Angels and Shepherds in the Christmas Story
a sermon by Rev. Michael Gladish
Dawson Creek, BC, December 16th, 2007
"Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 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. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: you will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger" (Luke 2:8-12).
Who are the shepherds in your life? Who are the angels? And what are the swaddling cloths and the manger in which we, too, may find the Lord?
When we think of shepherds we think of those who care for their sheep -- mainly by feeding and protecting them. But what do sheep and shepherds represent in the stories of the Word?
It's an interesting question, in part because the Old Testament especially has dozens - perhaps hundreds - of references to sheep or lambs being required by the Lord as sacrificial offerings, but also because the Lord Himself is described in the Gospels and the Revelation as a Lamb, indeed a Lamb that was killed.
Generally, though, when sheep or lambs are mentioned in a metaphorical sense it is pretty clear that they represent the people of the church, specifically those who are in some degree of innocence, living in charity and so in faith (AC 4769:5, etc.). Indeed, we know that sheep actually correspond to those who are in the good of charity, and so, in an abstract or truly spiritual sense they correspond to the good itself of charity (AC 9391). This is why the Lord in His resurrection told Peter to "feed My lambs" and "feed My sheep" (John 21:15-17), and why He told all the disciples that they take His message first of all "to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 10:6). These are the people who are trying to live in genuine charity but need the support of genuine truths from the Lord to do so. Thus they are also the affections for charity that we have within ourselves that also need the support of genuine truths to be effective. There is, after all, no real justice without judgment, no real love without wisdom.
Going back to the Old Testament, then, the sacrifices of sheep and lambs represent the doing of what is charitable and good for others for the Lord's sake, because He requires it, despite our reluctance and our natural desire to have what is good only - or primarily - for ourselves. And both the Old and New Testament references to the Lord as a Lamb effectively teach us of His perfect innocence and love, even though at His crucifixion He was "led as a lamb to the slaughter" (Isa 53:7).
But it is the shepherds of the sheep who figure prominently in the story of Christmas, so who are the shepherds in your life, and what is their role in greeting and worshiping the baby Jesus?
If we think of ourselves as members of the Lord's flock, and the Lord Himself as our Shepherd, we can see right away that He is the One to whom we must turn for spiritual food and protection on our journey through life. And if we cannot see Him or hear Him, or if we forget about Him. we will certainly find ourselves well described by Isaiah where he wrote, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone, to his own way..." (Isa 53:6). Handel's Messiah, for what it's worth, creates an amazing musical picture of this state, with the melody wandering all over the place in that famous oratorio.
But how do we come to know and appreciate the Lord's care? In many ways it is through the people in our ordinary lives whom we love and respect. These may be leaders, teachers, parents, friends or any others who have a strong influence on us. In fact the spiritual meaning of a shepherd is one who teaches and so leads to the good of charity (AC 4713), which dovetails almost perfectly with the job description for a minister, "to teach the truth and lead thereby to the good of life" (AC 10794). So the Writings say, "Priests who teach truths and by means of them lead to the good of life and thus to the Lord, are good shepherds of the sheep; whereas those who teach but do not lead to the good of life are evil shepherds" (NJHD 315). Evil shepherds also figure in the prophecies of the Lord's birth, where in Jeremiah they are condemned for "scattering the flock," and "not attending to them" (Jer. 23:1-2).
Clearly the Lord chose good shepherds to be the first outside of the family to see the Lord because of their representation as those who teach truths in order to help others enjoy the life of charity. So they themselves were given the privilege of the most tender experience of the Lord, that they might make this "widely known" where-ever they went. And now, when you think of the shepherds in your life you may think of those who have helped you learn and understand and appreciate the Lord as well.
