An Angel's Christmas Musings

[Based on Philippians 2:5-7]

I don’t understand.  It makes no sense. But then, His ways are often mysterious – even to us angels.
For ages my assignment was to worship the Son.  I say “was” because all that’s changed now.  I’ve been reassigned because the Son no longer dwells in heaven.

We all watched it happen and were stunned.  He rose from His heavenly throne in more glory than I think we’d ever seen Him arrayed before.  Our praises were the loudest I’d ever heard.  But as we watched and sang, He reached up and unclasped His robe of light and laid it on the throne. Then He walked slowly away, fading as He did. Our song faltered as we watched Him disappear. It ended when He vanished altogether.

Never before had we seen such a thing.  For endless ages it had been our delight to worship Him, and never had He left us. Then Gabriel came and told us what had happened. The Son laid aside His glory and went to that lone trouble spot in the Universe, Earth.  The One who’d spoken Creation into existence was now going to enter it as a man.

We all were in shock. Then the possibilities of what the Son could do began to dawn on us.
 
Earth was the only place in all creation in rebellion against God and man was the rebel. The Son could fix all that. Certainly as soon as He arrived there, they’d recognize Who He was and turn from their rebellion.  We pictured Him coming to Earth’s largest city as their magnificent and benevolent Ruler. Oh, how quickly He would turn things around. There would be harmony in the universe once more!
 
But Gabriel told us the Father had a much different plan than we angels were sure of. The Son would enter the world as a new-born. He would be born in an obscure village far from the center of earthly power.
 
All of that happened 9 months ago; and as I said, I’ve been reassigned.  My task now is to keep watch over a five year old boy named Simon, the son of a fisherman in Capernaum. Gabriel told me to keep a close eye on him because he’s going to be an important part of the Father’s Plan in another 30 years.  My hands are pretty full watching him. He seems to always be getting into either danger or trouble.  More than once I’ve wondered why God chooses to use such instruments to do His will.
 
Word has just reached me through the angelic grapevine that tonight is the night when the Son will be born.
 
It’s hard to put it all together; how One so glorious and powerful could be reduced and confined to something so weak and vulnerable as an human infant.  Do His parents know who He is?  Will they love and take care of Him as we did for countless ages?  Will those to whom He comes worship Him?  Will they hang on every word as we did?