Look who is coming …

For most people, how you treat a visitor to your home depends on who the visitor is.

I’ve heard people say to family members and close friends, “If you’re hungry or uncomfortable here, it’s your own fault,” explaining they expected the family and friends to “make themselves at home” while there, including helping themselves to food and otherwise feeling free to be casual and comfortable.

Some people treat some neighbors as casual as family, but other neighbors they don’t know as well not quite so casually.

A visit from a co-worker or boss would likely be met with a greater degree of formality, offering something to drink and giving more attention to serving them.

You’ve probably never had the President of the United States visit your home, but I think most of us would handle such a visit very differently. Little about it would be casual!

So imagine, then, if the Creator of all things came for a visit.

He did.

That’s what that first Christmas was all about. John begins his Gospel by giving us a little “back story” to the One who was coming:

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it,” John 1:1-5.

And then, in a single profound sentence, John actually explains Christmas:

“The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world,” John 1:9.

How do you respond to a visit from someone so awesome?

I love how Luke describes how the angels responded to Jesus coming into the world. I love it because they could not contain themselves!

It starts with a lone angel …

“That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. ‘Don’t be afraid!’ he said. ‘I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior — yes, the Messiah, the Lord — has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger,” Luke 2:8-12.

With that announcement, heaven could no longer contain itself. What had happened that night was so spectacular that the heavenly hosts couldn’t hold back:

“Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others — the armies of heaven — praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased,'” Luke 2:13-14.

The “armies of heaven” were so swept away with praise because they knew what C.S Lewis once said so concisely: “The Son of God became a man that men might become sons of God.”

And that would change everything.

Scotty