Wednesday Advent 2, December 9,. 2015
Sermon by Pastor Paul Eckert
Text - Luke 2:8-14


   In our text we hear about an angel, and then a host of angels.  It
must have been a brilliant sight.  The shepherds had no trouble seeing
them.  That makes me ask, “Who here has seen an angel?”  Children,
in our school you have seen in your religion books how artists picture
them.   But have you, or any of us here, ever actually seen an angel?
    The Bible’s Old Testament has over 100 references to angels.  Some
who saw them were Hagar, Lot at Sodom and Gomorrah, Jacob who
saw a whole bunch of angels going up and down a stairway reaching to
heaven.  The New Testament has more references, almost 200.
    But Who of you here today has seen an angel?  The answer?  It is
possible that we all have seen angels, but without knowing it at all.  In
the Bible, the letter to the Hebrews (13:1-2), we are told: “Keep on
loving each other as brothers.  Do not forget to entertain strangers,
for by so doing some people have entertained angels without
knowing it.”  Have you ever helped a stranger in need?  Did you ever
get some unexpected help shown to you by a stranger?  Maybe an
angel was involved, and you didn’t know it.
    Now let’s get to our text where shepherds actually did see a great
company of angels, a heavenly host, and it quickly became obvious to
them that they were angels.  How?  Maybe especially because of
THE SHINING CLOTHES OF THE ANGELS.
I    THEY SHOWED THE SOURCE OF THEIR MESSAGE (8-10)
    1. The message came not from men
        a) the announcer was not some TV personality   
        b) the shining glory was not man-produced - no electricians had
            set up a generator or put giant spotlights in the fields
    2. This was from God (8-9)
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping
watch over their flocks by night.  An angel of the Lord appeared
to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they
were terrified.
        a) the angel came from the Lord, from heaven above
        b) and the glory that shone around them was the Lord’s glory
    3. It proclaimed a message of joy (10)
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.  I bring you good
news of great joy that will be for all the people.” 
        a) a good news message to remove more than their present fear
        b) for it would bring joy not just to those who had fear from
        being in the field, but to all who had fear from being in sin
    4. Here is our assurance
        a) the Christmas season is an extremely popular one
        b) is its real message just man-made, of human origin (like
            Christmas trees and lights, cheery Santa Clauses)?
        c) no!  the angel’s message came from heaven above
II    THEY SHOWED GLORY SHINING ON EARTH  (11-12,14b)
    1. Glory touched the earth here (12)
“This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in
cloths and lying in a manger.” 
        a) glory - though circumstances of Jesus’ birth did not show it
        b) yet message was actually one of glory - glory to God in
            the highest whose message was peace on earth to us people   
        2. The glory was that He came to be our Savior (11)
“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is
Christ the Lord.” 
        a) a manger for a crib didn’t show glory, and later the details
            of Jesus’ suffering and crucifixion showed no glory at all
        b) but being our Savior, definitely saving us, that was glorious
    3. Now we have peace on earth (14b),
“ --- on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
        a) Jesus’ mission was not to give us a Christmas season for
            party celebrations - we could skip that without any harm!
        b) it was to give the gift of peace between God and us by
            saving us from deserved condemnation because of our sins
    4. And that means glory touching us now already
        a) our outward circumstances may be difficult and dreary, even
            as swaddling clothes and horrible suffering showed no glory
        b) nevertheless as Jesus was glorious in His saving mission for
            us, so glory is present for us in the forgiveness of our sins; we
            now on this earth already have peace, “Peace Through Jesus”,
            as the banners in front of church display that message
        c) thus having peace on earth in our hearts is God’s glory shining
            into our lives right now, a bit like the angels’ shining clothes
            gave glory in a dark countryside
III    THEY SHOWED THE GLORY TO COME  (13-14)
    1. The angels did not come to stay  (13)
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the
angel, praising God ---.
        a) a multitude of angels came to amplify the glorious brightness,
            like our Christmas tree will have many  bright lights shining
        b) but we know they didn’t stay in the fields with glory shining,
            even as we don’t keep Christmas lights on all year around
    2. Nor did Jesus stay visibly here on earth            
        a) the angels’ praise was for what God’s love would do through 
            Jesus His eternal Son, for God fulfilling His salvation promises
        b) once that mission was accomplished by Jesus on the cross and
            guaranteed by Jesus’ resurrection, Jesus did not stay here on
            this earth visibly either
    3. Now the angels’ message of praise went upward  (13-14)
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the
angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”       
        a) Jesus’ work to save us took place on this earth, and here
            already we have the wonderful peace of forgiveness of sins
        b) but the praise of the angels, their departure, and so also Jesus’
            ascension, pointed to something far better than this earth
    4. Where we shall be in glorified bodies
        a) how wonderful to have peace of forgiveness because of Jesus
            on an earth where there is constant warfare and fighting
        b) but how wonderful to know also that the end result of Jesus’
            mission is for us to be with Him in glorified bodies like His
        c) the shining clothes of the  angels pointed to this also, showing
            they had come from a place of glory to which we will be
            called through the Christchild, born to be our Savior

    Have you ever seen an angel?  Probably yes  -  but it was not
apparent to you.  Will we ever see a host of angels, as the shepherds
did out in the fields near Bethlehem?  Positively yes - but probably not
now.  It will be when we are in glory and see, as is promised to all
believers  in the book of Revelation (7:11-12) : “All the angels (were)
standing around the throne” and worshiping God, “saying: ‘Amen!
Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and
strength be to our God for ever and ever.’”