December 9th

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
Luke 2:14

This verse is burnt into my memory from a church upbringing full of Christmas pageants and living nativity scenes. Even growing up in the winter-less land of Central Florida, this verse evokes for me a cool, starry night with the crisp smell of almost snow. It’s a great reminder that it’s easy for me to get wrapped up in nostalgia. When a verse or song has the feeling of a still lake on a foggy morning, it’s hard sometimes to dive into its immense depth. There is great peace there, but it’s temporary. The depth of this verse beyond the Christmas season offers us a deeper peace that transcends mere sentimentality.

This verse depicts the proclamation of a “multitude of the heavenly host” to some shepherds in a field. It’s actually not a peaceful scene at all, but a moment in which denizens of creation from before time are proclaiming in one voice that Jesus has come.

Imagine suddenly being surrounded by a massive gospel choir of not-quite-human beings all singing these words at you in an indescribable chorus. It must have felt like… a lot.

If that were to happen, I assume I would take heed of what they were singing at me. If God normally communicates in a still, small voice, then you can assume that His heavenly host shouting a thing at you in unison would be an attempt to really make sure the idea being communicated sticks.

What I hear in this moment of the story is a simple message, but an obviously important one: that where and when there is “Glory to God in the highest,” there and then will be “peace” and “goodwill toward men.” Not just God’s good will toward the creature “man” (which simply meant “humans”), but also that our glorifying God will lead to peace and goodwill toward each other.

And not just our glory to God, but glory to “God in the highest.” When we are able to give true glory to God in His most heavenly and true form, not just lip service praise to our small idea of God, then there will be peace on Earth and goodwill toward men.
“But how am I supposed to know and glorify God in His highest and most true form?! That sounds like a massive spiritual and theological endeavor!”

Well, not far from where this proclamation was given to these shepherds was the answer. The path to “God in the highest” was in a barn, sleeping or crying or nursing, like all babies do.

-matt fisher