Growing up, each Christmas our church would put on a Christmas program on Sunday evening. Members of all ages would practice their parts, from us younger ones singing “Away In a Manger” to the adults performing their Christmas Cantata. Being a kid, I had no idea what a “cantata” was. I knew that there was a “cantina” in Star Wars, but the “cantata” seemed to me to only be an explanation of why the choir dressed up in red to sing Christmas songs I had never heard before.
Shepherds and Angels
During those Sunday Christmas programs there would come a point where the Christmas Story would be read out of Luke chapter 2. My favorite part was when the angels appeared to the shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus:
8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
That must have been an amazing sight. Imagine being a shepherd out on a hillside watching over your flock of sheep. The sheep were probably resting for the evening, with the shepherds taking turns watching over them while another gets some rest. Suddenly an angel stands before you as bright, warm light encompasses where you are. Then the angel speaks to you all, addressing your fears right off the bat. He then explains to you that he has good news – the promised Savior, the Lord’s Anointed, has been born in Bethlehem.
As soon as he finishes his news, a large group of angels appear and begin praising God and declare “on earth peace, and goodwill toward men.” As those shepherds stood there in wonder at what they were seeing and hearing, I imagined one of them standing there with his mouth wide open thinking, “What is this goodwill you speak of?” That same type of person has existed from that time until now, someone who hears the message and is trying to make sense of it. Peace and goodwill, it sure sounds interesting. It makes me hopeful, the way it sounds – but what is it really? How does it relate to me?
Peace For You And Me
Peace on earth. The reality is that when Jesus was born peace did not break out in Bethlehem and spill over into the rest of the world nation by nation. There were still conflicts raging from a personal level to a national level. Peace among men did not arrive, but peace on earth did in Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Jesus spoke of this peace in John 14:27 when talking with his disciples:
27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
The peace that arrived that night in Bethlehem was who He was and what He came to accomplish in His life, death and resurrection. The relationship Jesus had with His Heavenly Father was the source of His peace. He told them that He was leaving it with them and giving it to them. He had instructed them on this, and when He had given himself on the cross for their redemption, He provided them a means of restoration to have a true relationship with God. His source of peace was their source – not some far off glimpse of peace – but one they could themselves refer to as “Father”.
Not A Secondhand Goodwill
There is a Goodwill store not far from where we live. It’s a fine organization that does a wonderful job of working to provide jobs to those from different situations. In that store you can purchase items that have been donated for resale. Most are second or third hand. The prices as cheap, and there are bargains to be found. My wife enjoys stopping in every so often for what I tease her for as her “thrill of the hunt”. She is a bargain hunter extraordinaire.
Goodwill is defined as “benevolent interest or concern”. When the angels sang of this goodwill, they were stating that God had expressed his benevolent interest and concern for mankind in the form of the baby born that night in Bethlehem. The goodwill that the angels spoke of that night was not the best one to be found in a secondhand store. It was the finest, most prized possession that God had. In placing Jesus into the earth, He expressed His love and good intentions toward mankind by giving His very best – His only Son. He changed His way of relating with Jesus from one of true intimacy to one of a veiled separation as Jesus inhabited a human body and functioned as a man. To put it into perspective, think of it as going from talking to someone face to face to having to communicate with them only by text message. He did this because He loved each of us:
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:16-17)
That is the goodwill the angels spoke of. How does it relate to you and me? Does He care about you? God was so intent on having a real relationship with us that He sent His only Son to accomplish what we were unable to. He showed that He wasn’t sitting in Heaven poised with a lightning bolt waiting to punish your latest infraction. He was peering into the earth and selecting the exact time and place to place His Son and enact His plan of redemption which had everything to do with getting you to a place where the two of you could have a relationship. A relationship where He would not only have warm feelings about you, but share those feelings with you and move in your life to help you have that peace Jesus gave. He gave the gift that keeps on giving.
This Christmas season when things get hectic and you are feeling worn, remember that Jesus came to give you His peace. God gave Jesus to show His goodwill. Now you know what that goodwill is. Take that gift and hold it close. Share the good news with someone else, just as the angels did to the shepherds, and the shepherds did to others they came into contact with. Jesus is the reason for the season. This year, share His reason for coming with someone. Give them the knowledge of that gift as well.
