Sermon for Advent Four – Sunday December 20, 2020
Calvary/Marquette ● Soli Deo Gloria

The Grace, mercy and peace of God are yours, a gift planned in eternity by the Father, carried out in time by the Son, made your possession by the Spirit. To God Alone the Glory. Amen.

Luke 2:8–14 (NKJV)
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 cloths, 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!”

In the Name of Jesus, the Christ,
The source and substance of our joy,
Dear Fellow Redeemed in His Blood –

I submit that it is the greatest song of all time. Now that said, folks will debate that suggestion. After all, everyone has an opinion of what is the greatest song of all time. We all have favorite songs. I understand that if each of us came up with our own list of just the top 10 Christmas songs, hymns and carols, each of our lists would look different. For as much as we may think that our personal opinions are ‘right’ the fact is that greatness with human beings is subjective.

How could we determine what is the greatest song of all time? What is the criterion? Is the song that has sold the most copies by definition the greatest of all time? Is the song that grossed the most in royalties for its writer or performer the greatest of all time? Is the song that remains popular in every era, that has stood the test of time the greatest of all time?

In the last month we’ve heard some pretty amazing songs…and I’m not talking about the noise on the radio.

 The Song of Elizabeth was proclaimed because Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and revealed things that she couldn’t have known without divine revelation.
 The Song of Mary glorified God for keeping his promises even before they were completely fulfilled.
 The Song of Zacharias was a song in the making for ages…but it was still delivered by an aging priest, who had just been given back his voice.

This morning we come to the final song, the Song of the Angels to the Shepherds.

This is the song; I suggest is the greatest song ever proclaimed. What’s amazing about this song is that it wasn’t delivered to the rich and famous; it was unexpected but still meant for all; it was given to glorify God and make rich those who hear and receive it.

For fallen sinners, this is the greatest message ever proclaimed. It’s the song that saves.

May God the Holy Spirit bless our study of the song of the angels, that we may both understand it and echo it. We therefore begin with the prayer, “Sanctify them by your truth, O Lord, Your Word is Truth.” Amen.

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If we could all agree that one song in particular was the greatest song of all time, where would you say that song should be properly performed? Would it be performed in a sold-out stadium before thousands of boisterous fans? Would it be performed in a famous venue, like ‘Madison Square Garden’ or ‘the Hollywood bowl’ or ‘Red Rocks Amphitheatre’?

Who would be allowed to hear this most famous of songs live, with their own ears? Would there be a few thousand very expensive tickets? If so, then only those with large bank accounts would be able to attend said concert. Would it be a ‘pay per view’ concert?

We can almost imagine the camera panning the crowd, made up of familiar faces, the rich and famous. We can probably picture the symphony tuning and the maestro strutting across the stage to voluminous applause (or the spotlight coming to rest upon a single musician or group of musicians).

We can imagine the piece of music or the song being performed flawlessly and its sounds fill the air. Then at the close of the performance, the audience rises to its feet to applaud it and all who hear are filled with joy. People talk about the performance for the rest of their lives.

But the greatest song ever proclaimed wasn’t delivered to the rich and famous or in a stadium or famous venue; but in a field outside a tiny village to a few poor shepherds.

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.

The Greatest Song ever proclaimed wasn’t performed in a famous venue; it wasn’t even in town. It was probably quiet, save for the occasional murmur of a few voices and the crackle of burning firewood. There was no thundering applause when the bright light suddenly lit up a single figure, but fearful silence.

It was a Mighty Angel of the Lord who suddenly appeared to shepherds, bathed in the glory of the Lord. We imagine that the Angel was bathed in bright light, because that’s what the ‘Glory of the Lord’ was like in the Old Testament, among God’s People. It was a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night that assured the Israelites of God’s Presence among them.

This performance was a surprise, and it came unexpectedly. Those who first heard the greatest song ever proclaimed were not filled with excited anticipation but were overcome with great fear. They were terrified.

The angel didn’t have to silence the cacophony of applause. He had to calm the audience. Thus, the Maestro began – not by thanking them for being there or by giving the history behind the greatest song of all time. He began by calming the fears of the audience. After all, this was not your run of the mill conductor, not your typical leader of an orchestra or band. This was a supernatural messenger of the LORD Jehovah.

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.

Music is a gift of God, one that speaks to the heart. Some songs are sorrowful in nature; others are joyful. Some are slow and trudge along; others run and leap for joy. Songs sometimes relate rather mundane things, good or evil. We relate to some songs because we’ve felt the same or experienced things like love and heartbreak.

However, not every song works for us. Some music, some songs we just don’t like for one reason or another. Maybe it just doesn’t speak of something we need or want, something we’ve never experienced or never want to.

The Greatest Song ever proclaimed wasn’t meant to cause fear or sorrow, but great joy. Its message wasn’t meant for just a handful of people, but all people, every single human being. It’s a message that should ring true with every one of us because it speaks of a gift given for us all, of something and someone that we all need.

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 cloths, lying in a manger.”

If we were to boil down the contents of the greatest song into a single word, that word would be: “Savior.”

It was a popular subject, because the people of God had on many occasions needed a rescuer, a savior.

