Thursday, December 9, 2010

Message from Jeff Blake, High School Teacher

Tuesday was the 69th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. As word spread throughout the nation, one group gathered outside the White House and began to sing “God Bless America.”


In March, my wife and I are expecting another baby. We have a tradition in the delivery room which involves Lisa’s dad singing a specially written lullaby for this new addition. As we celebrate, we sing.

While driving to school these last few weeks, I have been listening to Dr. David Jeremiah’s sermon series on angels. As he ended the series this week, he suggested that scripture and many biblical scholars can find no proof that angels sing.

This is Christmas time.

This is the time of year when we sing about angels singing.

It’s everywhere.

Now, this is not setting to launch into a technical consideration of scripture, but he suggests some translations may impose an assumption of context upon verb translations. In the case of the heavenly chorus greeting the shepherds (Luke 2:13-14), Dr. Jeremiah suggests the angels offered more of a statement than song.

The angels may or may not sing, but we do. And we sing in moments of great sorrow such as funerals or national calamity, but we also sing in great joy over birthdays and Christmas celebrations.

He suggests humans sing out of lament over our brokenness, depravity, and destructive ability. He suggests humans sing out of great joy over the truth of God’s might or satisfying relationships. Ours is a story of highs and lows through which we find solace in song.

The angels on the other hand live in what he calls a “perpetual high” in God’s presence. Dr. Jeremiah suggests the angels simply exist in this static place of Divine presence and are not given to the highs and lows of humanity.

I am not sure I agree with his assertion, but this is where my thoughts are resting.

Salvation is not an opportunity for the angels. Humanity is unique in this opportunity. He suggests the angels long to hear our songs and learn of what it is like for the God of the universe to lay down his life for you and I.

Regardless if the angels are singing with us, may sing of the Savior’s birth as we journey through our highs and lows.

1 comment:

  1. love the visual picture of the human experience....thanks :)

    ReplyDelete

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