Upside Down Glory
Almost There
I’ve got good news to share:
We’re almost there!
When I was growing up, we would always go see my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins at Christmas. It wasn’t that far of a drive, but it was a road trip.
You know the number one question every kid asks on every road trip?
Are we there yet!?
Especially at Christmas. We might have only been on the road for 5 minutes, but we’re asking, “Are we there yet?” because we’re excited to see everybody, and we’re excited to open the presents!
Back in those days, there were no screens in the car. We didn’t even have cell phones. We had to do things like listen to the radio and talk to each other to pass the time as we made the drive over the river and through the woods!
There was always at least one radio station playing nothing but Christmas music, and that’s typically what we had dialed up for this trip. And I had made this trip enough that I generally knew where we were and how far we had to go before we got to Grandma’s house, but that question was always on my mind the whole way there, “Are we there yet?”
I knew when we got there, the table would be covered in some of my favorite foods. I knew my uncle would have his guitar out. I knew football would be on TV. I knew that we would all cram into my grandmother’s living room and open presents and laugh and have a great time. I knew when we got there, it was going to be great. We just had to get “there.”
Are we there yet?
That question seems to be THE question we’re always asking. Wherever we are, it’s not where we want to be. We’re on the way somewhere, and we can’t wait until we get there.
We feel it when we hit the teenage years, we can’t wait to get our driver’s license, we can’t wait for a little freedom, we can’t wait to grow up. We get our permit at 15. We can drive, kind of. We’re not there yet!
We feel it when we hit our Senior year. We can’t wait to graduate and get to college. Christmas comes, just a few more months. We’re not there yet.
We feel it when we meet that special person. We can’t wait to get married. We get engaged. We set the date. We start making plans. But we’re not there yet.
We feel it when we’re waiting on that first child. The pregnancy test came back positive. We’re excited. But there’s 9 months to go. We’re going to be parents. But we’re not there yet.
And this is the story of our lives. We’re excited about the prospects of the promotion, but we’re not there yet. We’re looking forward to the next phase of our lives, but we’re not there yet. We realize we’re about to have the house all to ourselves again as the kids go off to college, but we’re not there yet. We can see that retirement isn’t too far away, but we’re not there yet.
We’re waiting. And we’re constantly asking this question, “Are we there yet?”
The Waiting
Christmas is a season of celebration, but it’s also a season of waiting. We don’t live in a very patient world, but I’m so glad we live in a world that waits for Christmas. Sometimes we call this season “Advent,” which is a word that simply means to wait.
One of my neighbors has a digital sign in his front yard as a part of his Christmas decorations. It’s a countdown sign. Only 10 more days to Christmas. 9 more days to Christmas.
We count down because we know Christmas is coming, but until Christmas Day gets here, we wait. We may be asking, “Are we there yet?” But we know, it’s going to be a few more days of waiting until we get there.
400 years. That’s how long the people of God had been waiting. That’s how long it had been since the people of God had heard a word from God. Sometimes we call these years the 400 years of silence because there had been no prophets from God for four centuries.
But unlike the trip our family took to my grandmother’s house, nobody knew how long they had to wait. Nobody knew how to answer the question, “Are we there yet?” All they knew was that they weren’t there yet, and so they had to wait.
But their waiting, like our waiting, was filled with HOPE.
The prophets who had come before had spoken of One who would come and reign on David’s throne and restore righteousness and justice. (Isaiah 9)
So you can imagine the reaction when this happened some 2000 years ago, after 400 years of waiting, wondering, “Are we there yet?”
The Announcement
Luke 2.8-20, NIV
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great JOY for all the people.”
A few years ago, my wife, Alisha, and I were blessed to go to Israel.
We spent some time in Bethlehem, and one of the greatest joys of my life was standing before our group right beside this Shepherd’s field, where tradition says this moment happened, and reading this story. When you’re in Israel, they’ll tell you, “We think this is where this happened. It might have happened here, but if it didn’t happen here, it was close to here!”
Here’s what I can tell you about this field where the shepherds were staying that night. It’s an ordinary field. It’s an ordinary place. These shepherds, they were ordinary people.
But God’s glory often shines brightest in ordinary places, on ordinary people, because our God meets us where we are, as we are, and He always has Good News to share.
This was an ordinary night until one angel appeared in the sky and made this incredible announcement: 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Luke says they were terrified at the sight of one angel, so you can imagine their reaction when that one angel was joined by more angels than they could count. You can imagine the glow in the night sky as the glory of the Lord filled the heavens.
Upside Down Glory
Luke writes…
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth PEACE to those on whom his favor rests.”
The Hebrew word for Peace is Shalom. It means more than just an end to conflict or a ceasefire. Peace, biblical peace, is all things being right, and good, and well. It’s everything being the way it’s supposed to be. The angels sing about shalom in the Shepherd’s field that night.
Then, Luke says…
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
This story is the story of the night the Good News was announced about the great LOVE of God revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Night, Silence, & Waiting
What’s interesting about this story is that this announcement is made at night. It comes after 400 years of apparent silence from God.
I can only imagine that there are some people reading this who are struggling in some kind of darkness. Who feel like it’s been a long time since they’ve heard a word from God. Maybe you’re here, but you’re waiting. You’re here, but you’re not there yet, wherever there is for you.
Maybe you’re waiting on a test result, or to see if the treatment worked. Maybe you’re waiting to hear if you got the job, or if you’re going to have to keep looking. Maybe you’re waiting on a child of your own. Maybe you’re waiting on him to come around, or her to come around, or to see if your marriage is going to work out. Maybe you’re waiting to find out where you’re going to go to school. Maybe you’re waiting, and you’re wondering, “Are we there yet?”
It’s dark right now, and you can’t see ahead.
Fanny J Crosby lived from 1820 to 1915.
She was an incredible woman of faith who wrote over 8000 songs. Mrs. Crosby was blind. She was literally living in darkness. She knew pain. She knew what is was to wait. But she also saw God in her darkness. Here are the lyrics to one of my favorite songs she wrote:
To God be the glory great things He hath done!
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
who yielded His life an atonement for sin
and opened the Lifegate that all may go in.
Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of Lords, the Son of David, the Messiah, came from Heaven to Earth for us. He was born in a manger. He lived, He died, and He rose again.
This is what Isaiah the prophet was talking about when he said:
The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
Isaiah 9.2
Tonight, If you’re wondering if we’re almost there, I have good news to share.
“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” – Luke 2.10
God is near. God is here.
If you’re wondering, Are we there, yet? The answer is, YES! We are here. God is here.
In the middle of the night, in the middle of the darkness, His LIGHT, the LIGHT of CHRIST breaks into our world, into our waiting, and into our worry.
The Good News is that Jesus Christ has come and He is with us now.
You are not alone. We are not alone. God is near! God is here.
God meets us where we are, as we are, but He loves us to much to leave us there. He wants to put His Light, His love in our hearts. He wants to save us, redeem us, and welcome us into His family.
The Son of God who was announced that night, born of the virgin Mary, and cradled in a manger, would one day carry a cross, die for our sins, and rise again on the third day!
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