What Do Angels Say?

Shepherds were watching their flocks by night…suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and they were terribly frightened but the angel said….
—Luke 2:8-10

Ever heard an angel speak?

The Christmas story is full of angels. Gabriel is perhaps the busiest; speaking with so many different folk as noted by Dr. Luke in the first chapters of his gospel.

What do angels say? Ask Zachariah, Joseph, Mary, Elizabeth, or a hillside of sleepy shepherds...they will tell you what angels say! 

“Fear not!”
“Don’t be afraid!”
“Don’t be frightened!”
Every time angels speak, they start with the assuring words—the comforting words that allay the fears of their listeners. In doing so they teach us an important lesson: Before you can really hear, you need to deal with the fear. Dealing with fear increases the capacity to hear…not just with ears but perhaps more importantly, with the heart!

It is a pretty amazing experience when God interrupts your life with a message. It may not be a message of words as much a message of experience, like health; physically, financially, relationally, or spiritually.

Whatever it may be the message that finds you in the midst of life. Whether bored like the shepherds, or worried like Joseph, or overwhelmed like Mary, or discouraged like Zechariah, the message finds you. Wherever you are, the message always starts with:”Fear not…don’t be afraid, don’t be frightened!”

You have the sacred ministry of meeting people in the midst of their lives as they struggle with the messages of their health or lack thereof. They fear the unknown; they worry about knowing for sure what they fear.  You have the responsibility of helping them hear, by first helping them deal with their fear.

What do angels say? You say it many times each day: “Don’t be afraid, don’t be frightened.” Because hope is present; in your care and counsel, in the sciences of medicine you represent and most of all in God; who, as the Christmas story tells us, has come to be by our side.