Gloria!
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The International Terminal at O’Hare Airport is one of my favorite places to watch people. One moment in particular captures my interest. Once the travelers have collected their luggage and passed through customs, they take their final steps through a set of double doors to the public spaces where a sea of smiling faces greets them. Families outside the doors eagerly await the first glimpse of their loved ones—Grandma coming for an extended visit or lovers reuniting after a long separation. Some stand on tip-toe just to catch that first glimpse of their loved ones. Others tote huge bouquets of balloons or flowers. Some even bring homemade signs that say, “Welcome Home!”
Last Saturday, our daughter arrived through those double doors after three months of studying in London, and as my husband and I waited for her arrival, I could hardly stand still. I was the one on tip-toe trying to get the first glimpse of her coming through those double doors. I eagerly anticipated the moment when I would put my arms around my girl and hug her tight after months of separation. As she finally came through the doors, weary from the long flight yet smiling widely, I practically knocked over the others in the crowd who stood in my way as my daughter and I ran toward each other.
“Welcome home!” we all shouted. Welcome home, dear one.
*****
A few weeks ago, I heard Phil Wickham in concert in Texas, and one of the songs he sang has changed the way I have thought about Christmas this year. In the song, “Face of God,” he sings about Mary’s perspective as the first person on earth to actually look into God’s eyes.
The chorus of the song says this:
“Gloria, I hear the angels singing Gloria
All of the heavens ringing, Gloria!
The Savior of the world is in her arms
She’s staring at the face of God.”
Think about that! To be the first person to look the God of the Universe in the eye. What a special blessing for her.
But for some reason, the words of the angels caught my attention—how their first words to the shepherds were “Gloria in excelsis Deo!”
Gloria! Christ has come!
This year I’ve thought more and more about that glory. The angels obviously thought that the birth of that baby was something to celebrate—“Gloria!” they shouted. But why?
In the past, I’ve always thought that of course they were singing “Gloria” because Christ had come to earth and that now we humans would have a chance to spend eternity with God, which is certainly true. A reason to shout “Gloria!” for sure.
But I think there’s more. God sent the angels to proclaim Gloria. He’s the one who told them that Jesus’s birth was something to celebrate because God Himself was celebrating.
But, again, why?
I mean, think about it. He had just given up his only son to come to a place and a situation that was, shall we say, less than ideal. The government was giving the people fits. His parents weren’t wealthy by any stretch of the imagination. He had no prestige or power. From the very start, it looked like the odds were stacked against Jesus having a successful life (as we here today measure success).
Yet God in Heaven was celebrating the fact that his very own son had finally come to earth.
This mystery, as most, needs to be examined from a different angle—not my own perspective, but God’s. You see, my perspective has always been, “I’m so glad Jesus came because now I can spend eternity with God in Heaven.” It’s to my advantage. Granted, this is a me-centered angle. I wouldn’t say it’s a wrong angle; it’s definitely a truth we find in Scripture.
But when I started thinking about God’s perspective in all of this, suddenly my mind was blown. God’s reason to celebrate is so much bigger than our personal salvation. You see, from the beginning when Adam and Eve sinned, there has been separation between God and his people. Throughout the Old Testament, God gave his people lots of laws and rituals that they would have to go through in order to be reunited with him, but these laws and rituals were onerous and nobody could keep them perfectly.
The separation continued for thousands of years. In fact, for four hundred years God was completely silent. But some believed and continued to wait for the Messiah—they knew that this promised Messiah would be the One to bring God and his people back together again. Forever.
Jesus was that Promised One. And on the day he was born, God sent angels to sing “Gloria!” because finally HE could be reunited with US! God has been longing for this day even more than the prophets had. Because He created us and loves us, God desires communion with us even more than we desire it with Him. And now, because Jesus came, that pathway has been made clear.
No more laws. No more rituals. No more bloody sacrifices. Jesus did that once and for all.
When I think about God sending the angels to proclaim the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, I now imagine his delight—the thrill of hope—because He loves us so much and wants us to be with Him forever. And He provided the way for us to come to Him—that baby whom we celebrate. Whom God celebrates!
And in the end, the Bible tells us, there will also be great rejoicing for those whom Jesus came to rescue.
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.
He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,
and God himself will be with them as their God.’”
God himself. With us. Emmanuel.
This year, as I think about Christmas, I’m thinking not in terms of what I get out of Jesus’s coming, but what God gets, too—the gift of being reunited with His people. Forever. Of being able to commune with us once again.
The celebration is about to begin. The house is ready. The beds are made. The food is prepared. Now it’s just time to gather His people.
And I imagine this: God standing outside the double doors of the International Terminal, on his tip-toes, just waiting to greet us with a huge hug and a sign that says, “Welcome home!”
Welcome home, dear one. Welcome home.
