good news.

Gabriel’s message is for us too. He brings good news. The one to be born will be called the Son of God. Praise God for the angel. Gabriel teaches us to have hope and to believe in the new work God is doing.

So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him we have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God. Ephesians 2:17-19

With Christmas day less than two weeks away, we’re entering the time of year when people are making plans to travel. Some of us may only need to go a few miles to reach our destinations, while others may need to drive or fly long distances. Our reasons are all the same.

We’re coming home for Christmas.

The word home is loaded with hopes and expectations. Time spent there may include sharing a meal with loved ones or exchanging gifts. It may mean catching up on stories and news with people we haven’t seen for a while. It might also involve sharing in games or concerts and making special memories. These things are all wonderful, and we might enjoy them very much, but they still may not completely answer our longing for home. Somewhere that we can find peace. A place where we know we will never get hurt again. A space where loss cannot happen, we never have to say good-bye, and we won’t ever be forced to leave it.

Home. A place to stay for as long as we want with people we love. It sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? This is what we’re all hoping for, and what we might be searching for. And yet, it seems so difficult to find. Once we have found it, sometimes it can disappear into evaporation right before our eyes. We just can’t seem to hold onto that elusive place our hearts so desperately want to have.

Mary and Joseph strayed far from home at the time their first child was about to enter the world. Their travel did not happen by choice. It was forced upon them by a tyrannical ruler in the Roman Empire. I wonder how Mary felt as distance grew between her, their families, and their home town. A young woman ready to deliver a baby would want the comfort of her mother and the trusted local midwife nearby. How she must have longed at times for Joseph to just turn the donkey around. If he’d take her back home, she could give birth in her own bed instead of along the road or among strangers.

For as uncertain as the trip may have been for Mary, a moment arrived when she came home. All the things she longed for lay wrapped in the bundle in her arms. This new baby she and Joseph named Jesus would bring her salvation. He would offer her a grace that overcame any of the pain and distress of her journey to Bethlehem. His limitless provisions of peace and love would satisfy her better than the comforts of home back in Nazareth ever could. She was welcome to stay in this place for as long as she wished. The stark manger in a musty barn probably didn’t hold much charm, but the promise of a relationship with this newborn reached into eternity. Jesus gave her a place in his kingdom that would never end. Mary never needed to leave. She wouldn’t need to say good-bye to him or sustain any loss of his favor and care. She was his and he was hers. Forever.

Are you living far from God this holiday season? Have you lost your way home or forgotten how to find it? Jesus knows your way home. He is your way home. He stands at the door ready to welcome you in.