“Glory to God in heaven, and on earth among those who God favors”
— Luke 2:14 (CEB)
Those were the words said by a great assembly of the heavenly forces. Words that followed the Lord’s angel proclamation of wondrous, joyous news for all people.
Many pastors will preach that news on Sunday morning, because God came as promised in the Old Testament to save us from our sins.
While we rejoice in his coming, many times we fail to realize what Jesus gave up in coming to earth. Incarnation, what we call God putting on human flesh could also be looked at as humiliation.
Jesus left a position of equality with God, being in the immediate presence of the Father and the Holy Spirit, as well as the continuous praise of the angels. He came to earth where he had none of these. Jesus gave up all of these things knowing that one day He would die a painful death for us.
When the angel of the Lord appears, the angel didn’t go to the religious leaders. The angel of the Lord didn’t go to the political establishment. The angel of the Lord met with a group of lowly shepherds. Shepherds who did the hard work.
The shepherds supplied the food, the medicine, the clothing, and the oil used for worship. Yet they were looked down upon in society. They were at the bottom of the social ladder, yet that’s where the angel of the Lord was sent to give the Good News.
So, it is no surprise that the Prince of Peace took on the form of a servant or slave. It is no surprise that he came into a hard-working class family in a land that was under the occupation of the Empire. Jesus was born in the very obscure little town of Bethlehem. Not just born in that little town in the very humble setting of a stable and laid in a manger.
Taking on the same human flesh that we have, Jesus now had to endure feeling fatigue and weariness, pain and suffering, and hunger. Jesus even would subject Himself to suffer betrayal, denial, and abandonment by those closest to Him.
Jesus did all of that for you and for me. In fact, Jesus did that for every person who ever has or ever will live on this earth.
Since Jesus gave up His place in glory and gave us peace with God, it’s time for us to help establish peace on earth.
There are 110 armed conflicts going on right now in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Central and South America.
Not only are these conflicts going on around the world, we are at war with ourselves as a nation. Many of our communities need peace. There are families that need peace. Sadly, even though Christians are celebrating the birth of the Prince of Peace, peace needs to come to many faith communities.
Let’s pray for peace and let us work for peace.
On behalf of all of the pastors who share their insight in this column each week, we would like to wish everyone a Very Merry and Peaceful Christmas. Jesus came to bring peace. As Christians we need to be the agents of peace.
(The Rev. Leonard Edloe is a pharmacist, educator and pastor of New Hope Fellowship Church in Hartfield. His email address is leonard.edloe@gmail.com.)
