Advent: Week 4

This week, as part of the Advent Celebration, the fourth of five candles are lit on the Advent Wreath. This is The Angel Candle, or the Candle of Peace/Love.

Imagine for a moment that when the angels appeared to the Shepherds, not only were the shepherds frightened, but the sheep as well. Now, I don't believe the sheep ran off. I believe that God watched over them and gave them peace. But, if they did run off, the Shepherds may have filed a claim with their insurance company to cover their loss. I can only imagine a response like this:

To: Malachi, the Shepherd
From: Bethlehem Life and Casualty Insurance Company

Dear Malachi:

We have had the chance to review your claim of lost sheep last month and are sending you this letter to inform you that your claim has been denied.

While we at Bethlehem Life and Casualty have always prided ourselves on being a friend to sheep herders and all those in the animal husbandry field, I'm afraid that this is the first time we have heard a claim of this sort.

To review, in your claim, you stated that you were watching your flocks by night with several other sheep herders when a "multitude of the heavenly host appeared in the sky and began singing glory to God in the highest; and peace on earth, good will toward men." You further claim that while you were distracted by hallucinations, several of your animals were frightened and ran off unbeknownst to you or your fellow sheep herders.

We cannot compensate you for your loss of animals based on the following reasons:
- Safety regulations in your coverage manual clearly state that shepherding in done primarily during the day. If you were watching over your flocks by night, you were outside of the covered time period.
- To pay out on this claim would recognize one religion over another, and BL&C has a long history of ecumenical work and does not put one faith above another.
- If you refer to form 174-A, which you filled out with your application, among the tools of your trade section you listed "wineskin." We can only assume the wineskin was for carrying wine and, therefore, calls into question any angelic presence or multitude of the heavenly host. In addition, no one here in our office has ever heard of the HALLELUJAH CHORUS.
- In further consideration, we determined that if we were to recognize your claim of a divine presence as the reason for the loss of your livestock, we could only write it off as an act of God in which case you would not be covered anyway.

We wish you the best of luck in your future shepherding endeavors. If you have any questions regarding this claim, feel free to contact us during normal business hours.

Sincerely,

Bethlehem Life and Casualty

Take a moment to read Jeremiah 33:12-16.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, give us wisdom, guidance and peace in addition to the understanding that you are in control and that you are Immanuel.