Tonight Is The First Night Of The Rest Of Your Lives!

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

We have already been introduced to the shepherds (the "them" in this verse, Luke 2:9) in the previous verse, and what looked like a night like a thousand other nights suddenly became something they would talk about the rest of their lives! At least I would believe so; I am quite sure I would remember where and when and how I was when an angel, one of the created messengers of God who predated human beings in ... creation (Psalm 8:5 and Hebrews 2:7 both refer to man, collectively speaking human beings, as being made "a little lower than the angels") came down to talk to me. And we will see as we continue to read the Nativity story of Jesus, this was NOT a casual appearance, and was not -- and even now should not -- be treated so. THE ANGEL OF THE LORD CAME UPON THEM.

The angel of the Lord. The messenger of the Lord. (Our English word "angel" comes from the Latin word angelus, which means messenger.) And while you and I are bound by linear time (as angels in this context are not) we most definitely are, or are capable of being, messengers. If you did not believe so, I do not believe you would be reading this. But turning back to the angels of God, angels tend to not come alone in any of their appearances in Scripture and they also appear to the last people an outsider would possible expect! And make no mistake, the shepherds knew whom they saw, and who was behind him. AND THE GLORY OF THE LORD SHONE ROUND ABOUT THEM.   

With that "glory of the Lord" (remember, angels do not travel alone), most often called the shekinah from a Hebrew word meaning to inhabit or dwell -- in this case, God Himself inhabiting or dwelling -- appearing around the shepherds, it was impossible not to humble themselves before such a sight. And the angel had not even gotten to the message yet -- stick around for that! Perhaps afraid does not mean scared to death, though I picture the shepherds somewhat scared of something outside their usual nighttime experiences, in this context, but afraid in the sense of revering God (in the sense of "fear God") has something to say, and it is a good idea to pay attention! You slow down, or God slows you down, and you will see some amazing things. THEY WERE SORE AFRAID.