As a brief follow up to my previous letter to the editor about the truly amazing idea of God coming to us as a baby, I’d like to talk about another aspect of the nativity story: the angels.
Let me start by saying that I do take the gospels at face value and believe that everything they record did actually happen. While the gospels aren’t “history” and were not written as such by the standards of the time, they are “historical biography” and the authors intended to relate facts that actually happened and not merely create an interesting story for propaganda purposes.
However, even if you think the gospels, especially the supernatural aspects, are mere legend, there is still much of interest and value in the stories because they convey a message or an aspect of the Christian story that the authors and the church in general felt was important enough to write down.
With that said, let us examine one particular element of the gospel birth narratives. The Gospel of Luke contains this interesting aside: “In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’” (Luke, chapter 2, verses 8-11)
Whether you go to church or not, you’ve probably heard this story many times and if you’re like me, you sort of take it for granted. But think about it for a minute.
Jesus has just been born in a stable in Bethlehem, in very poor and meager circumstances. He’s been placed in a livestock feedbox (“manger”) and wrapped in “swaddling cloths.” A rather humble beginning for someone who is purported to be the Son of God, the King of Kings, the long-awaited Messiah of the Jewish people from the line of David.
And to whom does God send his angels to announce this very momentous birth? A couple of unnamed shepherds in a nearby field.
What was God doing here? He obviously wasn’t informing the shepherds so the event could be recorded for posterity. It was highly likely that they were illiterate, and given that shepherds were practically at the bottom of the social hierarchy, even if they could write something down or tell others, no one would believe them.
So what was the purpose, then, of the angels announcing Jesus’ birth to these humble men? I think it’s clear that although God did not expect them to be credible witnesses to the event, he did nevertheless want US to know that he sent his messengers (“angel” means “messenger”) to these lowly men to announce and then celebrate the most important birth in the history of humanity.
The next lines convey this celebratory mood: “And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest,/And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.’” (Luke 2:13-14)
God is sending a clear message to us, that the savior of the world has not come to the rich or the mighty or the powerful. No. He has come mainly to bring good tidings to the poor, the weak, the forgotten.
Again, even if you don’t believe this event actually happened, it is quite interesting that early Christians nevertheless wanted this story told to emphasize the humility of Jesus and the love God has for all of his children.
Just by point of contrast, if you examine the birth stories of other great religious figures, you see nothing like this. Mohammed was born to a middle class trading family and raised by his aunt, but nothing was written about his birth or early life.
The founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gauthama, was born of a royal family, but that’s about all that was written down about his early life and even that wasn’t done until nearly 400 years after his birth.
In other words, it’s quite unique for a religion to focus so much on the birth of its founder, and even more unusual to emphasize the humble nature of the event. Even the Bible itself provides scant information on the birth of other leading figures such as Abraham (no information), Moses (born of a Hebrew woman but raised by an Egyptian), or David (no information).
The writers of the New Testament, then, wanted to truly emphasize the different nature of this particular son of Abraham, that he was not only destined to be a great man, but that he was great in his very nature, so much so that angels sang his praises just to celebrate his mere existence!
Although, unfortunately, it is doubtful that angels will appear to any of us in the early hours of Christmas day, we can still live vicariously through this account and attempt to behold the beauty, the peace, and the potent expression of God’s love for each one of us that is represented by the birth of Christ.
Merry Christmas.
Trey Hoffman
Peachtree City, Ga.
