Reading the Christmas story this year, I was reminded of
Sister Sellers. Unlike what it might seem, this is not a sinister operation
helping boys get rid of their pesky female siblings. Neither is it older Girl
Scout alumni still peddling cookies, nor another installment of a popular
Whoopi Goldberg film. Clara Sellers was
my Sunday School teacher for a number of years growing up. I never knew older
people had first names until much later, because we always had to address them
as Brother or Sister instead of Mr. or Mrs. I didn’t understand how that
communicated respect, because I don’t think that is what I felt most for my
brother or sister. But why the Christmas story made me think of this dear saint
who somehow loved smelly, rambunctious boys enough to want to spend every
Sunday morning telling them to sit down and color, has to do with how I picture
the angels in the shepherd story. The best part of the Sunday lesson - because in those days we
couldn’t imagine having snack, of all things - was the flannel graph. And when Sister Sellers would come to the
part of the angels praising God, she would place them on the flannel board high in
the sky. After all, if angels have wings, they surely ought to use them.
I think our tendency to think of flying angels comes from several sources. It may
make us think of Jacob’s dream of angels ascending and descending a giant
ladder to heaven. Or maybe we are influenced by Isaiah’s vision of the throne room
with winged seraphs flying as they praised God. And certainly our imagination has been shaped by films,art and animation that we have seen depicting the scene. But
this year when I read Luke 2:13 I wasn’t reminded of flying angels on a flannel
graph: “Suddenly a great company of the
heavenly host appeared with the angel praising God and saying “Glory to God
in the highest and on earth peace to men.” The phrase translated as “great
company of the heavenly host” here literally means several troops of heavens
armies, with the connotation that they are as numerous as the stars. These angels
are different than the flying seraphs or the fiery cherubim, who are always
mentioned being around the throne of God. Throughout the Bible, when angels appeared
to people on earth, they never flew and they always had their feet firmly on
the ground. So what must have the shepherds seen that evening?
The image I now get is more similar to the appearance of the
elvish armies in the movie The Hobbit 3. The people of Laketown turn around and
suddenly there are thousands of formidable tall, armored soldiers in formation,
surrounding them and ready for battle. Revelation tells us that Jesus will one
day lead heaven’s armies against the Antichrist. Also, the sword wielding
commander of the Lord’s armies who appears to Joshua is considered by many
scholars to be a theophany, or an Old Testament pre-incarnational appearance of
Jesus. Since Jesus is the captain of heaven’s armies, I imagine his troops were
pretty concerned that their commander-in-chief was going to make his entrance
into the world as a helpless baby. So it is in this atmosphere where Herod’s soldiers
wanted to kill Him, as the Roman
soldiers who filled the land would later also do, that heaven’s armies wanted
to make a pretty impressive show of force. One minute the shepherds are spoken to by a lone
angel, and impacting as that may have been, the next moment they are suddenly overwhelmed
by thousands of imposing, shining heavenly soldiers thundering a chant of
praise and exaltation to their Lord and Commander, daring any force of hell or
earth to endanger the vulnerable baby just born in a rickety cowshed nearby. No
wonder the shepherds felt compelled to go and find Him and tell everyone about Him. And
it is no wonder that their story was told with enough conviction and force to
convince all that heard their tale. They still had the glow and authority of
witnessing the forces of heaven on their face and in their voice.
For us this Christmas, this baby has grown into a Savior,
died and rose a King, and still commands this great army of heaven. But now, our
Lord leads His celestial soldiers to protect us and battle on our behalf. We may sometimes feel as
marginalized and uninfluential as the shepherds. But with a fresh vision of the
armies of heaven that surround us, we too can be as bold and convincing as the
shepherds that fateful evening to spread the word about Jesus, causing others
to be convinced and amazed.
Sister Sellers went to heaven a while back. So I am sure she
knows now that most angels don’t fly. But she still has my respect. This little
boy grew up to believe her stories and, like Mary, I still ponder them in my heart.
