HERE’S A QUICK thought experiment. Try not to overthink it; just go with the first thing that pops into your head. Ready? Here’s the prompt. In your mind’s eye, I want you to picture…

…an angel.

What did you see?

Did you envision something like a Precious Moments figurine, an adorable little creature with a chubby baby face and rosy cheeks? Did it have wings? How about a halo? Was it sitting on a cloud? All of the above?

Or we can try this one. Imagine that you’re playing a game of Pictionary with your family or friends, and get the word “angel.” What would you draw?

I’d wager that if you did nothing more than scribble a rudimentary stick figure with a halo and anything moderately resembling wings, people would guess the answer immediately.

All of this imagery surrounding angels is part of our shared cultural lore.

Little of it has anything to do with the Bible.

Don’t get me wrong; the Bible mentions angels repeatedly. But the angels of the Bible are quite different than the way our culture imagines them. To begin with, nowhere does Scripture mention angels having halos; indeed, there’s no mention of halos at all. Halos have been part of the iconography of many religions and cultures across the centuries and around the world. Artistic representations of important people — medieval portraits of the saints, for example — would be given a lighter-colored circle or disk surrounding the head, suggesting an aura of glory or even divinity, and this has passed into the popular imagination. Halos, in other words, are neither specifically Christian nor biblical.

What about wings? Yes, there are winged beings in Scripture known as cherubim and seraphim who serve various roles. Here, we might think of the golden cherubim that were fashioned to sit facing each other atop the Ark of the Covenant, or the six-winged seraphim of the prophet Isaiah’s vision. But it’s unclear whether these should also be consider angels, since the terms aren’t used together in Scripture. Moreover, in some cases, angels seem to appear in merely human form.

Whatever the case, angels aren’t “cherubic” the way we typically use the word. In biblical stories, when people encounter them, they aren’t driven to hug them or pinch their cheeks. In fact, the experience can be downright terrifying.

. . .

THE FOURTH AND final Sunday of Advent has often been associated with the angels of the Christmas story. Last Sunday, we considered the shepherds, and the counterintuitive idea that God would announce the coming of the Messiah to a group so low on the ladder of social standing. But that story, of course, requires that we also remember the messengers who brought that announcement.

Here’s the well-known scene from Luke’s gospel:

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:8-12, NIV)

“Don’t be afraid,” the angel tells them. Why does the angel say this? Because they’re terrified. And why not? Honestly, even if the most adorable creature imaginable suddenly appeared out of the darkness in the middle of the night, bringing with it the brilliance of divine glory, I’d be terrified too.

Moreover, after this announcement many, many more angels suddenly materialize out of nowhere:

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (vss. 13-14)

Imagine how overwhelming a spectacle that would be. Note that Luke’s description doesn’t require winged creatures hovering in the night sky; it could just as easily refer to a vast choir appearing in human form, standing before the shepherds on the ground. These angels, in other words, didn’t have to be terrifying to look at; it may simply have been the sudden, unexpected, and dazzling nature of the appearance that frightened the shepherds.

. . .

“DON’T BE AFRAID.” The phrase appears repeatedly in Scripture, including on the lips of Jesus. I think here of Jesus coming to his disciples in the predawn darkness. They are in a boat, and Jesus walks toward them on the surface of the choppy waters. They’ve never seen this before, and therefore immediately jump to the only conclusion they can: It’s a ghost! “It’s just me,” Jesus reassures his terrified men. “Don’t be afraid.”

The Bible teaches that wise and faithful people should fear God — after all, if we were to see God in all his glory, holiness, and majesty, we would be undone. Even just God’s angels coming in the light of God’s glory would be terrifying. And the disciples themselves feared Jesus in moments when his divine nature was revealed: walking on the water, commanding a storm to be still, being transfigured on a mountaintop.

But to fear God is not the same as being afraid of God — not when the message is good news. The angels were sent to announce the coming of the Messiah, the coming of both joy and peace. And once the shepherds got over their shock, they had to go see what all the fuss was about.

The message is still joy and peace, even though these may seem to be in short supply. The good news of salvation is still good and gracious news, even amidst all the bad news we’re bombarded with every day. The God of glory, the God to whom the angels sing glory, is still Immanuel, is still the God Who Is With Us.

So don’t be afraid.