Luke 2:8-20
"Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the
heavenly host"
The one word in this passage that sums up the whole story is
the word “suddenly.” “Suddenly” means
something unexpected, without forewarning.
“Suddenly” can never be predicted or anticipated until it happens.
“Suddenly” is something that is always a total surprise.
The visitation of angels to the shepherds was a
“suddenly.” These shepherds were just
ordinary people doing a routine, boring job.
They were just night watchmen, fighting to stay awake. But then came a
“suddenly” and their beliefs and their lives were shaken to the core.
“Suddenly” happens to
all of us. We may go for days, years, even decades doing pretty much the same
old thing every day, when out of the blue comes a “suddenly” that changes
everything. One day our boss tells us we’ve been laid off, a stranger’s car
runs a red light and smashes into us,. a doctor tells us that we have
cancer, or a phone call tells us that
someone close to us has died. Whether
good or bad, they bring stress and confusion. It is human nature to prefer a
comfortable, quiet, and predictable life style, like counting sheep on a
hillside, to a world of stress and danger.
These shepherds were peacefully settled on the hillside, when
suddenly the glory of the Lord shone around them. They were terrified—“sore afraid” the King James Version
puts it. They’d never seen an angel
before, or a bright light of any kind.
We go to great lengths, too, to keep the “suddenlys” from
happening. We get regular checkups, take vitamins, buckle our seat belts, get
insurance. but the unexpected happens anyway. “Suddenlys” comes when God wants
them to come—and when they do, we, too are terrified.
Christians should not be scared of “suddenlys.” We have God’s assurance that He is in
control.
We think that if we build a wall of precautions around our
lives, keeping ourselves covered by careful living and cautious behavior, then
nothing bad will happen to us. It
doesn’t work. Nothing could have prevented those angels from appearing.
The greatest problem with the cautious
life is that it is basically godless. Instead of trusting God we trust
ourselves. We
assume that we have the power to
be our own saviors if we are just smart enough or cautious enough to get by
without incident. But we are not God,
and we cannot protect ourselves from “suddenlys”.
When "suddenlys" happen, we must trust that God is
in control. The angel said to the
shepherds, "Do not be afraid. I bring you
good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” In other words, "Don’t worry--this is a
good thing as you will see later."
It’s hard for us to imagine how the “suddenly” in our lives
could possibly lead to good--but they often do.
Great blessings come through
great danger. We cannot get a better
world until our present world is shaken.
God is about to shake their world.
The angel continued: “Today
in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This
will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a
manger." God has just sent
His Son into the world, and this will be a blessing to all people.
The outcome of the “suddenly” depends on whether or not we go
where it is pointing. If the shepherds
had stayed on the hillside that night, then nothing would have changed for
them. They would assume it was some kind of collective hallucination and
dismissed it. But some of them at least decided to go seek Jesus. When they found Him, then everything else was
changed.
When “suddenlys” happen to us, we have a choice—we can either
ignore it, run from it, or listen to it.
The shepherd heard the message and turned to Jesus.
"Father, keep me from worry when 'suddenlys' happen.
Help me to trust in your grace at all times.
In Jesus' name. Amen"
