Angels We Have Heard on High
The Christmas tree fell over! I was sitting in the basement working and heard a humongous crash. I didn’t think that it could happen – it had never happened in over 35 years of putting up a real Christmas tree. But apparently it can happen – especially if you buy a tree with a crooked trunk that causes the tree to lean when put in the tree stand.
My first thought as a ran up the stairs, fearing the worst, was about the fate of the angel ornament that my Grandma made. I own much more expensive hand-blown glass ornaments and ornaments that we’ve collected from our travels over the years. The ornament that my Grandma made is simple – it is made primarily out of pasta: a rigatoni body, farfalle wings, macaroni arms, and ditalini hair. But my Grandma made it and it’s irreplaceable.
My Grandma lived a simple life devoted to service to her church and community. She didn’t like the Christmas excess – every year after we’d open gifts, she’d say, “Well, that’s over, all that fuss!” But she was a devoted Christian – she never missed a Sunday or church event. I think she thought that all the gifts were missing the point – which, I have to admit, was annoying to me as a child.
The pasta angel reminds me of her so much and I treasure it. It’s also a reminder for me to focus on simple things during this advent season and not to get wrapped up in the commercialism all around me. I am approaching this advent season like my Grandma would have – as a shepherd, preparing to hear the amazing message brought by the angel that night. The angel came to proclaim Jesus’ birth to the shepherds, and they went together to bear witness to this miracle without fancy gifts.
Reflect on the Word
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Luke 2:8 - 14 (NIV)
Take a Moment to Pray
A Prayer for the Night the Sky Sang
Holy God,
On a quiet hillside long ago, you broke open the ordinary with glory.
You met weary shepherds in their work,
surprising them with light, with song, with the promise of peace.
Let that same wonder find us now.
Where we are tired, shine your radiance.
Where we feel small, remind us that heaven bends close.
Where fear lingers, speak again the angel’s words:
Do not be afraid.
As the shepherds heard the chorus of angels—
Gloria in excelsis Deo—
tune our hearts to that melody of joy.
Lift our eyes from what weighs us down
so we may glimpse your hope breaking into the world once more.
May your peace—
the peace announced in fields under starlight,
the peace born in a manger—
take root in us and ripple outward
into our homes, our communities, and every place longing for good news.
God of glory and God of humble beginnings,
help us, like the shepherds,
to go with haste toward the love you reveal,
and to return with praise overflowing.
Amen.
Listen to the Carol
"Angels We Have Heard On High", a traditional Christmas carol performed by the Christendom College Choir & Schola Gregoriana.
"The words of the song are based on a traditional French carol known as Les Anges dans nos campagnes (literally, "Angels in our countryside") composed by an unknown author in Languedoc, France. That song has received many adjustments or alignments including its most common English version that was translated in 1862 by James Chadwick, the Roman Catholic bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, northeast England." (from Wikipedia)