I have some serious issues with this song. Well, my issue is not really with the song so much as with this arrangement. Don’t get me wrong. It is beautiful. It is melodic. Their voices are great and the orchestral accompaniment is spot on. It is exactly the type of arrangement I want to listen to when I am getting ready for bed. The problem is, those angels crying out were not trying to put people to sleep. They were trying to wake them up.

Now I am not going to go so far as Vernon McGee and say that angels cannot or do not ever sing, but it is interesting to note that in scripture they are always “crying out”, “proclaiming”, “saying”, etc. If you wanted to argue that they do actually sing, you would have a tough time showing me that in scripture. Either way, it is a non issue in the larger scheme of things. Let us for argument’s sake say they were singing. I very highly doubt they sounded like that beautiful melody above. Instead imagine with me a multitude of heavenly hosts (literally a whole bunch of armies) singing this out sounding something a bit more like this…

I am a baseball fan. More specifically I am a Yankee’s fan. One of my favorites was retiring this year. Mark Teixeira was in his last ever at bat against our arch rival Red Sox and the Yankees were losing. The bases were loaded. Can you imagine the pandemonium that stadium went into when he hit a walk off grand slam? That stadium went bonkers and I, watching the game days later on my computer went just as crazy even though I knew it was gonna happen. When I picture those angels, I see the sold out stadium of heaven all rising to their feet and going bonkers for Jesus. This is Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the equalizer in the 90th minute of a champions league finals match against Barca. This is screaming yourself hoarse as Secretariat pulls ahead in the Belmont to win the Triple Crown in epic fashion. This is party in the streets on VE day. This is a Mia Hamm World Cup perfect penalty kick.

What is your greatest moment in sports history? What is the greatest single instant in your own personal life? What is the greatest moment in the history of time itself? This is it. The world was all on a different channel but these angels didn’t miss it. When they cut loose, it was not some stand straight, shoulders back, arms folded before you, now a sustained “gloria” in your best falsetto. No way, this is jump high in the air, arms akimbo, red face with a vein popping out of your neck singing.

Can you feel it? Do you hear it? If the reality of the incarnation does not move us then we must not really know what the reality of the incarnation is all about. The Kingdom of God is a party. Let’s celebrate.