The biblical account of the birth of Jesus can become so familiar to us that we might miss the awe and wonder. We look to the simple shepherds to help us gain back the "awe factor".
"And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, 'Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.'" Luke 2:8-10 (ESV)
Imagine that scene for a moment. The chill of the night air, rhythmic bleating from sheep and the shepherds getting a bit drowsy. Some of them have even stretched out on the ground. One or two are actually snoring. When suddenly all heaven breaks loose. The sky instantly goes from black to mega foot-candles. The angel appears and all they can do is stand there with mouths wide open. It must have been the most startling and amazing moment!
Luke adds that they were filled with fear. If you read other angelic descriptions in the Bible you might understand why. For example, Ezekiel had an encounter that is similar and he sees beings like nothing we can imagine: "And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf's foot. And they sparkled like burnished bronze." Ezekiel 1:5-7 (ESV) If this was anything like what the shepherds saw that night, then we can understand the fright.
The best way to express that mix of startling, jaw-dropping reverence and fear would be "awe". Whenever people catch a glimpse of what God is doing it leads them to awe. The "awe factor" is what Christmas is supposed to be about.
When was the last time you were really in awe of something? Perhaps it was at that big Christmas production with the flying angels, smoke, moving lights and real barnyard animals. Was it that crazy, over the top light display in the neighborhood that is set to music? Maybe it was at the last trade show or tech conference where you saw the latest equipment. We may have called it awesome but it's probably more "geeked out" than "awe struck".
In our day and age we have a tendency to be awed by man-made things, but often we lose that feeling for God. If you spend a lot of time in church it's real easy to slip into that mode of thinking; that sense that we've heard all this before. The awe of Christmas seems to fade behind the bright lights and flash.
How can we regain that awe factor? The place to start is by reflecting on God's Word. When you do more than a cursory read of the text and begin to think about what is happening, you start to gain something deeper. If you place yourself in that scene and look into the eyes of those people, what would you see? When you can think about what they were experiencing, what would you have felt?
For a moment, let's go back to “the fields where they lay keeping their sheep.” Yes, we would have initially been shocked out of our routine. We would have most certainly been in fear of what we had seen. When the proclamation was made that God is doing something new, we are suddenly encouraged by God's power and plan. That baby is the one who was foretold in the scripture. The birth is God's plan for redeeming His people!
Now, really let you mind dwell on that. That is much more awesome than anything we could ever create. Have an awe-some Christmas everyone!