But now, go deeper. If on one level the shepherds represent those who teach truths, on another level they represent those truths themselves from which we learn how to enter into a genuinely good life (AE 388:17). Those truths are found in the Word and in the beautiful doctrines drawn from the Word in the books we call "the Writings." And the remarkable thing is that when we turn to these books in humility and trust we actually find the Lord, the Good Shepherd Himself in the tenderness of His Divine Humanity, who then feeds and protects us through the wisdom of His love.
But what about the angels in the story? Who are your angels, and what do they represent?
It is not just in the story of the annunciation to the shepherds where we read about angels at the Lord's coming. Joseph had a vision of an angel in dreams at night - once before the Lord's birth and once again after the visit of the wise men. Zacharias saw an angel in the temple when he was told of Elizabeth conceiving in her old age. And of course Mary saw the angel, Gabriel, when she was told she would be the mother of the Lord. These angels were all messengers from God out of heaven, and so they represent the message itself that they conveyed.
And what was that message? Well, of course, that the Lord was born! So here we have a specific truth, or set of truths, represented first by one angel and then by a whole host of angels, suggesting how the knowledge of the Lord’s advent opens the mind to hundreds of other vital truths that directly affect our spiritual lives. For example, when we see that God Himself came into the world in His own Humanity - to save us from our sins - our minds naturally run toward issues like "Why" and "How" and "What did He really do to achieve this purpose?" "What did He NOT do?" and "What is all this about a virgin birth?" One thing leads to another, doesn't it? And so one realization opens our minds to another, and another - if we really think about it and follow the teachings we have been given on these things - until we see "a multitude of the heavenly host [a whole array of truths] praising God and saying 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will'" (Luke 2:13-14).
But remember, angels, like shepherds, don't only represent the truths themselves, they represent the truths at work, and so just as shepherds stand for the truths of the Word in general providing for the good of life, the angels in the advent story stand for the particular truths that open our minds to the presence of the Lord in our lives -- His love, His wisdom and His amazing power.
So it is that angels, like shepherds, represent uses, functions or ministries, in this case those specifically directed to informing us about the Lord (AR 548). And whole societies of angels who are in that function or use may at times be represented by one angel. So we read, for example, "Gabriel and Michael are not the names of two persons in heaven, but by those names all in heaven who are in wisdom respecting the Lord, and who worship Him are meant" (TCR 300). No doubt the same could be said about all in this world who are like that, too.
And who in this world do you think of when you remember how you learned about the Lord? Was it your mother? - your father? - grandparents? - a certain minister? - a special Sunday School teacher? Maybe it was a friend or a marriage partner. Maybe you don't think of a particular person at all, but a sort of general influence that led you to your own reading and reflection as you searched for understanding about the Lord. But if that is the case it may be useful to remember that all our thoughts and affections do ultimately come from the angels and other spirits who are with us, and who inspire us to do one thing or another.
However it is for you, the Christmas season certainly is a good time to reflect on the particular blessings we ALL have in all the people - whether known to us or not - who have helped, and who continue to help us learn about, and seek, and find the Lord for ourselves. Good people. Honest people. Loving, caring, knowledgeable and wise people. Modest, unassuming people. These are the angels in your lives, and as you think of them and perhaps prepare some gifts for them at Christmas, you can also think of the Lord whom they, like angels, represent for you.
But now, what about those famous swaddling cloths and that manger?
Swaddling cloths are not clothes in the usual sense, but long, narrow strips of linen that were used in ancient times to wrap babies snugly to protect and quiet them. The English word actually comes from "swath" or "swathe," the same word used in farming to represent the long strips of mown grass or grain in a field. Since linen, especially white linen, also represents the truths of the Word, and since the Lord came into the world to clothe Himself with these truths, it is very significant that He was wrapped in these long strips of cloth. But there's more.
The priests of the Old Testament were all instructed to wear clothing made of linen in their work of representing the Lord. Now the Lord had come to represent Himself, and in fulfillment of the law He had to be clothed also in linen (AE 951). Note also when the Lord late in His ministry washed the disciples' feet, He wrapped Himself in a linen cloth and used that cloth to wipe their feet (John 13:4-5). Joseph of Arimathea, who took His body after the crucifixion, also wrapped the body in fine, new linen, all of which represents the truth of the Lord's whole life and work.
