Sharing the Radiance of God's Glory

Luke 2:8-20

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

 “Glory to God in highest heaven,
      and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them. 

Thought for the Day

Wise men who study the skies record that El Nino winters have had a history of producing major snow or ice storms in the state of Mississippi and that snow or ice storms have been recorded in four out of the last five El Nino events.

Twelve years ago I tucked my family in bed two days before Christmas with no electricity, no way to leave, and no signs at all of a modern Christmas. That night I lay in bed listening to the creaking and snapping of the fragile pine branches outside my window as they broke under the weight of the ice. Around midnight, I heard the first crash as the trees had reached their limits and were now buckling under the weight of the ice like Popsicle sticks in the hands of an irate child. By morning tress throughout the state had fallen across roadways and power lines, leaving us stranded in one of the worst ice storms I could remember.

            Christmas Eve arrived and rather than watch our favorite Christmas specials or listen to the holiday cd’s that had become part of our family’s tradition we  celebrated the “old fashioned way” by reading the  Christmas Story from the Bible, popping corn in the fireplace, and singing carols and hymns.

            Part of the joy of our family gatherings is preparing the meal together so we had not cooked any of the dishes in advance which under these circumstances left us hungry and looking for food so when we heard early Christmas morning the Starkville Café on Main Street had power and would be serving meals as long as the food lasted we decided to bundle up and try our luck on the icy roads. We were no more than 200 yards from the café when the roads became impassable. Driven by hunger, we left the truck and began trudging through the still dark morning. At the top of main street I stopped to catch my breath in the cool icy air and looked over at my wife clutching our son to her breast, leaning over I could hear him snoring contently wrapped safely in her arms.  With that assurance I turned once again towards downtown with only the light of the café’s store front to guide our path.

            Moments later as we sat eating I thought back to the passage in Luke we had read and how the radiance associated with the appearance of the angel had in the end left them reassured and secure that God would provide for all mankind. I found it somewhat ironic that my family had also come in from the darkness led by the radiance of the only lights in town and how we would soon be leaving satisfied and taken care of by our Father in Heaven yet again on Christmas.

Jim Cain

Today's ADVENTure

            Take a moment before retiring this evening and look out your window at the houses in your neighborhood. Is there one with less decorations than the surrounding houses? Perhaps completely dark at this late hour. If so, take a moment to pray over the house and family that reside within asking the Lord to guide in you in ministering to them in some way. If nothing else leave an unlit candle on their doorstep, thus symbolically sharing the radiance of God’s glory with them.