The Angels of Advent, December 22, 2013

The Angels of Advent

Third Sunday of Advent

Psalm 146:5-10, Luke 1:26-37

December 22, 2013

Grace Presbyterian Church

Rev. Dr. Richard E. Miller

Clarence the Angel His name is Clarence Odbody. He was an ordinary looking man who was a clockmaker by trade. However, he had several unusual qualities about him. First of all, he was 293 years old. Secondly, he was an Angel Second Class, which is an angel in training. And for 200 years Clarence had been trying to win his wings by helping a human in need. Finally, he had his chance to help George Bailey who is  despondent and contemplating suicide. Clarence succeeds in saving George by showing him what life would have been like if George had never been born. George then wants to live. A bell on the Christmas tree rings, and Clarence gets his wings. As a result, the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life” has become a Christmas classic.

Angels! Over the centuries, men and women have been fascinated by angels. A few years ago, a survey revealed that thirteen percent of all Americans have seen or sensed the presence of an angel. [Newsweek, 28 Nov 1994, p. 54] And in the past seventy years, at least 46 movies have had angels included in the primary plot - in addition to “It’s a Wonderful Life,” there were “I Married an Angel”, “The Bishop’s Wife”, “Angels in the Outfield”, and “The Littlest Angel”.

Of course the Church has also embraced angels into its life and worship. And throughout our Bible, the words angel, cherubim and seraphim appear over 350 times. And our hymnal includes such songs as: “Angels, from the realms of glory,” “Angels we have heard on high,” and “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing”

Who are Angels?  What do we know about angels? One person wrote, “I believe that friends are quiet angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.” As nice as that statement is, the fact is that no matter how sweet and angelic your special love is, he or she will never be an angel. The reason is simple. The word “angel” in both Hebrew and Greek refers to an order of created beings that are totally separate from human beings.

The Bible also refers to archangels, choirs of angels, fallen angels and guardian angels, none of whom have wings. However, the Bible does refer to cherubim and seraphim who do have wings.

What do angels do? So what do angels do?  Basically, they are God’s personal messengers conveying God’s desires, blessings and guidance to people like us and carrying our prayers back to God. Genesis has them traveling back and forth between heaven and earth by means of a heavenly ladder. [Genesis 28:12]. Often they announced important events, such as the birth of Ishmael [Genesis 16:11] and the birth of Sampson [Judges 13:3-5] It was an angel who ordered Abraham to refrain at the last moment from sacrificing his only son, Isaac [Genesis 22:11]. And it was an angel who escorted the Israelites through the wilderness [Exodus 23:20-23] In Genesis we read of the time when Abraham entertained three angels who were disguised as men. [Genesis 18:1-10].

In the New Testament, angels continue to be busy. The angel Gabriel announced the birth of John the Baptist [Luke 1:11-20]. An angel came to Mary and told her that she would give birth to a son who would be the Messiah. And an angel told Joseph to call his son, Jesus. [Matthew 1:21] An angel warned Joseph to flee with Mary and Jesus into Egypt [Matthew 2:13] An angel encouraged Jesus on the Mount of Olives [Luke 22:43] And an angel rolled away the stone from the tomb of Jesus. [Matthew 28:2-3]

The Angels of Advent This morning I would like to look more closely at what are called the Angels of Advent. I will do this by looking at four significant events surrounding Jesus’ birth in which an angel was involved. These four events involved Zachariah, Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds.

Zechariah We look first at Zechariah, a priest in the temple in Jerusalem. Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, had been praying for years that they might have a child. But now that they were old, they had given up all hope. However, one day when Zechariah went into the temple to burn incense, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and stood at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw the angel, he was startled and was gripped with fear. [Luke 1:12-13] But immediately the angel said, “Fear not, Zechariah, your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth..” Elizabeth and Zechariah were overjoyed with such good news, and their son was born, later to be known as John the Baptist.

Mary The next Angel of Advent is when Gabriel appeared to Mary and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” But Mary was greatly troubled at his words. So Gabriel said, ‘Fear not, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the Most High.’” [Luke 1:28ff] Once Mary understood the magnitude of what the angel was saying, she ended up rejoicing and singing “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me and holy is his name.” [Luke 1:46-49]

Joseph Our next angelic meeting took place with Joseph. When Joseph learned that Mary, his betrothed, was expecting a child, he was understandably upset. In fact, he planned to call off the engagement and the marriage. However, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” [Matthew 1:20-21] Thus the anxiety and worries of Joseph went away.

Shepherds The  Advent encounter with an angel took place with the shepherds as we heard two weeks ago. One night, while they were tending their sheep, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. The blackness of night had become filled with blinding, shimmering light, and they were terrified. But again the angel said to them, “Fear not. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” [Luke 2:9-12] And so the shepherds rejoiced and hurried to Bethlehem to see the newborn savior.

