Alright, so I’m probably the last person on the planet to have never watched an episode of Game of Thrones. But grew up playing Dungeons and Dragons…does that count?
And believe it or not, that relates to our journey through characters in the Christmas story. Yesterday we talked about the low-class, despised-for-their-uncleanness sheep herders and how un-mythlike the Christian narrative is. I’d say, “you can’t make this stuff up,” but the point is that people of old didn’t make up stuff like this.
So there they are, tending their sheep. It’s nighttime, so probably the warmer season (which is kinda unromantic because we all like snow on our Christmas trees), and bam!, the big birth announcement we talked about yesterday, and then…
Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors! (Luke 2:13-14, CSB)
And the story of the upside-down King and His upside-down Kingdom continues. To shine a light on the cool-factor of what the choir sang, let’s go back to our shepherds.
There was no Facebook, there were no radios. And shepherds stink. In other words, they were likely NEVER to have a piece of news first (unless they stumbled across Aunt Judy’s body after she got lost on the way to the outhouse, stumbled in the dark, and cracked her noggin’).
But they were first to get a birth announcement. And not just any birth announcement. This one included a choir.
So remember that Dr. Luke is playing historian here. At the beginning of chapter two he mentions Caesar Augustus. It’s the only time Augustus is mentioned in the Bible, but it locates the story in history. And it gives us some context for a kingly announcement.
First, Roman emperors weren’t just the big kahuna in the corner office. They were often thought to be divine…and they were worshipped. And you’re god, and you’ve got enough money to be god because you rule a big ol’ hunk of Europe and Asia, how are you worshipped? With choirs. And trumpets and armies and harlots and parties and a bunch of other stuff, too, but choirs. And one thing Augustus was praised for was having inaugurated Pax Romana. Peace in Rome. Or for all intents and purpose, worldwide peace.
And here come the angels. God’s messengers. To some stinky shepherds. With a message that not only has the real God kept His promise about the Messiah coming, He is Lord of the throne of not only earth, but heaven, too, and peace is His to give. And goodwill. To the people He favors. Which means those who trust in this King as…
…oh, yeah…the very name Jesus means “Yahweh is salvation.”
Which is particularly good news to stinky shepherds.
Or people who realize their hearts are kind of stinky before a perfect, holy God and need a King who can save us from the lack of peace that stinky hearts produce.
Christmas, my friends, is an offer of a gift to all. And why some people would pass on the “Yahweh is salvation” gift and instead take trinkets in stockings or boneheads on thrones demanding taxes and worship I don’t quite get. Not when we as connectors cannot only receive the gift of true peace, but have it in such abundance that we never run out as we run around in Santa suits sharing it and the story of the real throne.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in communications, an award-winning author and speaker, and a passionately bad guitarist. ForTheHope equips on-the-go professionals with biblical principles to engage marketplace relationships with competent humility. On Twitter can follow him @RogerCourville and/or his podcast @JoinForTheHope, or get all updates by email subscription at www.forthehope.org.