Luke 2:1-20
Christmas Day (08)
Patrick Preheim
Angelic Messages
We often think of an angelic message as being one of great comfort. We think
of angels watching over us or our loved ones. We think of angels as God’s
messengers sent to direct those in need. While these are all biblical images of
angels, the angelic message to the shepherds on Christmas morning is something
different. Their words are a taunt, a warning, insurrection. On the bulletin
cover this morning I paired down the words of the Angels in Luke 2: I bring you
good news for all the people... a Saviour is born... Glory to God and on earth
peace! The phrases of good news, all the people, saviour, and peace stand out to
people who are familiar with Caesar Augustus and the cult of Emperor worship
present in the Roman Empire at the time of Christ’s birth. The birth story in
Luke’s Gospel is not some schmaltzy account of angels, animals, and a beautiful
little baby. It is the stuff of counter insurgency-- Christian style. It is a
slap in the face of Caesar Augustus. The birth narrative of Luke takes the lofty
claims of Augustus and hijacks them in use for the Kingdom of God. And Luke does
so with a bit of edge.
“Good News” is the first phrase the angel of the Lord issues after calming the
fear of the Shepherds. Good news is a concept with which the church is familiar.
Evengelium is the Greek term from which we translate gospel, good news, or good
tidings. We talk about the good news (the gospel) according to Matthew / Mark /
Luke/ John; we use the term gospel or good news when referring to missions; we
even have a translation of the Bible called the Good News Bible. The citizens of
the Roman Empire would have had different associations with the term good news.
Archaeologists and readers of ancient texts have evidence that Augustus used the
following monograph at his birthday parties: “the birthday of the god has marked
the beginning of the good news for the world” (Robert C. Tannehill, Luke, the
Abingdon New Testament Commentary (1996), p.66). Augustus began erecting
monuments and signing birthday letters announcing that his birth was divine,
that it was good news, and that it was for the world. I find this inscription of
Caesar Augustus and the Angelic message a noteworthy parallel. The concept of
evengelium (good news) is redefined by the story of God in Christ. Good News in
a biblical sense involves dignity, community, and health-- all emanating from
God. Good news in a Roman sense entails enslavement of foreigners, confiscation
of crops by Roman authorities, and other structured inequalities. Is the birth
of Augustus good news if you are a Carthaginian or German facing a Roman spear?
Are newly created Roman highways good news if the primary intent of the road is
the quick deployment of soldiers? The angels announce that Christ’s birth is
good news, but not the same kind of evengelium as Caesar Augustus. The birth of
Christ is good news because it extends dignity to shepherds, reconciles tax
collectors and the taxed, and brings life out of death. The differences between
the good news spoken of by Caesar and the good news spoken of by the angels
would not have been lost on a first century audience.
The similarity between Caesar’s monograph and the angel’s proclamation continues
in the intended audience of the good news. In one case it is for the world and
in the other it is for all people. The birth narrative opens with Caesar
Augustus commanding people back to their ancestral cities to be enrolled. This
is in effect a census, and a census was often associated with raising money and
men for a military campaign. We begin to see the insidious good news that Caesar
has for the world. The decree of Caesar is a prelude to stripping the
communities of men and money so that the world can be conquered militarily. The
decree of Caesar has a lot to do with fear-- fear if you do not comply with the
enrolment and instilling fear in the nations surrounding Rome. The God of heaven
also makes a decree for all people, but the orders issued in Luke 2 contrast
with those of Caesar. To begin with, the words of God via the angels have
nothing to with fear. In fact, the lead angel begins with “do not be afraid”.
The poor and the foreigner have nothing to fear. The enrolment God has in mind
is for the purpose of giving a gift, not taxation. In fact, God comes to us
wherever we are to enrol us- we don’t need to travel anywhere to be counted. God
comes to earth in a baby; God comes to the shepherds in dark of night; God comes
to our hearts. God has enrolled us and wants to give us a present regardless of
our position in life. The fact that the angels appear to the shepherds, a lowly
lifestyle by first century standards, is evidence that God counts us as precious
whatever our station in life. And Jesus continues this theme in his ministry. In
Luke’s gospel Jesus will seek out priest and prostitute, soldier and Samaritan,
Gentile and Jew-- all people. Caesar claims to have good news for the world and
the angel’s claim good news for all people. The life of Christ in Luke’s gospel
demonstrates that it is God, not Caesar, that has good news for ALL the people.
