On a quiet night, the sky erupted with the praise of heaven to shepherds in a pasture with their sheep. In an age of global communication and media fanfare, it seems unsettling that the most important announcement ever made to humans was given to just a few shepherds. They had no political connections. They were not celebrities with social media connections. I don’t believe they even had a youtube channel. Yet the angels gave them the wondrous message of Christmas that was meant for all people.
Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace on earth to people he favors!
However, this message was broadcast in ways quite different from the internet and social media channels. It was proclaimed in the heavens for all the universe to see. Wise men, likely from Babylon. made the 800-mile trek based on what they learned from watching the heavens above. Just as the Earth anticipated the birth of Christ, so did all of Creation.
The Advent is about the survival of mankind. We don’t just celebrate Christ’s goodness to us, we celebrate that God has made it possible for people from all over the planet to be saved from their sins. Apart from the Lord of the Universe coming to Earth to die and rise again on the third day, there would be no hope, only misery, and chaos. Indeed, we would have destroyed ourselves long ago!
This was the gospel message given to Abram, 2,000 years earlier:
I will bless those who bless you,
I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt,
and all the peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.
The Savior of a broken world came from the line of Abram. This is the true hope of all mankind. The earthly heritage of Christianity is born of the Ancient Near East. This lineage has influenced and blessed Asian, African, and European traditions and then spread to the Americas. In short, Christianity addresses not the heart of a particular culture or ethnic background, but the heart of all people and cultures. Sin is not limited to one culture. It is deeply ingrained in all cultures. Wherever the human heart is, there is sin; far as the curse is found!
In mercy, God has revealed his righteousness to all the nations. God chose the time and place in the timeline of human history where the message of the gospel would best be spread to all the earth. Two thousand years ago Palestine was the world’s crossroads. It was the perfect place and time for the hope of all peoples!
The Advent of the Savior, Jesus Christ, is a big deal – the biggest deal in all of history. The Earth knows it. All of the Universe knows it. Don’t let this truth become lost in a pile of wrapping paper. In Christ alone is the hope of mankind. Don’t keep this to yourself. Tell someone!