I watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles last night. No, don’t laugh. Stay with me please. I really am going somewhere with this. I watched the new TMNT 2 movie and it was cute in a “why have you ruined my nostalgic memories as well as my favorite TV character” sort of way. Steven Amell, who plays Oliver Queen/Green Arrow on one of the only TV shows currently worth watching was in this Turtle movie as a security guard who turns out to be the hockey stick, mask and roller blade wearing KC of old.

At the beginning of the movie he is in the armored transport that is moving the villain Shredder to a different location when the first the foot clan and then the Turtles in their Turtle van show up. Shredder does manage to get away and KC finds himself being debriefed by the “real” police. Can you imagine how that went for him? “These ninjas on motorcycles just showed up out of nowhere blowing up all our escort cars. Then this big yellow dump truck arrived and it started shooting manhole covers at the ninjas and there these big nunchuck things on the sides and…” Ummm. Can we get this guy drug tested?

Angels We Have Heard On High is a song sung by the shepherds. It is a song of declaration. Now, as I said earlier, “sweetly” would probably not be a word they used to describe that song. Majestic. Glorious. Overwhelming. Awesome. These words would fit but sweetly probably would not have fit in their lexicon. Let us not forget, the first thing an angel almost always says when a human sees them is, “don’t be afraid”. Angels are warriors and quite frightening ones by our standards. These guys just say many armies of angels crying out glory. I really don’t think “sweetly” fits into that picture.

Can you imagine these shepherds trying to tell others their story?
“The whole night sky was lit up by thousands upon thousands of these glowing warriors screaming out their victory shout right after their leader told us where to go and find the Messiah.”
“Really? And where is this Messiah?”
“Well, there is this poor couple that just arrived in town. They are staying in a barn and she just gave birth to a baby boy. When we arrived she had him wrapped in soft rags and laying in a feeding trough.”
“Ummm. Can we get this guy drug tested?”

The story of redemption beggars belief. It did then and it still does today. If His coming then made sense, it would not have been worth sharing. God’s first missionaries were a bunch of redneck ranchers sent to a town swelling with blueblood elites (those claiming descent from royalty). The first missionary to gentiles would be a man who just hours before had been demon possessed running naked through a graveyard. The method, means, and message God is using today seems just as senseless to those hearing it. If what we have to say and how we are saying it makes sense, then it probably is not from God. He uses foolishness to confound the wise. We are like KC trying to explain what we have seen and heard to people who will not drop their skepticism until they are able to see it for themselves. That is why the very next part of the shepherds song is come and see for yourself. “Come to Bethlehem and see Christ whose birth the angels sing. Come adore on bended knee Christ the Lord the newborn King.”

This holiday season I pray that God will reveal Himself to you in ways that are astounding. Me He show You a glimpse of Himself and and commission you for a mission that will beggar the belief of all who hear of it. May the reality of who He is and what He is doing leave such an impact on you that all who see your change will call you insane. Then may the words He speaks through you this season help you bring others to come and see and be forever changed themselves.