Angel Voices
Christmas Eve
It’s a familiar story, and we know it well…..but do we see
ourselves in this story, in God’s story?
Teenagers like Mary, innocent and just beginning to explore
more grown up relationships, but puzzled about who she might become. Mary,
barely a woman, struggling to find herself, finds herself in deep trouble and
having to trust God absolutely and completely…and it will change her life too…..
Faithful men like Joseph, very upright and proper, newly
engaged, with all the hopes and questions that brings…. Joseph, uncertain but
faithful, faces a difficult decision to drop, or continue a relationship….
Hard workers like the shepherds, desperately trying to make
ends meet, outsiders often, in the social scheme of things, and unlikely
characters to have much to do with God – except maybe one holy night a year….shepherds
busy trying to get by without a thought
of deep spiritual matters, are struck suddenly out of the blue with a holy
experience…….
To each of the story’s characters, and to each of us, an
angel appears, with news—strange, illogical news
it seems so strange and illogical in the 21st
century, so we get a little afraid that
this odd life-transforming news might be too hard to take: so we’ll give them a
hearing, but just tonight, when we can suspend our logical factual beliefs, but
only momentarily…tomorrow the angels will be gone, the manger empty, the
hillsides once again full of sheep that need attending, the problems rushing
back in on us.
But what if….what if we didn’t just hear the same old same
old Christmas Eve stuff……
What if we really LISTENED to the angels: what might they have
to say? To each one of these the angel
appeared and the first thing the angel said was the exact same thing: Do not be afraid……
To the faithful and tired, the angel says
Do not be afraid, God
has work yet for you to do
To the upright and proper, the angel says
Do not be afraid, step
out of your comfort zone
To those who are in deep trouble
Do not be afraid, I am
with you; together we can bring great things out of this
To the outsider, the marginalized, those struggling to get
by,
Do not be afraid, I can
give you purpose and meaning
To the hardworking cynic, the angel says
Do not be afraid to
believe God cares about even you-and that YOU might have a role to play in
transforming the world!
Sshh Listen There’s an angel calling your name……
Shhh Do not be
afraid
This child can transform your life
This child can bring you meaning
This child can give you purpose
Listen The angel is
bringing you the news YOU need this night:
A word of assurance that your prayers are heard
A word of courage to do the right thing
A word of purpose calling you into something new
A word of peace for your troubled soul – and for our
troubled world
Shhhh Listen
Do not be afraid.
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