It’s Christmas, the ‘most wonderful time of the year’ as the song goes, when we as Christians celebrate the amazing miracle of God, the King of King’s, the Creator of all, the I AM that I AM, coming down to Earth from Heaven, to meet us right where we are.

As I ponder on this, I’ve also been reflecting on some Bible passages where Heavenly Beings came to visit people here on Earth. I find it interesting that God visited people both in the ‘sacred’ and in the ‘secular’.

For instance, when Angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah (Luke 1:8-25), Zechariah was in the Sanctuary of the Lord, burning incense, a most sacred act which only priests were allowed to do at the time.

On the other hand, when an angel, and subsequently a multitude of the heavenly host appeared to the shepherds, they were simply engaged in their regular duty, watching over their sheep (Luke 2:8-20). I have previously written a blog post on how God is in our everyday and this really drives it home for me.

Isn’t it wonderful that God chose to announce the birth of His Son, pretty much the greatest news ever, to shepherds who were keeping watch over their sheep? The Good Shepherd honouring the work of shepherds with an incredible, unforgettable visit. I wonder perhaps if there was some sort of parallel or symbolism in God singling out the shepherds for this extremely special and significant event?

That aside though, we probably wouldn’t consider watching over sheep as something spiritual, as a time or place where God can meet with us, or we can meet with God, but actually God is saying, through this story, that we can indeed. We might expect to be visited by an angel while at an altar, in the middle of a spiritual exercise, like Zechariah. But while at work??

And yet, God is saying ‘why not?’ You may be a parent taking care of your kids, or a carer for a loved one/loved ones; a pastor looking after your congregation or a police officer looking after your city; a nurse tending to the patients in your care, or a waitress tending to your customers, working through the Christmas holiday. The good news is that God is with you, right there. He is Emmanuel, God with us. He wants to meet us right where we are. God knows our hearts, our situations, our locations. He always has a meeting room free to meet with us wherever we may be.

Even as God took the huge step to come down from Heaven to Earth to meet us, there are steps we can take as well. Just like the shepherds, we can respond to God’s presence by acknowledging, listening, obeying, sharing this great news He has entrusted to us, praising and worshipping this great God. Make no mistake, they were terrified to start with, but that did not stop them from doing these. And once again, we can do all that right where we are.

It is also interesting, albeit somewhat understandable given him and Elizabeth’s ages, that the shepherds were more trusting than Zechariah, despite the fact that he was a priest and they were shepherds. However, this also shows that faith and the miraculous do not have to be restricted to a few select people we think are more worthy. The question Jesus once asked springs to mind, “But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?” (Luke 18:8b, NLT). I do love the fact that the angel reassured the shepherds, just as God reassures us today, and they were encouraged (Luke 2:9-10, NLT).

Beloved, God loves you so much, and wants to meet with you, yes you. He has proven, through the miracle of Christmas, that He will move Heaven and Earth to come be with us. How precious is that!

I pray that wherever you are this Christmas, you will open your heart to an encounter with our wonderful, loving, merciful, amazing, glorious God, Emmanuel, The One who comes to meet us right where we are. Amen.

Image source here.