Christmas according to the angels

The Scriptures constantly invite us to look at Christmas from different perspectives.

Thus Christmas is anticipated by the prophets centuries before it happened: Isaiah 7,14 or 9.6,7; Micah 5.2. And some  eyewitnesses of the Lord's birth are the shepherds.

But another point of view is that of the angels. Interestingly, their view is prior to the Christmas event itself, but also simultaneous to it. Thus, Luke presents us with the angel Gabriel in an appearance before Zechariah announcing the birth of his son known as John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, Luke 1:11. Or, this same Gabriel before the virgin Mary to tell her that she would be the mother of Jesus, Luke 1:26-33.

It is not only an angel who proclaims the birth of Jesus but Luke reports that: ‘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, good will toward men”’, Luke 2.13,14.

The question, then, is obvious: Why this angelic prominence with regard to the birth of Jesus, or why are they the first to announce the birth of Jesus?

First of all, these heavenly hosts show another reality that normally remains invisible. A parallel universe, one that is supernatural, in which dwell other creatures who are close to the God who is in heaven. The angelic appearance may be said to be the irruption of that other world into the natural one, an invasion, if you like, of the heavenly. It is equally true that it represents the fact that the birth of Jesus is not only about earth, but also about heaven. That the universe as a whole celebrates God's coming into the world. The apostle Peter reminds the readers of his first epistle that angels are very interested in enquiring into everything to do with Christ (1 Peter 1:12).

[destacate]we have to ask ourselves then, if we strip Christianity of its supernatural content, what do we have left?[/destacate]Some would say that people no longer believe in the existence of angels, and I would add that many do not believe in the virgin birth of the Lord either. But, we have to ask ourselves then, if we strip Christianity of its supernatural content, what do we have left? Whatever remains, it is not really the Christian faith! For Christianity is inescapably linked to supernatural events.

As Hamlet (William Shakespeare) says to his friend: ‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy’. It is a reductionism to close oneself off from considering supernatural reality. But, you will say, this contradicts our everyday experience of life in which we do not see angels or witness virgin births.

This is precisely the crux of the matter; this birth only happened once, if it happened every day, it would cease to be portentous. Its nature is precisely that of being a unique and unrepeatable event. The appearance of the angels, then, points to the fact that we are dealing with an incomparable event such as the coming of God into the world in human form.

But, secondly, the angels appear to announce a communication: ‘Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people, that unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is CHRIST the Lord’, Luke 2.10,11. And it is now that we can remember what the word angel means. Its meaning is messenger.

They are not mere emissaries but awe-inspiring beings. We can see this in the fact that their first words are to take away the fear of the shepherds! They are heralds who cannot leave those who see them indifferent! Angels are ambassadors sent from the very presence of God with heavenly missives. We can see that crucial function when an angel appears to Zechariah to tell him of the birth of John the Baptist, or to Mary to tell her that she would be the mother of Jesus, and also in the case of the shepherds when he tells them that the Messiah has been born.

[destacate]Christianity is not advice, not even merely good advice, it is a proclamation, it is a gospel, that is, good news[/destacate]Christianity is not advice, not even merely good advice, it is a proclamation, it is a gospel, that is, good news. The Christian faith is a redemptive event; in concrete terms, it is exclusively a divine and human Person: Jesus Christ, ‘a Saviour, who is CHRIST the Lord’.

According to the angels, He alone saves us. But, some will say, don't I have to do anything? The answer given in Scripture is clear: absolutely nothing, just receive this good news, what the Bible calls believing, having faith. And this is so because a Saviour has been born for all of us, without exception: it is not a Saviour for the poor or the rich, or for whites or blacks, it is for everyone without exception, because we are all guilty and we all need a Saviour.

The way is the same for all, it is the way of faith. That is precisely why he was called Jesus. As another angel announced, in this case to Joseph: ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a son, and you shall call his name JESUS, for he will save his people from their sins’, Matthew 1.20,21.

If salvation depended on something of ours, it would be discriminatory, if it depends on my charity giving, for example, it is because I can give it and others cannot. Faith is a twofold recognition, on the one hand, of my inability to save myself and, on the other, that Christ alone can save me.

[destacate]At Christmas we celebrate God's good pleasure! His condescension and willingness to save us[/destacate]Finally, notice how the angels not only announce a birth, they also celebrate it! They praise and give glory to God for the coming of his Son into the world. They do so because of the magnitude of the event, nothing less than the indwelling of the Son of the Most High, the Son of God, among us in human form. Indeed, it is the celebration of a Person, that of Jesus, a saviour for the fallen human race! It is the clearest expression of God's love for us, for the birth of Jesus means that God has taken the initiative to restore those relationships broken with Him by our sin.

This is what the Bible calls God's grace. At Christmas we celebrate God's good pleasure! His condescension and willingness to save us. Jesus Himself is the peace with God that will be obtained by the Messiah, the Christ, through His death on the cross. The angels thus give us an example of how we are to receive the good news of Jesus' birth.

There is only one way to be consistent with it, and that is to celebrate it! To celebrate is to feel part of those who have been blessed. To celebrate Christmas is to receive Christ as what he is, a Saviour. Christian faith is not a burden, it is rest, it is joy, now, and forever: ‘You will show me the path of life. There is great joy in your presence; there is everlasting joy with you’, Psalm 16.11.

José Moreno Berrocal, chair of the Theology Group of the Spanish Evangelical Alliance, author, and pastor of an evangelical church in Alcázar de San Juan (Spain).

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