Holy, Holy, Holy

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.” The angels proclaimed. And have they ever stopped? From the very beginning they were singing this song, that God be glorified, and the very fact that they could put it into language humans can understand is a miracle in itself. The glory of the Lord transcends language, it is more pure than comprehension, yet it was able to be wrapped in translucent baby skin and pushed out of the womb of a young woman. 

The Lord has been reminding me lately of His holiness. Holiness isn’t emphasized enough over the holidays, we talk about Him being “the greatest gift” as we pass one another presents under a tree. But think about it. HOLY God, the One that blinds angels with the magnitude of His brightness, that speaks infinity into existence, that overwhelms cities of stars with His armies and chariots of fire; THIS GOD, uninvited to our world, invaded it just so He could once again speak light into darkness. For in the Beginning, this God wanted to create, and so He spoke. The same breath that pumped air into Adam’s lungs came again as an infant’s wail for milk. Holy means “set apart”. It means that we could not physically survive standing for a second in His presence. It means that He had to cover the eyes of Moses as He passed by; that Isaiah’s tongue had to be cleansed with a burning coal; that priests would have to layer sacrifice upon sacrifice in order to enter the Holy of Holies once a year. If you aren’t sufficiently bewildered about WHY Holy God would choose to descend to earth, then I would say you are in the same place as the rest of the world. Never will I understand the extent of God’s holiness, justice, and mercy, but during Christmastime, surrounded by twinkle lights and peppermint sticks, I get to spend time reflecting on this subject. 

The birth of Jesus is marked by 4 visits from angels: the angel Gabriel telling Zechariah about the birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:5-23); the same angel telling Mary that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:26-38); another angel appearing to Joseph in a dream (Matthew 1:18-21); and the angels proclaiming the birth of Jesus to a crowd of shepherds outside of Bethlehem (Luke 2:1-21). All four of these appearances begin with the words, “Do not be afraid.” And why would the viewer be afraid? Because angels spend their existence absorbing the presence of God. The light around them is reflected Holiness, and when they appear to humans, fear is the automatic response. If the angels, who were only reflectors of light, imposed such intense fear, what would it be like to meet the source of the light? This was probably what was running through the minds of all who were approached by angels, “What will God on earth be like?” Would His glory be too much for the common man to bear?

But the same angels who cried out “Glory!” also sang about good news of great joy that is for all the people. “Today,” they cried, “There is born the long-awaited Savior, the Messiah, YAHWEH Himself! He will redeem the world from their sins, He will establish justice for the oppressed, mercy for the downcast, healing for the hopeless, and light for the blind! Glory to Holy God, who has come down to earth! Glory to Emmanuel, God with us!” And though the holiness was overwhelming, so was the joy that was awakened in every soul that heard the angel’s song. Imagine being one of the first ones to bear witness to the Messiah, imagine hearing that the long-awaited Savior was finally here. It must be greater than any excitement ever known. 

I am so easily reminded of my unholiness. But the good news is that I am now a reflector of the holiness of the Lord, because He dwells among us. Because He came down, I can bear witness, just like the angels, and shine the light into the thickest darkness. So here comes the joy emitting from my message, let it infect those whom I face and bring them running to the stable where our Savior lies swaddled in rags.