“Another warm, clear, peaceful night” said one of the
shepherds as they laid on the ground and gazed at the stars and talked. The sheep had settled down to sleep. Suddenly,
an angel appeared. I like to think that
the angel appeared overhead, in their line of sight, obscuring the stars (the
Bible isn’t specific about it). Some of
the shepherds began to scramble backwards, while others remained frozen in
place. The angel began to speak and announced the birth of Jesus.
Then a multitude of angels filled the sky from one horizon
to the other, praising God. The majestic
sound and incredible visual overwhelmed their senses. Suddenly, the only sound was crickets singing
and sheep shifting slightly in their sleep. The only visual was the stars, just
as before. Each shepherd had to be wondering, “Did I dream this or did it
really happen? Should I say anything?”
A quiet voice disrupted the silence. “Did anyone else see
that?”
A cacophony of excited voices walking all over each other, answered
simultaneously. The tension eased and excitement grew as they discussed how
prophecy had been fulfilled. Before the
night was over, they had decided who would go check this out and who would stay
with the sheep.
I notice in the Bible that when an angel appears, it is a
scary experience. The shepherds surely
thought they were going to die that night. But instead they were privileged to
receive a message by angel. No doubt if
an angel appeared to me, I would be just as frightened. It is a lot easier on my stress level to read
about this encounter in the Bible.
Isn’t this story much more exciting and believable than
Santa and Rudolph?
“And, lo, the angel of
the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and
they were sore afraid.” Luke 2:9.
© copyright Kevin T Boekhoff
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