When the Angels Came on the Night the Christ-Child was Born by Sandra Rafuse

Christmas Eve Day is such a unique day of the year. It is the culmination of hundreds of years of prophesy and waiting for the promised Messiah. Few people knew was was going to happen in Bethlehem on the night we now celebrate as Christmas Eve.

In our present time, over two thousand years later, Christmas Eve Day is the last day before December 25, the day when you rush out to finish your Christmas gift shopping (remember the stores close at 3:00), you pick up the last of the groceries you need, and you wrap the presents that still need wrapping (or all of them if that's the case) late in the evening. Or maybe you have done all that already and you are so enjoying the relaxed atmosphere of this special day. Oh, and make sure your car is gassed up for any unexpected trip you might need to take later in the day. Things happen you know. 

Christmas Eve Day at my home with my family was always very busy. The enticing aromas of food cooking were floating around the kitchen and drifting into the other rooms of the house long before the evening meal started. One of my brothers was sent to the grocery store for more butter. "Hurry," my Mother would say, "They will be closing soon!" The table was set with the Christmas china and the best cutlery. Even though it could be hectic, it was also a happy time. Finally we were all seated around the table. The candles were lit and grace was said, "Our Father, who art in heaven . . . ".

I step out the back door dressed warmly in my winter gear. It's cold out. Brrrrrrrr. The  temperature is -25C. I am heading out on my annual Christmas Eve walk. Supper is over. The warmth of the house and the delicious aromas of the festive meal we just finished are left behind. I walk down the street, the crunching sound of my boots in the snow rises up in the silence around me and fills my ears. I walk until I can see the sky above me in all its crystalline beauty. I stop. There's a feeling of something different in the air tonight. A feeling of expectancy. The sense of a holy hush. It's so quiet out. I listen to the silence. I'm thinking, "What a night it must have been when Christ was born. Mankind had no idea what was about to happen in a crude and dirty little stable in Bethlehem so long ago." 

But the angels did.

This is the night God chose for the arrival of his Son, Jesus Christ. It is time for Jesus to be born. I am still. Frozen in time. Not because of the cold. I am still because I know what is about to happen. The angels are waiting. They are watching. They are ready. I wonder what they are feeling in their hearts as the moment of Christ's birth approaches.

And then it happens. Suddenly. Gloriously. JUST LIKE THAT! The long expected Saviour is born and the angel appears to the shepherds.

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified." Luke 2:8-9 (KJV)

An angel? An angel appeared? How big are angels anyway? How much room did this first angel take up in the sky?  And how do angels go from being invisible to being visible? From being out of sight from everyone to all of a sudden being present in the air seemingly just above your head. The shepherds were terrified. TERRIFIED! They were "feeling extreme fear". They were "very afraid". Not only were they seeing an angel . . . a celestial being . . . but the glory of the Lord was shining around them! What was happening?

I wonder if the shepherds had to cover their eyes because of the dazzling display of brightness that was streaming down upon them. I wonder if they had to but didn't really want to. 

Then they heard words of comfort and reassurance; "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." Luke 2:11-12  (KJV)

A baby? The long-expected Saviour was born a baby? In a cattle stall? And the shepherds believed the angel.

"And suddenly there was 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 (KJV)

A multitude. Suddenly there was a multitude of angels. JUST LIKE THAT! A multitude is an awful lot of angels.  And the shepherds got to see them in all their splendour and to hear them giving praise to God. 

"And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us." Luke 2:15 (KJV)

The multitude of angels . . . did they leave quickly? Or did the shepherds have several seconds to watch as they faded from the sky? What had just moments before been a celestial display of the most incredible angelic sightings ever was now the former familiar expanse of sky they were used to seeing to the men watching over their sheep. Or was it familiar anymore? Did they look at it differently in the months and years to come? Did they hope the angels might come again? 

Then the shepherds, believing the words the angel had told them, went into Bethlehem to find the baby lying in a manger in a stable. The one who was born to set us free. 

Merry Christmas, Everyone! 

 

Sandra Rafuse lives in the small town of Rockglen, Saskatchewan, with her husband Bob, a Gordon Setter named Sadie, and a Peregrine falcon named Peet. She is a retired teacher, an amateur writer, and is thoroughly enjoying having the opportunity to share what God is teaching her through her life experiences.