It’s a tradition approaching Christmas to have Christmas carols, even amongst people who have no real belief in God it’s part of the whole Christmas thing. Christmas carols playing in the shops. For most people they have little idea what the words mean – it doesn’t matter too much it’s the Christmas feeling that matters.

When I was a child when I heard good King Wenceslaus looked out on the feast of Stephen – I thought the feast of Stephen must be a place.  Hark the Herald Angels Sing! – I had no idea what a Herald Angel was and why they were singing hark and what is hark anyway?

Our starting point:

Luke 2 – The first public announcement. As it’s the first one we should pay it special attention. The angels had a message – good news, great joy, for all people… peace to men, God’s pleasure or his favour.

All this through a saviour. Christ central – Christ at the centre of this story. This is not just a birth announcement but a saviour announcement.

We can sum up the angels’ message in one word – blessing. God is a blessing God.

Not just for xmas – there can be a sentimentalized view. Christmas is no more a time for peace than any other.

What did the angels do according to the hymn? They heralded.

So I want to talk about what is a herald? And what does it mean to us?

The hymn says angels were heralds.

When we think of a herald we may think of a medieval herald – a man in tights who blows a trumpet. The purpose of the trumpet wasn’t just ceremonial it was to announce that the king is coming. And the coming of a king would demand action. People would bow down. If you run a large house and the king is in the area hearing the trumpets approach may evoke fear – is my household out of favour, are our lands to be taken from us. It would make you want to put your house in order. It may evoke joy and a sense of privilege – the king is coming to visit us

Certainly the angels were announcing the coming of a king – Jesus. One whose arrival would demands a response.

Strongs: Kayroox – a word common in Greek writings from Homer onwards; a herald, a messenger vested with public authority, who conveyed the official messages of kings, magistrates, princes, military commanders, or who gave a public summons or demand. In the N. T. God’s ambassador, and the herald or proclaimer of God’s word

The angels were doing that – conveying the official message of God

The angels were not just passing on information. This was a pronouncement from God backed up with his glory. The presence of God was there. Heaven invading earth. So heaven was invading earth in the form of Jesus the saviour and heaven invading earth his glory shining around.

So the angels were heralds. But this word kayroox is used in other places in the bible. It’s not just angels about whom this word is used.

It is often translated in our English bibles as preach or preaching or proclaiming. So – often the word translated preach is this word – to herald or announce or proclaim.

Some examples –

Luke 9:2 called the 12 together “and he sent them out to proclaim (announce/herald) the kingdom of God and to heal ..” So proclaiming the kingdom of god, demonstrating it and actually seeing it come.

Matthew 4:17 Jesus proclaimed – same word – the kingdom of god is at hand.

You proclaim the message the king has given you – that is your authority. Every believer has the authority to proclaim the message of the kingdom of God.

We are God’s proclaimers – to announce the coming of the king and the kingdom of god and to demonstrate its arrival – through mercy and care through healings and miracles.

We can speak with God’s authority in situations. We are his ambassador into every situation. He wasn’t just bringing the message of the kingdom, it was accompanied with the power of the kingdom.

So in a general sense we are heralds of the kingdom, but also specifically in different situations we can speak with authority what we hear from God. Jesus only did what he saw the father doing. That’s not limiting!

So Jesus proclaimed with authority and with power.

A herald has authority all the authority of the King. You have all the authority of King Jesus.

Paul 1 Cor 2:4- My message and my preaching/heralding were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power

Heralding is announcing a message but also prepares the ground for what/who is to come.

Now an associated word is ambassador. Paul describes himself as an ambassador.

An ambassador, like a herald comes with the authority of the one who sends him. If you hear the ambassador speak it’s like hearing the king speak. The ambassador is citizen of another country. We are citizens of another country. This world is not our home. Heaven is our home. 1 Peter 2:11 – we are strangers and aliens in this world, we don’t live according to this world, we avoid the lusts of this world and we come into every situations as Christ’s ambassadors, his representatives.

You’ve been given this task of being a herald, an ambassador and anointed for this task

Paul announced but also did the miracles of the kingdom. – the kingdom at hand.

So whether it’s coming up to Christmas or any other time of year – you are God’s herald for his kingdom – not just a future kingdom but one that is here and now.

As we take hold of the promised land – whatever that means to us – we do so as his ambassadors – it is for him and his glory.

The angels in Luke 2 – “Glory to God in the highest”

God’s kingdom comes with power – his kingdom is one of power.