Glory - There are many ways of thinking about the word glory; We can think of it as praise, honour, or distinction extended by common consent or as worshipful praise, honour, and thanksgiving. Then there is the notion great beauty and splendour sometimes referred to a Magnificence. But what was the glory sung about when the angel’s appeared to the shepherds on the hillside outside Bethlehem?
“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” Luke 2:10-14
When we think about it, although the the angelic proclamation is described in glorious terms, the actual reason for the glory was the image of a humble birth in a borrowed room. I think that John Betjeman beautifully frames the true nature of God’s glorious humility, “And is it true? And is it true, This most tremendous tale of all, Seen in a stained-glass window’s hue, A Baby in an ox’s stall? The Maker of the stars and sea Become a Child on earth for me?”
Many people are hungry for the greatness, grandeur and glory of God. They are looking for something bigger themselves and bigger than this physical or temporal experience. People are searching for transcendence.
The Bible mentions the glory of God many times throughout its pages. Yet glory remains an elusive concept. What is the glory of God? And how can we, individually and corporately, glorify him?
True we can see the glory of God in the beauty, intricacy and variety of nature. We can also glorify God with words of heartfelt praise and adoration.
Often the church has a high concept of the sublime majesty and glory of God, and longs for its manifestation, but God’s glory is also manifested when his people engage in lowly works that continue Jesus’ mission of bringing hope and healing to the world. I read recently, “As long as we are in the day of small things, then, our job is to bear the Spirit’s fruit of faithfulness as we wait for God to bring the big things. And our job is to see, by faith, his glory is often in the small things right in front of us.”
Prayer:
Show us, Oh God, how to live our daily lives that we may glorify you in the common tasks of life. Many centuries ago there was a genius of the spiritual life, Brother Lawrence, a cook and shoemaker, who wrote: "Having given myself to God, having renounced all that is not God, I have come to see that my only business is to live as though there were none but God and I in the world." Let us focus on the radiance of Jesus' transfigured presence, and work for a world transfigured in the glory of Jesus' justice and love. In the name of Jesus, the Crucified and Risen Lord. Amen.
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