Glory to God in the Lowest

13And 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[e] toward men!” Luke 2:13-14

I am sure you are all familiar with this scripture. If nothing else, you have heard Linus recite it in the Charlie Brown Christmas special. The angels were proclaiming the birth of The Savior, God made flesh, they couldn't contain themselves. This kind of news understandably would ring throughout the heavens, but I think there is more to this story. Let's look at the rest of the story. Here are the next few verses,

"15So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17Now when they had seen Him, they made [f]widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds". Luke 2:15-18

I think this is more important to us down here. The Savior was born in Bethlehem in a stable and laid in a manger. Bethlehem? Shouldn't it be Jerusalem? Or Rome? A stable and laid in a manger? It should have been a palace and a throne. Shepherds? It should have been kings and rulers. But you see, Jesus came to change everything, even the way we view power. Jesus came to reach the lowest. He came for us, the dirty, the insignificant, the lost. How do you reach the lowest? You become one of them. You go to Bethlehem, in a stable, in a manger. You become a carpenter's son in the backwaters of Judea. You spend your life among the poor and sick. You die in their place to pay the price for their sins. 

So yes, the angels had every reason to sing "Glory to God in the highest!" They recognized the eternal significance of the event they were witnessing. I think we also should sing "Glory to God in the lowest!" because that is where He went to meet us at the point of our need.

Too Soon?

     I remember how excited I used to get when the Christmas decorations first went up on the streetlights in my town growing up. It usually happened right before Thanksgiving and it was the signal that Christmas would soon be here. Well, things have changed. Now I complain when I see Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving. I have a hard and fast rule, no Christmas until after Thanksgiving. No decorating, no music, let's not rush past Thanksgiving.

     I am starting rethink that position. I am beginning to think 5 year old me knew better than 50+ year old me. Christmas is something to look forward to, it is something to get excited about. The creator of the universe came to Earth as a child to bring salvation for a broken and fallen world, that deserves more than a few weeks of celebration, that deserves a lifetime of celebration.

     Now, I am not going to start listening to Christmas music year round, I will still wait until after Thanksgiving. I am not going to start decorating for Christmas the day after Halloween. I am going to stop complaining about those that do though. I think they may have it right, Christmas is more than just the month of December, it is the entirety of time.

Are We Doing it Wrong?

     So today is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays, it is probably tied with Christmas as my favorite. As a food guy, obviously I like it for the food, but really I like it for the focus on family. Most of my favorite memories are centered around Thanksgivings at my grandparent's house in New Jersey.

     Now a days it has become popular to make a list of the things we are thankful for. I have seen people listing one thing every day for the month of November. I think this is a great idea, but as a Christian I think it may be missing the point. We are called to be thankful, period. There are no more qualifiers after that, just be thankful. Is it okay to be thankful for family, friends, jobs, house, whatever? Sure, but we need to go deeper. We need to be a thankful people; not because of our circumstances but just because.

     It is great to have a long list of the things we are thankful for, but what if we didn't have them? All through the Bible, in fact throughout the history of Christianity, you see countless people thanking God in their lack, in prison, facing death. So don't let your thanksgiving be governed by your circumstances, just be thankful.

Hebrews 12:28 "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe."