Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:14 KJV For some of us, Christmas wouldn’t be complete without a Sunday school pageant featuring a seven year-old Mary carrying a baby-doll Jesus. It is wonderful seeing how children connect with Jesus, because He came as a real baby. But the angel who came announcing the birth of that baby, was soon surrounded by a whole choir of angels singing, “Glory to God in the Highest!” They remind us that Christmas is not just about Mary and Joseph and the wise men with their gifts. Christmas is about God revealing Himself in a manger. Just as the smallest candle can light the darkest room, so God’s glory shone the brightest when He came as an innocent, helpless child. Angels carried the message; a star led the wise men and shepherds ran to worship as God’s glory touched earth on that night in Bethlehem. The words of the choir of, – Angels We Have Heard on High – “Glo-ooooo-ooooo-oooooria! In excelsis Deo,” are Latin for “Glory to God in the highest. “When the message of God’s glory rings out from our hearts, though our situation may not change, we are filled with joy. If we will invite Him in, Jesus has come to be born in the very darkest places of our lives. He has come to shine God’s glory around us and to bring His good will to men.

Angels We Have Heard on High from the French “Les Anges dans nos campagnes” Music by Wilfrid Moreau. Translated in 1842 by James Chadwick

Caligiuri, Peter. A Christmas Treasury: Large Print Edition (pp. 7-9). Kindle Edition.