Let’s Go TO and FROM Bethlehem: Praising
Jesse is the head shepherd. He is in the field outside Bethlehem with his dad and younger brothers. Tonight, Jesse’s twelve-year-old son Malachi has finished his homework and joined his dad, grandpa, and uncles in the family business.
It is the Hebrew month of Tebeth (our month of December). It is late in the evening. The sheep are relaxed. They have plenty of shepherds around to protect them from predators like wolves or lions or bears.
It is dark and quiet and calm.
Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appears! The darkness is torn apart by his radiance. The quiet is shattered by his voice. The calm is disrupted as the sheep scatter.
Jesse and the rest of the shepherds are terrified! Their hearts are pounding. Their senses are heightened.
Then the angel calms them by saying,
“Do not be afraid. For behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all people: Today in the town of David, a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12)
The shepherds don’t meet a fanged foe in their fields. Rather, it is an angelic messenger above their fields who has good news.
It is a message that is for them.
It is a message that is for all people.
The angel describes the unique way to identify the Savior of the world. Go into Bethlehem, the town of David. There you will find the Christ, the Anointed One, the long-promised Messiah. He is the Lord. The sign that he’s the One is that the royal Son of David will not be a mighty, middle-aged hero. He will be a newborn baby. The Son of God won’t be robed in majesty and sitting on a throne in the palace in Jerusalem. He will be wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger in a cave in Bethlehem.
As Jesse and the guys are trying to wrap their heads around this divine mystery, suddenly the entire sky erupts! A multitude of God’s angelic army fills the Bethlehem sky, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward mankind.” (Luke 2:13-14)
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The army of angels can’t help but shout and sing about the Christ.
He is proof – in the flesh – of God’s favor on humanity. He is the Mediator who brings peace between a just God and guilty sinners. He is the glory of God humbling himself in human flesh. He will demonstrate his greatest glory by going to death on the cross so he can free sinners from the curse of death.
This little boy wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger means that victory over the Ancient Serpent is here. God’s long-awaited promise of the Serpent Crusher is finally fulfilled.
The shepherds don’t realize this, but we do. Through this Child, pain becomes pleasure, death is defeated, sin is silenced, Satan is stomped, fears are vanquished, and tears are wiped away. Through the Babe of Bethlehem, evil will end and hope is restored. The time for shouting and singing has arrived!
The angels leave to go into heaven. The Bethlehem skies become quiet and dark and calm again. Jesse says to his father, brothers, and son, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” (Luke 2:15)
Let us also go with the shepherds to Bethlehem. Praise the Savior who was born for us. Worship the Christ. Give the highest glory to the One who comes to bring peace on earth and good will toward mankind.
Since you are proud of your kids, you praise them. You put a bumper sticker on your vehicle touting that your child is on the honor roll. You post their accomplishments on social media. You tell them when they do a good job on their grades, on the athletic field, or helping you with a home project.
How strange it would be if you never praised your child in public.
It is even more strange if you do not praise your God in public. If you are silent, nobody knows you are a Christian.
The Bible encourages us to be proud of our God and go public with that praise. Acknowledge your love for God on social media. Announce your appreciation for your Savior in your conversations with your friends. Demonstrate gratitude to the Lord among your family.
Do this with an audience!
When you praise God in front of your friends and family, they know how you feel. And they also see that you are proud enough of your God to claim him as your own. You’re not shy. You’re not embarrassed. You love your Lord. And you want everyone to know it!
Here are some words by the psalmist encouraging your public praise.
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 150:1-6
Praise God in his sanctuary.
Praise him in the expanse that shows his might.
2 Praise him for his acts of power.
Praise him according to his abundant greatness.
3 Praise him with a blast of the ram’s horn.
Praise him with the harp and the lyre.
4 Praise him with hand drums and dancing.
Praise him with the strings and the flute.
5 Praise him with the sounding cymbals.
Praise him with loud cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
In other words, get out of the pew. Get out of your living room. Go on social media. Go to your workplace. Get out on the street. Go and talk to your friends and family. Open your mouth. Let the praises flow forth.
Go public and show the world that you are proud of your God and grateful for the Savior he has given you in Jesus, the Christ Child.
Praise Jesus for peace. Other earthly peace accords will eventually end. The peace of Christ will never end.
Praise Jesus with songs and shouts. Other songs will quiet and shouts will be stifled. The shouts and the songs of the angelic armies will never cease.
Praise Jesus by going to see him in Bethlehem. Other people will get tired and stop going to Bethlehem. Today and every day, let us make the spiritual trek to the manger in Bethlehem.
Join shepherds and sages in bending the knee before the Maker who is now Mary’s Son. Praise the King wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in the throne of a sheep manger.
Sing We the Song of Emmanuel
2. Come we to welcome Emmanuel
King who came with no crown or throne
Helpless He lay, the Invincible
Maker of Mary, now Mary’s son
O what wisdom to save us all
Shepherds, sages, before Him fall
Grace and majesty, what humility
Come on bended knee, adore Him
Michael Zarling
For the first 8 years of my ministry, I served at Faith Lutheran Church, an exploratory congregation in Radcliff, KY. I presently serve at Epiphany Lutheran Church and Wisconsin Lutheran School (WLS) in Racine, WI. I am also very involved with our youth as the WLS head soccer coach and the head counselor for WELS Training Camp, a youth camp for 3rd – 9th graders. I have been married to Shelley for 20 years. Together we have 4 beautiful daughters – Abigail, Miriam, Lydia and Gabrielle. We also have 2 dogs – Messi and Mia – named after Lionel Messi and Mia Hamm (the Zarling family really likes soccer!)
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