 Moses - When the Israelites became slaves to the Egyptians under the thumb of Pharaoh, God sent Moses to lead them, though God Himself was their Savior.
 Joshua – After Moses’ death, God raised up Joshua to lead the people of Israel into Canaan, though again, the LORD Himself was really the Savior.
 Judges – There is an entire book in the Old Testament that tells the stories of 14 different rescuers that God raised up to lead the Israelites, we know them as the Judges.

While God delivered His people for a time through each of these people, their times all came to a close. They died and were buried. God had to raise up for his people a new ‘savior’ for each generation, but none of them were perfect, each of them were sinful human beings like those they helped to rescue from earthly enemies.

God first promised to send the ultimate Savior. He would be a prophet who spoke as God Himself (Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Luke 4:32,36) with authority. He would be a priest whose once for all sacrifice would save all people (Hebrews 7:27, 1 John 2:2). He would be a King whose kingdom would never end (Isaiah 9:7, Luke 1:33) in an elaborate funeral.

When the time finally came, God sent an angel to announce His Arrival. He declared an infant to be this Savior, and then distinguished Him from every other rescuer with two defining words: Christ and Lord.

Christ – means ‘the Chosen One’ as in chosen by God. It means ‘Anointed One’ – set apart by God for a special purpose, to save. There were many rescuers, but there was only one Christ, one Messiah. God promised that He would be born in Bethlehem 700 years beforehand (for frame of reference the United States is 243 years old) and the message of the Angel confirmed further that the infant was the Christ.
Lord – means ‘master’ but here reminds us that God Promised that the Savior would be more than a man. In fact the aforementioned prophesy of Micah foretold the eternal nature of the Christ, saying of Him (Micah 5:2b): “Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting (the days of eternity).”

Humankind needs a Savior…even though in our pride we think we are self-sufficient. Don’t think so? Have you heard the latest Michigan Department of Health Advertisements? They declare that we will look back on this COVID thing and thank ourselves that we wore masks for love of each other and saved ourselves. There is no mention of God, not that I expect one. The message that fallen human beings want to hear is one in which we are praised for our being good enough.

God’s Law, found in His Word, makes it crystal clear that we are not close to good enough. We need a savior, we need Jesus. We need someone to bear our sins, because we cannot. We need someone to die in sins, because to do so for us would be hell. We need someone to pass through death, someone with power to deliver us and to be there waiting on the other side of our last breath.

The Greatest Song ever proclaimed announces that our Rescuer is come; but it’s a message that many greet with indifference because they believe themselves good enough.

The Greatest Song ever proclaimed is today scoffed at because the only ‘peace’ that self-righteous humankind can conceive of is the kind between nations of men, the kind that results in the cessation of war, the kind that allows us to sit at ease on our couches and relax. This kind of peace is fleeting, a pipe dream among fallen human beings.

This song isn’t mean to glorify human beings for striking some peace accord; it glorifies God for making peace through Jesus Sacrifice and announcing God’s Grace to Humankind. So, it’s here, finally, at the end that we finally get to hear the greatest song ever proclaimed. It isn’t proclaimed by a local choir, but by the holy army of God, by angelic soldiers:

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!”

It’s often called, The Gloria in Excelsis, taken from the first two words in the Latin Translation. We sing the first verse of the Greatest Song in Latin every year when we sing the Christmas Carol, ‘Angels We have Heard on High’ – ‘Gloria in Excelsis Deo’ – in English, ‘Glory to God in the Highest.’

This song, the song of the Angels has three verses: The first is ‘Glory to God in the Highest.”

God alone deserves the glory for His Gift, the Gift of His Son sent into human flesh and blood. Christmas isn’t about our gifts to one another. Christmas is about God’s gift, which results for those who believe in the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. This gift – for us sinners – is truly undeserved, an unexpected delight, a reason for joy and hope every day of every year.

The second verse is: “Upon Earth Peace.”

God sent His Son the first time to save us, to bring peace. The soul that sins shall die, said God. Instead of allowing sinners to die in sin, at enmity with Him, He sent His own Son to bear and die for sins. The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) has come, and has established peace with God by means of His Sacrifice. This Savior still comes to comfort sinners through His Word. He still comes in the Sacrament of Baptism to wash away sins. He still comes in the Sacrament of the Altar to confirm that peace with God has been established through the offering up of His Body and shedding of His Blood.

The third verse is: “Good will toward men (humankind)!”

God in these words offers His Grace, His undeserved Love to all of humankind in His Son. In many cases hit songs make a select few rich, but this song is meant to make all who hear and receive it spiritually and eternally wealthy. In another year defined by death, humankind, your friends and neighbors need to hear that the True God is not a vengeful God, but a God who so loved all of us that He sent His Only Begotten Son, and offers through Him peace and not judgment; grace not punishment.

It’s the greatest song ever proclaimed. It’s the heart of our faith, of true Christianity. God sent His Son to Save. Moreover, God’s Son will come again to deliver us forever from the bondage of sin and death.

“Glory to God in the Highest, On Earth Peace,
Goodwill to Humankind.”

Amen!