This is the text of my brief devotion for the Christmas Eve
candlelight service of the church that I serve in Westport.
I know this is my first year with you all, but I understand you have a tradition of distributing angel ornaments on your Christmas Eve service. And I understand that there is a question that we always ponder when we are thinking about these ornaments. And I’d like to pose that question to you afresh this year.
I know this is my first year with you all, but I understand you have a tradition of distributing angel ornaments on your Christmas Eve service. And I understand that there is a question that we always ponder when we are thinking about these ornaments. And I’d like to pose that question to you afresh this year.
What would you do if
an angel visited you?
How would you respond? We understand from Scripture that angels are messengers. That is their job. They carry messages from God to people here on Earth. So if an angel were to visit you, it would be on a mission from God to give you a message from God. What sort of message do you think an angel would have for you? What do you think God wants to say to you tonight?
I can say one thing for certain. I know exactly what an angel would say to you. I know this because nearly every time in the Bible a person realizes that they are talking to an angel, the angel always immediately says the same thing.
“Don’t be afraid.”
Why is everyone always so afraid of angels?
I think part of the reason angels always induce fear is because of where they come from. Earlier in the Christmas story, a man named Zechariah meets an angel. After he recovers from his initial bewilderment he musters up the courage to ask who this angel is. And the angel tells him. "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God."
The presence of God is an interesting place. It is a wonderful place. And why wouldn’t it be, it is the location, so to speak, of God. This is the place the most clearly reflects that nature of the one who is pure love and the source of all joy. But the presence of God can be a dangerous place. You see, often when the Bible talks about the presence of God, it moves very quickly to talking about God’s holiness. Now I know that holiness sounds like a stodgy and churchy word. But it is nothing of the sort. When you think about holiness I want you to give you a different image.
In caricatures holiness is often used to describe those who are too uptight and overly conscious. The sort of people who believe that having too much fun just might be a sin. But that’s not what holiness is at all. When you think about holiness, I want you to think of the furious goodness of God.
God is purely, perfectly good, and his goodness is contagious. He always has an effect on everyone and everything that comes into contact with him. So when God comes into contact with anything that is less than pure good, well that thing or that person will get either be transformed or consumed.
This is why the Bible makes such a big deal about law and rules, not because God wants to deprive us of joy. No God wants to train us in righteousness so that we might have the skills necessary to experience this joy to the fullest.
Angels live in the presence of God, they have been made to absorb and withstand the furious goodness of God. They are morally pure and thus it is fitting and appropriate that they dwell in the presence of God. But what happens when these creatures come down and deliver messages to conflicted, and compromised creatures like you and me?
When we encounter, not the majestic beauty of that consuming fire of furious goodness that is God Himself, but just creatures that have seen that goodness with their own eyes. Creatures that have been forever affected by that experience of transcendent goodness? Is it any wonder that we cringe in fear? Is it any wonder that we would need to be reassured?
When we come into contact with a creature who is absolutely pure. A creature who is totally uncompromised. Who doesn’t even have the inclination to do anything that does not flow from a true love for everyone they interact with. When we encounter just such a creature, their character throws our character into sharp relief. We realize how compromised we are. We realize how often we act out of a sense of fearful self-preservation. We realize how often we serve ourselves at the expense of others.
When we encounter angels, those beings that live in the presence of God one thing becomes very clear. There is a place of transcendent goodness. A place where the one who is the source of all joy dwells.
I think part of the reason angels always induce fear is because of where they come from. Earlier in the Christmas story, a man named Zechariah meets an angel. After he recovers from his initial bewilderment he musters up the courage to ask who this angel is. And the angel tells him. "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God."
The presence of God is an interesting place. It is a wonderful place. And why wouldn’t it be, it is the location, so to speak, of God. This is the place the most clearly reflects that nature of the one who is pure love and the source of all joy. But the presence of God can be a dangerous place. You see, often when the Bible talks about the presence of God, it moves very quickly to talking about God’s holiness. Now I know that holiness sounds like a stodgy and churchy word. But it is nothing of the sort. When you think about holiness I want you to give you a different image.
In caricatures holiness is often used to describe those who are too uptight and overly conscious. The sort of people who believe that having too much fun just might be a sin. But that’s not what holiness is at all. When you think about holiness, I want you to think of the furious goodness of God.
God is purely, perfectly good, and his goodness is contagious. He always has an effect on everyone and everything that comes into contact with him. So when God comes into contact with anything that is less than pure good, well that thing or that person will get either be transformed or consumed.
This is why the Bible makes such a big deal about law and rules, not because God wants to deprive us of joy. No God wants to train us in righteousness so that we might have the skills necessary to experience this joy to the fullest.
Angels live in the presence of God, they have been made to absorb and withstand the furious goodness of God. They are morally pure and thus it is fitting and appropriate that they dwell in the presence of God. But what happens when these creatures come down and deliver messages to conflicted, and compromised creatures like you and me?
When we encounter, not the majestic beauty of that consuming fire of furious goodness that is God Himself, but just creatures that have seen that goodness with their own eyes. Creatures that have been forever affected by that experience of transcendent goodness? Is it any wonder that we cringe in fear? Is it any wonder that we would need to be reassured?
When we come into contact with a creature who is absolutely pure. A creature who is totally uncompromised. Who doesn’t even have the inclination to do anything that does not flow from a true love for everyone they interact with. When we encounter just such a creature, their character throws our character into sharp relief. We realize how compromised we are. We realize how often we act out of a sense of fearful self-preservation. We realize how often we serve ourselves at the expense of others.
When we encounter angels, those beings that live in the presence of God one thing becomes very clear. There is a place of transcendent goodness. A place where the one who is the source of all joy dwells.
And we do not belong
there.
I believe that this is why when angels appear, we are
terrified. We recognize the truth about ourselves. And it is a frightening
truth. It is a truth that activates our survival mechanism.
And it is for this reason that the mystery of Christmas is so unbelievably wonderful. On Christmas, that all-consuming, furious goodness, became a human being. We spend our entire lives totally exposed and utterly vulnerable to the penetrating gaze of that consuming fire.
And on Christmas, that consuming fire became totally vulnerable to us. The furious goodness that is God, had to be fed by his parents to ensure that he would not starve.
The Furious goodness that is God has drawn near to us in a lowly, humble fashion so that we might see what it is like to be a human being who is fully alive with the divine fire of God’s furious goodness. He has drawn near to us in order that he might draw us back to the Father. So that we might be able to enjoy the source of all joy forever.
So this Christmas I want to invite you to come near, to the burning flame of furious goodness. The one who is pure love. I invite you to come near because He himself has drawn near. He has made himself vulnerable. Because this is what love does. Because of His coming we can draw near to God.
And it is for this reason that the mystery of Christmas is so unbelievably wonderful. On Christmas, that all-consuming, furious goodness, became a human being. We spend our entire lives totally exposed and utterly vulnerable to the penetrating gaze of that consuming fire.
And on Christmas, that consuming fire became totally vulnerable to us. The furious goodness that is God, had to be fed by his parents to ensure that he would not starve.
The Furious goodness that is God has drawn near to us in a lowly, humble fashion so that we might see what it is like to be a human being who is fully alive with the divine fire of God’s furious goodness. He has drawn near to us in order that he might draw us back to the Father. So that we might be able to enjoy the source of all joy forever.
So this Christmas I want to invite you to come near, to the burning flame of furious goodness. The one who is pure love. I invite you to come near because He himself has drawn near. He has made himself vulnerable. Because this is what love does. Because of His coming we can draw near to God.
And we don’t need to be afraid.
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