Singing: (Psalms and Hymns are from the "Book of Praise" Anglo Genevan Psalter)
Psalm 34:1
Psalm 32:1
Psalm 150:1,2,3
Hymn 1A
Hymn 17:1-6

Beloved Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ!

The Lord God does not often send His angels to earth with a message to announce to His people. But in the days of Jesus’ birth, this is third time an angel traveled the distance from heaven to earth. By definition, then, his words must be worth hearing.

They are. The angel over Bethlehem’s sky spoke to the shepherds of "good tidings of great joy." As we prepare ourselves for the Christmas season, we find his words so fitting; Christmas is the season for feasting, parties, celebrations. And is that how you express joy?

The world around us will consider the coming weeks as the season to be jolly. The world’s ‘jolly-ness’ will receive expression through gift-giving and beer-drinking. Our approach to the season will be no different if we don’t appreciate why heaven’s messenger spoke as he did. An appreciation of the angel’s message will prompt us to write off the world’s gift-giving and beer-drinking for the shallowness it is.

Why did God’s messenger speak of "good tidings of great joy"? The angel gave his reason in vs 11. "For," he says, "there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." With that sentence, the angel announced the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. The Old Testament had cried out in many and various ways for the coming of the Messiah, for one who would redeem a people to God. His reference to "birth", to the "city of David", to "a Savior", to a "Christ" who is "the Lord" all draw out themes from the Old Testament, and so announce that these Old Testament prophecies have come to pass. What God had promised in Paradise when He spoke of the woman’s seed crushing the head of the serpent, what God had foreshadowed through the sacrifices and other ceremonies of the law given to Moses, what God had caused the prophets to speak about in their words to apostate Israel – all of it, sys the angel, receives in Bethlehem its fulfillment with the birth of this Child. God’s history of salvation is coming to its climax, and that’s what prompts this angel to speak of "good tidings," news "of great joy." That’s also why the solitary angel was joined by the uncountable heavenly choir of vs 13, all singing,

"Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men" (vs 14).

I know: when the shepherds in response went to Bethlehem’s stall, they saw only a normal child. But faith looks past what the eye sees and embraces instead the promises of God. God says that the birth of this Child is fulfillment of the yearning of the Old Testament, and therefore a "good tiding of great joy," and so the shepherds –like every believer through the ages- rejoices with the angels in God’s work of salvation. Vs 20: "the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen…." In some small way they understood that with the birth of this Child the best news since creation had come into the world. And they responded accordingly.

For our part, we have through faith seen more of the glad tidings announced on Christmas Day. For the Savior born in Bethlehem has since carried out the reason why He came into this world. On the cross of Calvary He "bore for us the wrath of God under which we should have perished eternally." Whilst our sins demanded the death sentence, God poured out onto His Son the penalty we deserved – so that Christ suffered and died for us, suffered and died in our place, suffered and died instead of us. See there, my brothers and sisters, the profound depths of what the angel meant when he spoke to the shepherds about "good tidings of great joy." His point was not simply that a child was born, nor simply that the new Child was the Son of God, Immanuel. His point was that this new Child was "Savior" and therefore would give up His life so that the people of God might live. Savior!

This is the "good tidings" that the Lord sets before us at His table today. God would give to each of us a portion to eat from the body of Christ so that He might impress upon us that Christ’s suffering and death of the cross benefits us – and that’s surely "good tidings," it’s the glory of Christmas driven home to us. God would give to each of us something to drink from the blood of Christ so that He might impress upon us that Christ’s suffering and death of the cross wash away our sins – and that’s distinctly "good tidings," the message of Christmas exposed in all its splendor.

The coming weeks shall be characterized by celebration – be it the jolly-ness of the world that finds expression in gift-giving or beer-drinking or the joy of the church that has understood why heaven above sent the angel of earth beneath to speak of "good tidings of great joy." The church that has understood the message of the angel echoes and reechoes the angel’s words in songs and deeds of praise to the God who had compassion on sinners as we are.

Do not, beloved of the Lord, let anything –neither parties nor presents, neither holidays nor troubles- do not let anything get in the way of enjoying that "great joy" announced by the angel. Amen.