This is adapted from an old Concordia Pulpit Resources sermon (by Timothy Quill
I believe).
Intro
“Now shepherds were in the same region staying out in the fields, watching
their flock during the night.” Bethlehem is a mere six miles from Jerusalem.
One might see himself standing on the walls of Jerusalem, looking south, seeing
what looked like flashes of lightning, hearing the rumbling of thunder.
But this was no electrical storm. On this night, the heavens erupted with an
angelic chorus exploding across the sky above the stunned shepherds.
Main Body
“And an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone
around them, and they were terrified with a deep fear.” Such a divine
unmasking of the Lord’s glory always leaves sinners trembling in fear. That’s
how it was when the angel appeared to Zechariah in the Temple. That’s how it
was for Peter, James, and John at the transfiguration of Jesus.
The prophet Isaiah experienced a similar sight of the Lord’s glory. He saw the
Lord sitting high on a throne. Fiery angels stood above Him, singing, “Holy,
holy, holy is the LORD of Armies! The fullness of all the earth testifies to
His glory” (Isaiah 63:3). “And the foundations of the doors shook from the
calling of their voices, and the house was filled with the smoke” of incense
(Isaiah 63:4).
In utter fear, Isaiah could only say: “I’m doomed! I’m silenced. For I am a
man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 63:5). And so it was, until an angel touched his
mouth with a burning coal and said, “Look! This has touched your lips--and so
your guilt is taken away and your sin is atoned for” (Isaiah 63:7).
On that night near Bethlehem, the glory of the Lord appeared to humble, sinful
shepherds watching over their sheep. Like Isaiah, uncontrollable fear
overwhelmed them until they heard the words of the angel. “Fear no longer!
For look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the
people, because born for you today in the town of David is the Messiah, the
Lord.”
[Pause]
After the miraculous conception of Jesus Christ in her womb, Mary sang the
Magnificat. After the birth of John the Baptizer, the forerunner of Jesus,
Zechariah sang the Benedictus. After the climactic birth of the long-awaited
Messiah, we are given a hymn of praise that comes not from human lips, but from
the mouths of angels.
The angelic Gloria “was [not] made on earth, but it came down from heaven”
(Martin Luther). In the Gloria, heaven itself explodes in praise. When all of
heaven sings such a hymn, how can it not become one of the great hymns for the
saints on earth?
But did you know the Gloria is but a mere 11 words in the original Greek? For
only 11 words, it is astounding. It is deep, yet also simple and accessible.
But that being said, the Gloria contains nothing new that God’s prophets of old
did not already say countless times before.
What makes everything different is when God’s people sing it. Angels first
sang the Gloria responding to something that just happened and to something
that was just said. The angel announced that “the Messiah, the Lord,” foretold
for so many years, was born in David’s town, in Bethlehem. That’s when the
angelic choir burst out singing the Gloria.
In the liturgy, we usually call this angelic hymn of praise by its Latin name,
the Gloria in Excelsis, or simply the Gloria. Gloria in Excelsis is the Latin
for the first line of the hymn, “Glory in the highest.” It was natural for the
early Church to sing this hymn as she gathered to worship the Savior of the
world, who comes to us with His life-giving body and blood.
The Gloria in Excelsis also sings of the peace that God brings to us in His
goodwill. A well-known Christmas hymn expresses the grand and glorious
goodwill of God through these words: “Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and
sinners reconciled.” Where is this peace of God? Only in Jesus, for He is the
Prince of Peace, promised by God, Immanuel, God with us.
The peace that makes us one with God, that restores us with our God, does not
arise from within our hearts. That peace comes from the Prince of Peace,
Jesus. He is the Prince of Peace because only He lived the life of divine
goodwill toward undeserving sinners. He welcomed thieves, prostitutes, and
lowlifes of every description. He invited Himself into the homes of those whom
the religious elite scorned and mocked. For He came into this world to save
sinners--and that’s exactly what He does.
That’s what brings glory to God! Bringing divine peace and goodwill to those
who are in spiritual ruin is what brings the greatest glory to God in heaven.
God doesn’t reveal His greatest glory in His power over creation. We don’t see
it in His punishment of the wicked. He doesn’t display it when He overthrows
nations or directs the course of history. No, the greatest glory of God in the
highest heavens is His coming to you in peace. It’s where He brings to your
heart His goodwill that takes away all your sin and shame and makes you His own
dear child.
That’s God’s glory. That’s why we still sing the Gloria. For God reveals His
glory when He answers our cry for mercy. God’s glory is in the manger, for in
the infant boy of Jesus is all the fullness of God. Hidden under the cloak of
human weakness is the almighty God for you.
See Jesus and see what God intends for you! See Him live a life as humble as
the manner of His birth. He glorifies His Father in heaven by bringing the
peace of sins forgiven to helpless sinners who cry out to Him for mercy.
Jesus goes to where sinners are. He isn’t afraid of sin corrupting Him. Far
from it! For He is incorruptible--even as He brings His goodwill to those whom
sin has enslaved. He sets them free. His humility sends Him from the manger
to the cross. In His humility, He sets His face toward Jerusalem to be
embraced by those in need of divine mercy.
There, outside Jerusalem, a mere thirty-three years after the angel’s sang of
peace and goodwill, the Lord Jesus made peace between God and sinners by
shedding His blood and taking away the sin of the world. There, the goodwill
of God was fully and finally shown.
During this Advent season, the people we’ve heard about in these midweek-Advent
sermons have all been of humble estate--Mary and Joseph, Zechariah and
Elizabeth, and now the shepherds. As Mary said in the Magnificat, “He has
looked on the humble estate of his servant. . . . He has brought down the
mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate” (Luke 1:48, 52).
King David was chosen from the shepherd fields of Bethlehem. Similarly, the
Lord chose humble shepherds as the first witnesses of the newborn Savior. But
the most humble of all was the God-in-the-Flesh they all pointed to--Jesus!
The shepherds heard, believed, and then went to see the baby wrapped in strips
of cloth and lying in a manger. After seeing the baby, they returned to the
fields, “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.” The
shepherds responded to the Messiah’s birth with worship and praise. So also
for us today. We also glorify and praise God with the shepherds, even the
whole host of heaven, by using the words of the angelic hymn.
Conclusion
In some congregations, it is not the liturgical custom to sing the Gloria in
Excelsis during Advent. But we will sing it tonight. For this night we are
eagerly looking forward to celebrating the birth of Jesus, our Savior from sin.
And so I ask, “Why do we still sing the song of the angels?” Because it is not
only the angels’ song; it is also our song. It is the Church’s song--the
entire Church’s song. Amen.
--
Rich Futrell, Pastor
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Kimberling City, MO
Where we are to receive and confess the faith of the Church (in and with the
Augsburg Confession): The faith once delivered to the saints, the faith of
Christ Jesus, His Word of the Gospel, His full forgiveness of sins, His flesh
and blood given and poured out for us, and His gracious gift of life for body,
soul, and spirit.
___________________________________________________________________________
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