A light stirred during the night watch. At first, it was distant, far off, but the light was coming closer.
“Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over the flock” (Lk 2:8).
The light stood out in the night for more reasons than one. There was a stirring within this light. There was Light within this light.
And then: “The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear” (Lk 2:9).
The angel appeared to the shepherds of that first Christmas in a field near Bethlehem. It was the most real light they had ever seen.
Angels are spiritual beings
Angels are not fairy tale creatures or New Age sprites. Angels are real spiritual beings. In fact, they are pure spirits. Angels are invisible, but they can surrender their invisibility as God permits and become visible.
To say they are “pure spirits” does not mean they are ghosts, or phantasms, or apparitions. It means they are a special kind of being: a real personal being created by God with free will and intellect. Angels are part of the invisible, but nonetheless real creation.
Angels are present in and work within the visible world, but in such a way that they are not confined by laws that govern physical bodies in time and space. Their nature as pure spirits allows them to transcend the laws of time and space, and not be seen or restricted in the way a physical body would be. God can permit them to assume a corporeal body for a time to assist their mission.
Angelic knowledge
As pure spirits, angels know things much more directly and completely than we do. They know intuitively the depth of the glory of God, the tremendous light of his presence. They receive the light of his interior mysteries and his plan of divine providence. As messengers of God’s supernatural light, the good and holy angels long to make known our path to union with God and to protect us on that path with their friendship.
What light is to the human eye, angels are to the human soul. The angels uncover for us the deep mysteries of God in in a way that we can absorb the beauty of Christ. This often takes a long time — not because God or the angels are deficient, but because of us. We learn gradually, over time, through experience. The angels especially help us to untangle our expectations so that we can rely on the providence of God. This is no easy task. We are often in love with our expectations and won’t let go of them.
Managing expectations
Expectations are a drug. And like other drugs, it doesn’t take much for an expectation to become a demand. Expectations become alluring as we face daily life, as we face stress, pressure and tension. The drug of expectations becomes appealing as we are hounded by recurrent fears, sad regrets and trying to make everything perfect. This drug entices us as we overthink our troubles, as we are led back to continually trying to somehow decipher what is wrong with us. In this maelstrom, we are easily worn out and seek to escape. Our escape route focuses us on channeling all our energy into meeting our high expectations that, if only we attain them, promise us relief and deliverance. But unreachable as they are, the high expectations only drive us deeper into a frenzy as they evaporate and leave us stranded.
Angels don’t evaporate. Angels never leave us stranded. The holy angels lead us to Christ. The Christmas angels dispelled the dense darkness of night and joined in the magnificent hymn: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Lk 2:14). Let’s turn our eyes from our expectations. Instead, let’s keep watch, because there is a light approaching us, too. There is a stirring inside the light. There is Light within this light. It is the One who alone brings deliverance:
“For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord” (Lk 2:11).
Msgr. J. Brian Bransfield is the author of “Angels: Our Guardians in Spiritual Battle” (OSV, $19.95) and is pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Aston, Pennsylvania.