The angels continue by announcing that a saviour has been born. We should be
getting familiar with the pattern—yes, Caesar too was called a saviour. “The
Greek cities of Asia Minor... adopted a new calendar with Augustus’s birthday as
the first day of the year, calling him “saviour” (Tannehill 66). The angels of
Luke 2 call Jesus a saviour much the same way that the Greek cities of Asia
Minor had given the name saviour to Caesar Augustus. We are not certain which
Augustinian policies motivated the Greek cities to give him this title, but we
can guess that his acts of salvation had something to do with resources,
shelter, or protection. In all likelihood the salvation of the Greek cities came
at the expense of other cities in the Empire. Jesus too is called a saviour, and
based upon biblical texts we have a sense of what the angels meant. “Jesus is a
saviour because he will save his people from their enemies...He is a saviour
also because, as ruler, he can grant the forgiveness of sins”. He is a saviour
because renewed opportunities for repentance and forgiveness flow from Jesus
after his death (Ibid, 66-67). The salvation of Jesus is not a limited resource.
Both Greek and Germans cities have access to the salvation. To save one group
does not deprive the other of new life. This is a different kind of salvation
that what we see with Cesar.
The angels of Luke proclaim peace. Caesar Augustus, we should not be surprised,
also fashioned himself a peace maker. Historians have given the title “Pax
Romana” (Roman peace) or even “Pax Augustus” (Wikipedia) to this era. There was
at least one first century Roman altar erected on behalf of Augustinian peace (Tannhill
66). Augustus achieved this peace through consolidating the offices of the Roman
Republic which held any power into his position as Caesar. “He was consul,
tribune, chief priest of the civic religion and the public censor. He ruled by
personal prestige: he was first citizen among equals and father of the country.
He was the supreme ruler, the king, the emperor and his authority was absolute”
(lecture found at www.historyguide. org/ancient/lecture12b.html). As a few
revolutionary and insubordinate generals learned, there was peace so long as you
agreed with Caesar. The peace was externally imposed. The angels announce that
the baby Jesus will bring peace. It is a different peace than the Pax Augustus.
Pax Augustus is externally imposed. The peace of Christ is voluntarily chosen
and emanates from the inside. Pax Augustus is spread with the sword. The peace
of Jesus is spread with kind words and deeds. Pax Augustus ended after 200
years. The peace of Christ continues until this day.
“The claim made about Jesus in the infancy narrative would seem very bold,
perhaps ridiculous, in the context of the first century. Even though the claims
of some Roman emperors to be “saviours” who bring [“good news”] and “peace”
might provoke cynicism, their power was obvious to all, while the claim that
Jesus is the true peace bringing saviour, whose birth is good news, would seem
incredible to many” (Tannehill, 68). The claims made by the angels are amazing,
but they are more realistic than the various slogans the Caesars of our world
toss about. God has decreed that we be enrolled. God has counted us and called
us by name. More than that, this census is all for the purpose of gift giving,
not taxation or conscription. Peace, salvation, good news is for each of us and
for all people. It is a peace that begins inside of us and radiates outward. It
will not coerce others into believing. It will not be snuffed out. This is the
Angelic message. It has proven more forceful and successful than any policy the
Caesars have put together.
The Caesars of our world will make lofty claims and try to get us to conform to
their vision of the world. The angel’s message is resistance as is the response
of the shepherds. I would invite us to be like the shepherds on this Christmas
day, at our various Christmas gatherings, and in the new year. The shepherds do
not fully understand the meaning of the angelic message. They do, however,
faithful go to Bethlehem. Something happens in their journey to the manger, or
in their meditation on the Holy family, or on the trip back to their fields.
They become “earthly messengers of the heavenly messengers” (ibid., 67). Do
something this holiday season that helps you continue on the journey to or from
the place of this new birth. Maybe that is saying a kind word to a family member
with whom you otherwise disagree. Help with a chore around the house. Stand up
for someone who is disenfranchised. Meditate on the Christ being born within
you. These are just some of the acts of the Shepherds that result from the
angelic message. They are acts that help define the good news of a saviour for
all people. May God grace us with wisdom and strength as we resist the Caesars
of our world and seek to live out the birth of Christ in our time and place.
Amen.