PICTURE: June Dudley (iStockphoto.com) "Because everything is new with God, it's like attending an opening night at the theatre, or an art gallery, where we engage with and are enthralled by the work presented. Things are distilled. Things are intensified. And your spirit rises up and says "yes, yes" in tumultuous applause. Every work of God, seen clearly, stirs this type of response. We can but praise Him for His works are glorious."

21st December, 2004

LLOYD HARKNESS

Gloria in Excelsis Deo! (Luke 2:14) Christmas has arrived. Glory be to the Father who has given us his Son. Glory! Glory?

In my early twenties I was part of a church whose pastor often spoke about the glory of God. Despite his enthusiastic teaching on the subject, and perhaps because it was my early days as a Christian, I never grasped the idea of God's glory. I sort of felt it had to do with angels and being in an ecstatic state in God's presence but the reality of this was all a bit fuzzy.

Let's build on my, and hopefully your, understanding of glory this Christmas.

Glory is splendour. Glory is perfection. Glory is supernatural. Glory is authority with liberality.

Glory emanates from God. Glory unwrapped delineates God's character, his reputation, his honour, his dignity and his renown. Glory is pure goodness and God is good.

God is glorious. "Gloria in Excelsis Deo!" Jesus is the glory of God revealed to us. Whenever God manifests His grace and power we behold His glory and are caught up with the same host of heaven who rejoiced over the babe in the manger. Every unfolding creative act of God is glorious.

Because everything is new with God, it's like attending an opening night at the theatre, or an art gallery, where we engage with and are enthralled by the work presented. Things are distilled. Things are intensified. And your spirit rises up and says "yes, yes" in tumultuous applause. Every work of God, seen clearly, stirs this type of response. We can but praise Him for His works are glorious.

God is flawless and when we see and acknowledge Him we are drawn into His glory, His likeness - even Christ - whom we are called to be disciples, or imitators, of. When we behold Him our hearts lodge in our throats and while we are gagging, everything within us is bubbling and pinging and rejoicing. Then come the words and the singing and the clapping and the dancing and the cartwheels and the air-punching exuberance. We become a one man/woman African gospel service going off.

This is the image of heaven we are given in the Book of Revelation. A range of angelic beings gathers about God's throne continually crying "glory, glory to God in the highest!". Now this can sound like a boring liturgical dirge if you don't know what is happening within them and between them and God. We can also conjure up an image of what is happening but still not be touched by God's glory, a bit like my early days "fuzzy understanding".

God is God and everything He puts his hand to is majestic in its form, character and execution. Glory is to be a liturgy that spills from us because we have been witnesses of God at work. Behold a saviour has been born unto us. Glory. Come and see. Come and see His glory.

As the old French carol Gloria declares, angels are "sweetly singing over the plains", shepherds have "songs of happy cheer" and all those gathered around are joining in the chorus "Gloria in Excelsis Deo: Gloria in Excelsis Deo!"

And now for a doxology, or three.

Romans 11:36: "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen."

Galatians 1:4-5: "...who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and forever. Amen."

And my favourite -

Jude 24-25: "To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen."