Thursday, January 2, 2014

Gloria! Have you heard?


One of my favorite songs of this year’s Christmas playlist is by Jason Gray. It’s a song called Gloria! (The Song of the Shepherds), and it tells the tale of the shepherds after the angels’ announcement and song: 

After the angels song, everyone held their breath as the darkness rushed back in upon those shepherd boys. Staring into the night, climbing up off their knees, with their hearts on fire, they were trembling with fear… and JOY! 

Gloria! Gloria! Was a choir of angels singing, the shepherds’ ears were ringing, they were ringing with Gloria! Gloria! Now everything is going to change—Christ the Lord is born today!

Racing down from the hills, running like children run, reckless and wild, with a song that they begun again. As the field beneath their feet turned into city street, they were crying out, “Have you heard, have you heard O Bethlehem?!” 

Gloria! Gloria! Was a choir of angels singing, the shepherds’ ears were ringing, they were ringing with Gloria! Gloria! Now everything is going to change—Christ the Lord is born today! 

A land under the rule of the priests and kings
Only shepherds heard the song that the angels sing
The humble are the keepers of the secrets of the Kingdom that is coming
With a song that will break the whole world like 10,000 horses running

Gloria! Gloria! The shepherds they were singing, Now all our ears are ringing, they‘re still ringing with Gloria! Gloria! Now everything is going to change—Christ the Lord is born today!

….

One day He’ll come again to bring us a brand new song but til then we’ll sing along with those shepherd boys”

Can’t you picture it?  These shepherds have been astounded by the announcement of the birth of the long awaited King by an angel of the Lord shining with the glory of heaven.  WHAT?! And then this angel is joined by a choir of angels, glorifying the Lord and speaking peace to those with whom He is pleased.  INSANE!

The shepherds have heard and seen this all upon their knees.  They were afraid (or as is said here in Bundi, they were fearing.).  The angel knows this and commands them, “Fear not” and then speaks wonderful, jubilant news.  It isn’t announced to the kings and leaders of the land. Not to the capital of the known world or people with accolades and riches.  The angel comes to the humblest, the lowly.  Those who keep the sheep.  Those with whom He is pleased. Those who are doing what King David began with.  Those who are doing what our King does, our Great Shepherd of the Sheep.  The humble are the keepers of the secrets of the Kingdom that is coming.

As the angels went away into heaven, can you imagine how that darkness rushed back in?  How those shepherds looked at each other in wonder?  I might have looked around thinking “Was that for real? Did that really just happen?”  But, as this song says, their ears were ringing with “Gloria!”  They got off their trembling knees filled less with fear now, but finding joy rising up.  My ESV says they said to one another, ““Let’s go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste…” 

I love the image this songwriter paints, of them running like children run, reckless and wild.  I think they were probably screaming, giggling, running as fast as they could.  They were churning up the earth, maybe taking a few tumbles on the way and hopping back up with joy and glee.  Running to find this baby. This King. This Savior.  The one of whom the angels sang, the One who the Lord made known to them.   Can you imagine being in their sandals? My mind would be blown.  I would be sprinting down that hill, willing my legs to move faster, forgetting the sheep, not caring how foolish I looked.  Crying out in the streets, “Have you heard Oh Bethlehem?! The King! It’s the King I tell you!”  Racing to find him, to bow down before Him, to bespeak the work of the Lord I had witnessed in the fields and now witness in the arms of his mother Mary. 

As I picture myself as a part of that night, I find myself praying that the joy and glee these shepherds experienced will revive my heart this season.  That I might delight anew in the miracle of the Savior’s birth.  As I await His return with a new song, that my ears might echo with this song and my heart and life might live it out.  That I might call out in Bundibugyo, “Gloria! Now everything is going to change—Christ the Lord is born today!”  His birth changes EVERYTHING.  May He awake my heart once more to this beautiful reality.  That the gift of all gifts has been given, the child of the Living God who lived, died, and was raised to life for me. For you.  For my friends in Bundibugyo.  For the students at Christ School.  For each and every one of us.  For the whole world.  Who might need to hear this good news this season?  I know my heart needs to hear it again, and the Lord is asking me to share this news like those shepherds.  Have you heard, have you heard? Everything is going to change.  It already has. And it will continue to. He is bringing His Kingdom to earth through His people.  What is your heart echoing and crying out this season? 

I’m also hung up on and delighted by the idea that He comes to the humble, He comes in unexpected ways to the people we’d least expect.  Are we living with hearts attuned to the humble ones? Who are those people in your community, who you may least expect to see Jesus? They may be the ones He’s revealing Himself to today.  Are we living as humble ones who have been given the secrets of the coming Kingdom?  What does that look like?  Are we opening our hearts to share this beautiful secret?

As this song continues to play, my heart continues to ponder. Christ the Lord is born today.  What a mighty, miraculous, magnificent, true story.  Merry Christmas friends!