Angels: God's Advance Forces

Angels were the first

to announce that the

Son of God would soon arrive-

Angels— They are such a familiar part of the birth of Christ. Too familiar.

When I shared the account of Jesus' birth with a young man who had never heard the commercial version, I, too, experienced God’s heavenly warriors and the birth of his son through fresh eyes.

A few years ago, our family made plans celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary by taking a short trek in the Himalayas. Time was limited, so we booked a private jeep, a Mahindra Bolero, from Kathmandu to Dharapani. When we arrived at the agreed meeting place to begin our journey, a slender young man with plug earrings and hair flopping over his eyes slid out of the waiting jeep. He wore distressed skinny jeans with a matching denim vest over his jewel-encrusted dragon t-shirt. A cigarette smoldered in his right hand. His eyes lit up when he saw our party included two other teenage boys about his age. I felt like running the other way. I feared this holiday just might turn out to be more adventure than I signed up for.

As we stowed our backpacks in the jeep bed and squeezed into the cab, Sudeep boasted of his driving experience. He had already survived three years as a driver, ever since he left home at fourteen.

Clearly, the owner of the lodge and the jeep had some confidence in Sudeep, but I was not convinced. Only the night before, I had watched videos of the road to Manang; drone videos of jeeps crawling like ants along pencil-thin lines etched across granite cliffs. Decades ago, those same cliffs held bamboo poles driven into the rock face.

Even if we survived this once-in-a-lifetime anniversary trip, I knew our driver’s life hung in a balance from day to day. So, with several hours of travel stretching before us, I decided to distract myself from images of all the ways we could die and asked Sudeep if he’d ever heard the story of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Yes, he said, he had friends who were Christians. No, he had never heard the account of Jesus’ birth. Yes, he would love to hear a story. Before long, Sudeep became far more interested in the story than he was in the road before him.

I thought I knew the story pretty well. However, since Sudeep didn’t speak English, it had to be retold either in Nepali, or in Eastern Tamang, our driver’s mother tongue. Amazingly, of the more than 100 minority languages spoken in Nepal, I had access to a dramatized recording of the Christmas story in Sudeep’s childhood language. How, you ask? Well, that is a story for another time.

Unfortunately, though I enjoyed listening to the dramatized temptation of Christ in Eastern Tamang, I couldn't actually understand it and had not foreseen a need to download it. I resorted to an impromptu translation into Nepali. With frequent pauses, I could relate the story phrase by phrase.

Swargadut. That was the key word. (pronounced "swargadoot")

In the months preceding and following the birth of Jesus, God broke a 400-year silence, sending his heavenly warriors by ones and in cohorts... to an old priest named Zechariah, to a young girl named Mary, to Joseph her fiancé, and to shepherds on a hillside.

Swargadut. Angels take on a new level of significance when you are hurtling along a precipitous highway, overhanging a monsoon-flooded river, and dodging oncoming buses and Tata trucks around blind corners.

Oh Lord, we're in too deep. How about sending a few angels our way, Lord?

Jesus was no ordinary child. He faced no ordinary opposition. Yet he was sent with extraordinary love.

Sudeep engaged with the story so much that he glanced back at me every time I paused to gather my thoughts or search for a word in Nepali.

I have distinct memories of riding in the back seat of that jeep, sandwiched between my husband and daughter, my feet wedged against the floor, my hands gripping the seat in front of us in an effort to steady the continual jolting. In the front seat, my youngest son straddled the gearshift between the two 17-year-old boys; my oldest son on the left and our driver behind the wheel. Overhead the sky was a brilliant blue. On one side of the jeep, mountains towered overhead, carved away to make room for the road. Out the other window, the road dropped steeply away to the river. What a rush!

The road was new to us, but not to Sudeep. The story, however, that was something new. My account of angelic visitations, the flight to Egypt, and Herod’s search for the infant proved more captivating than the torturous road.

What if you didn’t know the story? What parts would make you hold your breath? Would Joseph reject his young fiancée when he learns she is pregnant? Why did the wise men give such clear directions to the murderous Herod? Did anyone really believe the shepherds?

For my part, I too gained a new respect for the terror those heavenly warriors generated at each visitation. My terror grew with the heedless rush of vehicles along the narrow paved highway and the fragile or non-existent stream crossings. Unlike Mary and Joseph, who gained courage and comfort from the angels' words, I took no comfort from Sudeep's cheerful reassurances. However, in the end, it was so worth it!

I often wonder where Sudeep is now. Has he found Life beyond that treacherous road? The journey with him taught me that being safe isn't always an option, but being faith-filled is. Walking with Jesus opens the door for courage we didn't know was possible.

More about Angels

A simple survey of the Bible reveals when angels make some of the most notable appearances: In the beginning days of mankind, during the early days of Israel in the promised land, to the prophets in exile, with the arrival of Christ and the beginning of his ministry, and in the early days of the Church. And finally, describing the return of Christ in Revelations. Do you see a pattern?

Angels are God’s advance forces. Yet to bring salvation, God sent his son as a helpless infant, weak and time-bound as we are. Jesus was born as a child, vulnerable and dependent. Throughout the Gospels, he refers to himself as the Son of Man. Yet, as we will see, he is much more than that.

Read accounts of the birth of Christ in the first chapters of Matthew and Luke. Read about other angelic encounters here:

· Genesis 19 (Two angels destroy Sodom and Gomorrah)

· Exodus 12 (The angel of the Lord destroys the first born of Egypt)

· 2 Kings 19 (The angel of the Lord delivers Judah from the Assyrian invasion)

· Isaiah 6 (Isaiah the prophet hears God’s call)

· Acts 12 (An angel frees Peter from prison)