December 24, 2018
Have you ever encountered an angel? I don’t mean the kind you see in Renaissance paintings – with fluffy wings and long white robes and faces with halos. I also don’t mean Clarence – the older man in the rumpled suit who says he is George Bailey’s guardian angel.
I mean an angel – an ‘angelos.’ In the Greek, it simply means, ‘messenger.’ An angel is simply a messenger from God.
Such a messenger may be indistinguishable from anyone around them. They may even be somewhat off-putting. Our first reaction may be to turn away or simply to ignore them. But then they open their mouths, and something comes out that grabs our attention – not because they are singing beautiful music, but because they are announcing good news.
It might be one of a thousand things, but in the end it is something amazing, something that leaves you wondering if maybe God is still present and active in the world.
When they encountered an angel, those shepherds out in the fields probably wanted to be somewhere else. They couldn’t be, so they fell to the ground on their faces. This was no ordinary angel, but an angel of the Lord. The angel appeared suddenly out of nowhere, blazing with light.
“Do not be afraid,” said the angel. “I am here to tell you about something wonderful that God is doing and which will bring joy to everyone, everywhere! Today in the city of David – a Savior is born! He is Jesus the Messiah! This is what to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”
All at once the sky was filled with angels, all of them singing God’s praises –
Glory to God in the highest; and peace to God’s people on earth!
Then, as soon as they had come, they were gone.
The shepherds turned to one another and said, “This we’ve got to see!” So, off they went to Bethlehem. There they found Mary and Joseph and the child, in the manger, just as the angel had said.
Then, I believe, the shepherds became the angels – not because they sprouted wings or began to levitate – far from it. They told everyone the good news about this child. Mary already knew. But everyone else was left amazed and wondering.
Then the shepherds went back to their work. They go back to being shepherds.
I once had an encounter with an angel. For the last seven years we were in Madison, I served as a night chaplain at Meriter Hospital. One night each month, I stayed at the hospital and served as the on-call chaplain, visiting patients and responding to various emergencies.
Early one evening, I was paged to the Emergency Room. The page said it was for a Level II trauma. That category covers such things as people who have been injured in accidents, taken a fall, or gotten in a fight. It doesn’t mean that the person’s life is in danger. The chaplain is simply there to offer support to the patient or to the family. Still, I was surprised when I stepped into Emergency Room #10, a weary looking nurse came and said to me, “You don’t need to be here.”
The man on the bed was a bit rough looking. He had long side burns. He wore a tattered work shirt and jeans. And he had tattoos up and down the arms. His skin was brown and weathered, so he likely spent much of his time outdoors under the sun.
The medical staff did their initial examinations. The doctor ordered tests. They left the room.
Then, despite the nurse’s advice, I sat down next to the patient. As he talked, I learned that man had gotten into a fight with his wife after drinking a six pack of beer. He was groggy and upset. He complained about how hard he worked to support his wife and children. He grumbled about how ungrateful his wife was. Other details including those of exactly how he got hurt were muddy, given the state of his mind.
The man kept saying he was okay and wanted to go home. I knew that wasn’t going to happen soon. The staff needed to make sure he was indeed okay. It might be more than bruised ribs. He had also taken a knock on the head. And there were two police officers seated outside the room. I wondered if the nurse had been right.
As I sat there, I received another page. When the patient in front of me asked to use the phone, the nurse brought it to him and I used the moment to excuse myself to check on the next page.
Depending on how the rest of my night went, I didn’t know if I’d be returning. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to return. But, after an hour or so, I did. The Level II patient was still there. The results of his CT scan had not come through. The police officers were still sitting outside the door.
The man seemed a bit clearer-headed now. I sat down next to him again. When I did, he started telling me about his faith. He told me of his relationship with the Father. And he began to smile.
Then he pulled up his shirt and showed me the scars from his seven stab wounds. He said he had been in a coma for three weeks. That’s when the Father appeared to him. He no longer had any fear, he said. He glowed with peace and with joy.
Then he quoted scripture to me:
Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,
for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison, as though you were in prison with them…
It wasn’t quite word for word, the way he quoted it, but he knew the citation – Hebrews 13. And he went on to speak passionately about the importance of loving each other, even of loving strangers. He gave me a huge, beaming smile.
It was a strange picture, I thought. He seemed so rough, almost crude. He had been drinking when he got in a fight – and he confessed to me that he drank every day. He swore several times – and each time immediately apologized to me. He was not someone I would ever expect to darken the door of a church. Yet, his faith seemed nearly sublime.
At length, the moment seemed to pass. He wondered if his CT scan results were ready. And he wanted to use the phone again. The nurse wasn’t present this time, so I stuck my head out the door and asked the police officers if it was okay. He called his wife. He wanted me to talk to her, mostly to reassure her that the chaplain wasn’t there because he was dying. I gave him back the phone and said I would check with the nurse about the scan.
I left the man alone. I didn’t know if I would see the man again. I didn’t know what other pages were awaiting me that night. And I didn’t know how long he would be at the hospital. But I knew that, in spite of what the nurse said when I first arrived, there had been a reason for me to be there – if not for him, then for me.
Have you ever encountered an angel? If you haven’t, I hope you will soon. Don’t look for fluffy wings, though. Don’t wait for the angel to appear in a blaze of light. And don’t be surprised if your first reaction is to turn away, rather than fall on your face in fear.
Do your best to keep your eyes and ears open. I know that’s hard with everything on your mind – all the demands of daily life, all the things that are shouting for your attention, and all the concerns you have about the world. Despite this, stay on the watch. Be on the lookout.
Because the angel that comes to you may very well be someone who surprises you. Not only that, it may very well be news that surprises you. So, be ready to be surprised. Be ready to be astonished. Be ready to be amazed at the announcement of what God is doing.
Because, even though we are not aware of it, in out of the way places and in unlikely ways, especially when we least expect it, God is still present in the world and God is still acting in the world to bring great joy to you and to me and to all people!
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