Angels and the Song

In his discussion of the birth of Christ, Benedict XVI quotes St. Luke 2:12-14, the angels appearing to the shepherds. Of these verses he writes:

According to the evangelist, the angels “said” this [v. 12]. But Christianity has always understood that the speech of angels is actually song, in which all the glory of the great joy that they proclaim becomes tangibly present. And so, from that moment, the angels’ song of praise has never gone silent. It continues down the centuries in constantly new forms and it resounds ever anew at the celebration of Jesus’ birth. It is only natural that simple believers would then hear the shepherds singing too, and to this day they join in their caroling on the Holy Night, proclaiming in song the great joy that, from then until the end of time, is bestowed on all people. (Joseph Ratzinger [Pope Benedict XVI], Jesus of Nazareth: the Infancy Narratives, p. 73-74)

“The speech of angels is actually song…” what a wonderful description!

In another context, I wrote elsewhere that the angels help us sing; it works both ways, for we help them sing, too. Without our very human song – and, for that matter, the songs of birds, the great whales, and all other forms of song from every living creature in its proper manner – it would be incomplete, the “glory of the great joy” would be diminished.

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I love this little book by the Holy Father, Pope Benedict, the third of three volumes he wrote on Jesus of Nazareth.

On another topic which arose here in a previous essay concerning the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Benedict writes of the Virgin Birth. After discussion of the “extensive exegetical debate” (p. 46) concerning Isaiah 7:14 and St. Matthew 1:22-23, he concludes:

Is what we profess in the Creed true, then?—“I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God… [who] by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary?”

The answer is an unequivocal yes. Karl Barth pointed out that there are two moments in the story of Jesus when God intervenes directly in the material world: the virgin birth and the resurrection from the tomb, in which Jesus did not remain, nor see corruption. These two moments are a scandal to the modern spirit. God is “allowed” to act in ideas and thoughts, in the spiritual domain—but not in the material. That is shocking. He does not belong there. But that is precisely the point: God is God and he does not operate merely on the level of ideas….

Naturally we may not ascribe to God anything nonsensical or irrational, or anything that contradicts his creation. But here we are not dealing with the irrational or contradictory, but precisely with the positive—with God’s creative power, embracing the whole of being. In that sense these two moments—the virgin birth and the real resurrection from the tomb—are the cornerstones of faith. If God does not also have power over matter, then he simply is not God. But he does have this power, and through the conception and resurrection of Jesus Christ he has ushered in a new creation. So as the Creator he is also our Redeemer. Hence the conception and birth of Jesus from the Virgin Mary is a fundamental element of our faith and a radiant sign of hope. (ibid., p. 56-57)