Spoonful of Sugar: Better Than Angels
On April 8 of this year (2024), millions of Americans united in sharing a glorious experience—for the second time in just seven years we watched as the moon totally covered the sun for over four minutes. Dennis and I drove to Russellville, Arkansas, which had one of the longest experiences of totality at four minutes and twelve seconds.
We stood in a large empty field with our daughter Ashley and her family and a small group of strangers from Nebraska, Florida, and Minnesota. Nearby, others climbed hilltops and mountains or watched with crowds of people who’d driven in for the big day. Everyone donned the same cardboard safety sunglasses for viewing the sun. Every face was turned upward to the sky.
In 2017 Dennis and I drove long hours and sat in traffic bottlenecks to reach Providence, Kentucky, so we could watch the solar eclipse in the narrow path of totality. We found a hilltop field, donned our safety glasses, and watched the spectacle. Like so many we were unprepared for the breathtaking beauty of the sun’s glory, the corona. We gasped, enraptured by the sight.
Two thousand years ago, in another field across the world, a similar sight of glory in the sky produced awe and wonder. These viewers also responded with awe. An angel appeared before unsuspecting shepherds, and “the glory of the Lord shone around them” (Luke 2:9).
Angels come from God’s throne room, from the presence of God, who is light. His glory, which shines like the sun’s corona, surrounded that angelic appearance. Now that I’ve seen the sun’s glory I can only imagine how much greater the glory of God must be.
And yet ... as glorious as the eclipse was ... as glorious as the angels’ appearance must have been ... Jesus became “much better than the angels,” according to Hebrews 1:4 (NASB). By His work on the cross, He proved Himself to be much better than angels who do God’s bidding.
My mind can hardly comprehend it.
If the sighting of angels, who don’t possess glory on their own, elicits fear and awe and wonder in us mortals; if seeing the glory of a total eclipse takes our breath away; then how much more glory will we see, and how much more awe will we feel when we see Jesus face to face?
1. What are some of the most glorious sights you’ve seen during your life? If you could visit any of those places again, what would be at the top of your list?
2. If you saw the total eclipse and the sun’s glory, or photos of it, do you think seeing Jesus will be like seeing the eclipse? Why or why not?
3. The Gospel of Matthew tells the story of Jesus going to the top of a mountain where He was transfigured, “and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light” (17:2). Do you look forward to seeing Jesus? Why?
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