What in heaven's name is Glory?

‘Angels from the realms of glory… now proclaim Messiah’s birth’, so goes the Christmas carol, one which we may hear or sing during the next few weeks. What does the word ‘glory’ actually mean?

When we say that something is glorious, we are wanting to speak of its magnificence, beauty, dignity and weightiness.

We read in the Bible that at pivotal moments God’s glory shows itself to his people in various forms - light, cloud and fire. This is referred to as the Glory of the Lord. When we hear the Christmas nativity story, we are reminded that, when the heavenly messenger spoke about the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, the Glory of the Lord shone around. The moment was majestic, one of magnificence and beauty. The message being conveyed was weighty and needed to be received with dignity.

Perhaps adults should bear this in mind as the back story when seeing children performing nativity plays. After all, those shepherds were described as being terrified, so awesome was the occasion. It was for this reason the angelic messenger said ‘Fear not’ and then went on to inform them about the arrival of Jesus and who he was – the long-awaited Messiah.

The great news, or glad tidings, was to be received with joy by those who welcomed it; Messiah had now come and was to be their saviour. The magnificence of the event only increased as other angelic messengers arrived and began to explain more by singing of God’s glory: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and peace to those on whom his favour rests.’

In general, we have grown up with the notion that at Christmastime ‘peace and goodwill (favour)’ is something we are to be sharing with one another, ‘Have a Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year’. The emphasis of the original Christmas proclamation, however, is more to do with God presenting his goodwill and favour by bringing about peace between himself and his people. The idea of peace between God and us only makes sense when we realise the estrangement which, if we’re honest, we know exists within our hearts. Jesus is where God’s goodwill towards us and proffered peace are to be found.