Fears are Gone  In each case, an angel calmed the fearful and anxious hearts of these people by saying...

Fear not, Zechariah for you and Elizabeth will be the parents of John the Baptist.

Fear not, Mary, for you are to be the mother of the Savior of the world.

Fear not, Joseph, for what is conceived in Mary is from the Holy Spirit.

Fear not, shepherds, for to you the Savior has been born.

Jesus, our Fear-Not Savior we find that Jesus also calmed the fears of people many times. Once was when the disciples were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee far from land. Jesus had stayed on land to pray. That night, with the boat buffeted by waves due to the high winds, Jesus came to them walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost, “ they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” [Matthew 14:22 ff]

Another time was at the Transfiguration of Jesus. While Jesus was speaking with Moses and Elijah, “a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’ When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” [Matthew 17:1-13]

Finally, Jesus comforts the fears his disciples had of death by saying to them, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepared a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” [John 14]

This morning I suggest that God has called all of us to be Fear Not Disciples. We become Fear-Not Disciples whenever we reach out to others who are frightened to calm their anxious souls. We are Fear Not Disciples when we hold a crying child or give a hug of solace to a grieving spouse. We are Fear Not Disciples when we celebrate the resurrection of a loved one in the midst of our tears. We are Fear Not Disciples when we give someone hope who is in despair. 

I leave you with these thoughts: Clarence earned his wings by loving a human being back to health. In like manner, love is how we earn our wings in life. Remember, in a real sense all of us are angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another in love. - Luciano de Crescenzo  Amen.

Psalm 146:5-10 NRSV

Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith for ever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The Lord will reign for ever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord!

Luke 1:26-37 NRSV

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’

Plan of Salvation  What we discover from the Angels of Advent is that God had a plan to save his people from their sins, and Zechariah, Mary, Joseph and the Shepherds, all were to be a part of that plan. Zechariah’s son, John the Baptist, was to announce to the world the coming of the Messiah. Mary was to be the woman by whom the savior was born. Joseph was to name his son, Jesus. And the shepherds were to go forth and proclaim to everyone they met that they had seen the Messiah.

Yes, God had a plan for each of these participants in the birth of Jesus. And the same goes for each of us here this morning. Many years ago, I found God’s plan for my life. God wanted me to be a minister. And I was afraid. Why? I would have to quit a very lucrative job and I was afraid that I wouldn’t have enough income to make it through seminary. I was afraid that I would flunk out of seminary. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to be a good pastor to a congregation. But God said, just as he said to Zachariah, the shepherds, Joseph and Mary, “Fear not, you are a part of my plan.” And so I had enough money for my family. And I didn’t flunk out of seminary. And here I am 56 years later, still doing my best to fulfill God’s plan for my life.

Jesus, our Fear-Not Savior Just as we have “Fear Not” Angels, we also have a “Fear Not” Savior. Jesus calmed the fears of people many times. Once was when the disciples were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee far from land. Jesus had stayed on land to pray. That night, with the boat buffeted by waves due to the high winds, Jesus came to them walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost, “ they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” [Matthew 14:22 ff]

Another time was at the Transfiguration of Jesus. While Jesus was speaking with Moses and Elijah, “a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’ When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” [Matthew 17:1-13]

Finally, Jesus comforts the fears his disciples had of dying by saying to them, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepared a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” [John 14]

The Fears of our Lives In his book “A Road Less Traveled,” Scott Peck wrote, “Life is difficult.” [p.15] Now that’s not headline news. Each of us here this morning knows that life can be difficult. Although we might not be frightened by an angel appearing in our lives, situations arise that fill us with anxiety and dread.  Life is going well when out of the blue disaster strikes.

We lose our job and we’re afraid we can’t pay our bills. Without warning our marriage breaks up and we’re fearful about the future. All of a sudden we discover we have cancer and we’re terror-stricken that we may die.

However, Peck continues, “If we assume life is supposed to always be free of stress, then we may spend our life bemoaning our fate rather than enjoying life.” Even Jesus himself said, “In this world you will have tribulation.” [John 16:33]

Maybe we can identify with this story. Two sportscasters were discussing some of the great running backs in professional football. One mentioned Walter Payton and said, What a runner. Do you realize that all together he gained over nine miles rushing in his career?” The other man thought for a moment and replied, “And to think that every 4.6 years of the way, someone knocked him down.”

When we get knocked down, we need someone to help us back up on our feet, and someone to say “Hey, it’s going to be OK. I’ll be with you all the way.” I call such a person a “Fear Not” disciple.