Angels We Have Heard on High

Silence. Absolute silence. After more than a thousand years of God speaking to his people through the prophets, there was nothing. The book of Malachi concludes the chapter of creation wherein God consistently sent prophets to speak his words. How silent? Over 400 years silent. While we see books like “Maccabees” in the “Catholic Bible”, they (by their own admission) were not written by the prophets. They are simply histories of the time period. In them, they ask where the prophets have gone.

During the period of time that God was speaking through the prophets, he constantly spoke of the One who was to come. The entire Old Testament points toward the day that God would not speak through prophets, but would come to earth himself. Be born of a virgin. Put the government on his shoulders. The scriptures point toward a day when the prophesies would no longer be promises of things to come, but they would be fulfilled. A glorious day that is spoken of throughout the entirety of the many books and centuries of the Old Testament cannon.

But, then, nothing.

Silence.

Generation after generation passed with no word from heaven.

The silence was deafening.

But then, one night “…there were shepherds in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good new of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger”. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

The silence was broken. Eternity split in two. God sent more than a prophet to speak on his behalf. He sent himself.

When we sing Angels We Have Heard on High, we remember the night that God came to us. We remember those that he first spoke to. We remember the birth. And we sing “in excelsis Deo!” (which means “Glory to God in the highest”) just as the angels did as they proclaimed the incarnation of God. As we sing these things, we remember that God is not silent or still, no matter what our perception may be, but, in the middle of our doubts and fears, is ready to split the sky and change everything. Glory to God in the highest!