Still, the swaddling cloths are of particular interest because they represent the very simple, external, natural truths typical of the stories in the literal sense of the Word. It is in these simple truths that we first find the Lord, and where we may find Him again and again when we go back to them with growing knowledge and understanding.
So, finally, we have the manger. As we have noted in recent classes this may not have been in a regular stable at all, since the word for "inn" suggests the upper room or chamber of an ordinary house, and most houses in Palestine at that time had outer rooms open to the weather the way we might have a carport or shed attached to our own house. Domestic animals would be free to come and go from this outer room, and they would also be fed there in troughs or bowls the way we would feed a dog in the adjoining shed. Since the inner, upper rooms would have been filled with other guests during the tax registration that Herod had required, we can fairly assume that Mary and Joseph were obliged to stay in this outer room and use a manger for the baby's bed.
But, again, this was all arranged in providence because of the spiritual significance of every detail. Since a manger (from the French, manger, meaning to eat or chew) typically is a place where horses feed, and horses represent the understanding of spiritual things, or rather the affection for that understanding, the Lord was placed in a manger to convey the meaning that He is the source of all the knowledge that feeds our understanding of spiritual life (TCR 277).
So there you have it: - shepherds representing those who teach from the Word, providing for a life of genuine charity; angels representing the specific truths that lead us to the Lord and help us recognize and understand Him, and honour Him in our lives; swaddling cloths representing the literal sense of the Word where we first find Him, and the manger representing the Lord in His Word as the source of all the love and wisdom that feeds and nourishes our souls. Can this knowledge help you in your preparation for Christmas? Will it inspire you to look more deeply into other parts of the story, or into yourself to see how it applies in your life? It's up to you!
But this much is clear: without the knowledge of the spiritual sense of the Word it's just a nice, quaint story worthy of any lighted lawn decoration. But with the knowledge of the spiritual sense it presents a dynamic picture of the way every one of us comes to the Lord, and finds Him and recognizes Him, and knows how to honour Him - all because of the teachings of His Word and those who help you "get" and follow them.
Amen.
Lessons:
Isaiah 40:1-5 Children’s Talk on preparing the way for the Lord
Luke 2:1-14
2:1-14Apocalypse Explained 706:12 ... see below
706:12 ... see below
Apocalypse Explained 706:12
In Luke:
The angels said to the shepherds, There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord; and this is a sign unto you, ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger (Luke 2:11, 12, 16).
Since a "sign" means attestation that they might believe that the Savior of the world was born, it is said that "they should find Him lying in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes;" but that this was an attestation no one can know until it is known what is meant by a "manger" and by "swaddling clothes." "A manger" means the doctrine of truth from the Word, because "horses" signify the understanding of the Word (as can be seen from what has been shown above, n. 355, 364, and in the small work on The White Horse, n. 2-4); and thus a manger, as a feeding place for horses, signifies the doctrine of truth from the Word. It is said in the seventh verse of the same chapter that this was done "because there was no place in the inn," an "inn" signifying a place of instruction. (This is the signification of "inn" also in Luke 10:34; 22:11; Mark 14:14; and elsewhere.) Because this was the state with the Jews, who were then in mere falsities, through the adulteration of the Word, this was signified by "there was no place in the inn;" for if it had pleased the Lord He might have been born in a most splendid palace, and have been laid in a bed adorned with precious stones; but He would thus have been with such as were in no doctrine of truth, and there would have been no heavenly representation. He is also said to have been "wrapped in swaddling clothes," because "swaddling clothes" signify first truths, which are truths of innocence, and which are also truths of the Divine love; for "nakedness," in reference to a babe, signifies deprivation of truth. From this it is clear why it was said by the angels, "This is a sign unto you, ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger."
