Luke 2:20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

I have no idea how many times I’ve written on this verse, because it’s so important, in my view, to the Christmas narrative. To analyze it, we start with the fact that the angel had told the shepherds what was going on. That is significant, because we tend to forget that God sees all of eternity at a glance, from the moment He said, “Let there be light,” to the end of the universe. Nothing surprises Him, and He sometimes clues us in on what is happening or is going to happen. That should give us peace, at least! As part of that, we have the word, “everything.” God doesn’t miss anything, and He doesn’t make mistakes. (So much for “being born in the wrong body.”) Our response to Him and our perception of things, however, can be, and generally is, all over the place. Often enough it isn’t until after the fact, and sometimes years later, that we realize things indeed transpired just as God had indicated they would. That is certainly true with the life and ministry of Jesus, which is laid out in amazing detail in the Old Testament, but wasn’t recognized as having been so until after His resurrection, and then by only a limited number of people. All that said, we need to pay attention to the response of the shepherds here. They “glorified and praised God.” What is it to glorify God? I would say that it is recognizing Him for who and what He is, because we cannot add anything to Him. This is closely connected to worship, because who can fail to worship when they recognize God for who He is? The Japanese term in this passage for “praise” is the one used for singing to God, and the mental image I get is of the shepherds walking along, singing scraps of hymns or just exclaiming things like “Hallelujah!” or “Praise God!” Very few people are granted something as dramatic as what the shepherds experienced, and I’m sure they were overwhelmed. However, even without the drama of the angelic appearance, we should have the same or an even deeper level of joy and worship, because we have the rest of the Bible to explain to us all that God has done and is doing. That’s why the dominant word for Christmas should be joy. Like the shepherds, and later the magi, (Matthew 2:10) we should let the reality of God’s love, grace, mercy, and power lift us out of all the mess we are living in, to worship Him with a joy that has no equal on human terms.

This is an important reminder to me, because in most years the very busyness of Christmas drags me down, and I can’t wait until it’s over. This year my heart is in a somewhat better place, and I’m grateful. Our church Christmas caroling last night went well, and that is done and out of the way. We have the service this morning and the candlelight service tonight, and God’s got that taken care of as well. I am not to shirk my responsibilities, but at the same time I am to rest, relax, and rejoice in Him, just as He has told me to do. I need to be praying for all who will attend, particularly tonight’s service, so that nothing will stand in the way of their responding to God’s presence here.

Father, thank You for this reminder, and for the fact that I am growing spiritually, however slowly or late. May I indeed rejoice in You throughout today, whatever my body is doing, so that the results may be Yours, blessing many, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!