The Angels 
of Christmas

By the Rev. David Sonmor
Swedenborgian Minister in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
In the December, 1996 Issue of Our Daily Bread

Scripture

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet.

"Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name Him Emmanuel."

which means, "God is with us." When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named Him Jesus.

Matthew 1:18-25

Arcana #3039

We need to believe the angels when they speak to us. The shepherds on the hillside near Bethlehem believed the angel who appeared to them, and in opening themselves to the presence of God's spiritual messenger, were quickly rewarded with a whole host of heavenly beings praising God and urging the blessing of peace to all people on earth. Where would we be today if Mary and Joseph had not listened to the angels who spoke to them? Christianity would never have happened. And how would the New Christianity have been started if Swedenborg had not heeded the heavenly voices that spoke to him?

Some of you might say, "Well, no angel has ever come and talked to me, so how can I respond to a heavenly message?" Rather we should ask ourselves, "Would I believe it if an angel did come and speak to me, and would I recognize it if it was happening." With Mary and the shepherds the angel came to them in an awakened state. With Joseph the angel came in a dream while he was sleeping. Perhaps God's messengers are speaking to us much more than we realize.

I suppose very few people have direct, recognizable, contact with heavenly beings because we were designed to have our natural faculties dominant while we are in this world. So God designed natural ways to speak to us. If humans were to receive direct messages from the spiritual world there is the danger we would reject them and thereby jeopardize our chances for spiritual growth. The method of communication God uses with us is called the Word. That is why Jesus said that He was the fulfillment of the Word, and why the Apostle John referred to Him as "the Word made flesh." The danger of rejection is so evident in the rejection of Jesus by the Jews. They even expected the Messiah to come from them. It was predicted in their teachings, and yet none of them were in a position spiritually to receive and acknowledge Him.

Swedenborg tells us that Christ and Messiah are the same name, and mean the Anointed or King. The name represents Divine truth. This Divine truth can come to us in many ways and in many forms, but is particularly evident in the Word of God found in the Bible. But there are many other ways by which we are taught. The following story is an example.

It was a stark, cold morning. The smoke from the chimneys went straight up from the housetops and seemed to freeze into a solid column of white as it rose into the clear blue sky. It must have been 45 degrees below zero and the children, who had melted peepholes in the frost on the window, squinted toward the ice rink to see if anyone had been brave enough to go and start a fire in the old warm-up shack. Not that they wanted to venture out now, but maybe it would warm up later and they could go and creak around on the hard dry ice.

The sunlight shining through the tiny wet peepholes made a multitude of brilliant colors flashing and blending together. "Look at the angel," said Jane. "He is hovering right over the rink." "I don't see him," said Peter, who was more interested in getting his hockey stick and going out to play shinny with the guys next door. "See," said Jane, "He is covered in bright colors and pointing over to the edge of town." "Let me see," said Mother. "My gosh, that does look like an angel and he is pointing towards Grandma Hoskins' house. John, why don't you get dressed and go over?" Father was not anxious to get all bundled up and trudge through the snow and cold, but Peter said, "I'll go with you, Dad. We can use some fresh air."

As John and his son got close to the edge of town they noticed there wasn't even a tiny wisp of smoke rising from the Hoskins' rooftop. "We'd better hurry," said Peter. "I'll slip over to the woodpile and bring in an armful of wood." When they got inside they found Grandma and Grandpa Hoskins sitting on their sofa looking like a pile of bedding. They were covered with clothing and blankets and smiled broadly and sheepishly at John and Peter. "We saw there was no smoke from your chimney and so we came to check on you," said John. "That's not true," said Peter, who uncharacteristically felt compelled to utter the truth. "Janie saw an angel over the rink and said he was pointing toward your house, so we came to see you and then discovered your stove was out." "Whatever the reason, we are glad you are here," said Grandma Hoskins. "We just didn't have the energy to go out into the cold for wood."

When John and Peter returned home an hour later they reported that the Hoskins household was now safe and warm and that Granny was busy putting Christmas dinner on the stove. Peter said that he had offered to go over every day and fill their woodbox so they wouldn't run out again. "You are a real pair of heroes," said Mother. "No, we're not," said Peter. "Janie is the hero, because she saw the Christmas angel and listened to it." "You're right," said Mother. "We need to believe our angels when they speak to us." Father looked over at her fondly and said, "Well, you believed your angel too, the little one called 'Janie,' so you deserve some credit too. We should all be thankful the Lord speaks to us in many ways."

Still filled with curiosity, when no one was looking, Father slipped over to the window, put his thumb on the ice to reopen the peephole, then quickly bent down and looked through. He thought he saw a brilliant figure moving off through the sky above the rink. It seemed to stop for an instant, then turned and smiled and waved before it vanished into the distance. He never told anyone what he had seen. He just believed and kept the image of the Christmas angel in his heart.

As I think back to cold and frosty winters years ago, before we had central heating, triple-glazed windows and R-4000 insulation in our houses, I wonder how many angels were seen through those frosty little peepholes; and I am reminded that we should acknowledge and believe our angels when they call on us and speak to us as they spoke to the shepherds long ago, saying, "Be not afraid; for, behold, I bring you good news and great joy which shall be to all people... Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward mankind."

O Gracious Lord, in this holy season, our hearts are filled with the spirit of Christmas, the sounds of Christmas carols echoing across the shopping malls, and Santa Clauses beckoning children to sit on their knees and tell them their hearts' desires.

But we have forgotten the first sound of Christmas; the angelic chorus singing "Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to people of good will." Glory to God and peace! What do these mena and what do they require of me?

Maybe, just maybe, we need to abandon the malls and return to the center of the Christmas Spirit. Where glory to God is translated to mean helping those less fortunate, where peace on earth comes to mean treating one another with dignity and worth. Would that not really be Christmas? Help us, O Lord, to celebrate and live this Christmas. Amen.

To Angels of Heaven