Day 5 – Serving Jesus a Happy Meal

Read: Luke 2:8-21

Its 3:30 AM on Wednesday and you are stuck at work. You’ve been down on your luck lately and forced to just take a job well below your capability. As it turns out McDonald’s is always hiring. So here you are going about your business as the late night shift coordinator on a slow weeknight at McDonalds. No excitement is expected to happen beyond a random drive thru order. Maybe your new buddies, the night shift janitors from the office building across the street, will come in for their nightly coffee break.

To help alleviate the boredom, you wander outside to throw out some trash. Suddenly a bright light lights up the sky brighter than the day! An imposing spirit-like being appears in the sky, far too bright to be a ghost. Is it an angel? By this time your coworkers have seen the light and made it outside, so it’s clearly not your imagination.

“Don’t worry, I have great news for you!” Says the angel, his voice sounds like thunder but is strangely calming. “In this very night the KING and LIBERATOR of the world has been born! God himself has come down! You can find the family huddled in a back alley and the baby wrapped in old clothes and garbage bags.”

Before you had any time to digest what that could possibly mean, the lit-up sky was suddenly filled with thousands of these terrifying angels. They began to praise God for the mighty things he had done. The sounds of their voices was not that of a pleasant choir but sounded like a packed out stadium of a victorious home crowd. At this point everyone within the block had come out to see this boundless celebration.

Suddenly at the top of their voices the angels chanted in unison, “Glory to God in Heaven! See his greatness! Fullness and life shall come to those who please him! Glory to Him alone!” This chant of praise went on and on and soon more and more angels were present. It seemed that Heaven itself was opening up.

Then as quickly as they had come, they disappeared and the quiet night returned. Everyone who had gathered just stood there in shock. You look around, blink a few times and start to wonder what it all means. The angels did say something about a baby, a really important baby! Someone suggests that we should go find this baby. Of course! Why didn’t you think of that first! So the whole crowd goes off to find the baby of utmost importance, McDonald’s workers, janitors and everyone else.

As you search for the baby, you begin to wonder, why did the angel announce this to you the down and out? Will this baby really make a difference in your life? All of Heaven seemed to make a huge deal about this baby, will the baby be as big a deal to you?