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 of great joy that will be for all the
people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ
the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths
and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly
a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and
saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his
favor rests.”
When
the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one
another, “Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the
Lord has told us about.”
So
they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the
manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been
told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the
shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered
them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all
the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
(Luke 2:8-20)
(As a departure from
the traditional Advent themes of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love, several years ago I
did an Advent devotional series on the People of Christmas - The Prophets,
Mary, Joseph, and the Shepherds. I will be sharing these devotions over these
four Sundays leading up to Christmas.)
The
Shepherds
Like most of the
other characters of the Christmas story, we don’t know much about the
shepherds. We do know that shepherds were at the bottom of the social pecking
order. They spent much of their time out in the fields surrounded by lots of
smelly sheep, so they probably didn’t have the best hygiene, not to mention
highly developed social skills. They were also probably not terribly
well-educated either.
If it had been left
to us, we probably would have made a few casting changes for the “Big
Announcement” regarding the birth of the Messiah. We might have selected a few
choice religious scholars who were well familiar with the prophecies of
Scriptures and would surely recognize the signs announced by the angels.
Perhaps we would have thrown in a few wealthy civic leaders who would ensure
that the new King of the Jews had a great PR campaign. But we’re not God.
God chose the
lowliest and most unlikely of people to be the first to receive the good news
that a Savior was born. Perhaps it was to show the world that God was not
impressed by social status, education, or credentials. Perhaps it was because
the Messiah was sent to save the lost sheep of Israel. Or perhaps, it was
because they shepherds were just simple enough to actually believe what the
angels told them.
They didn’t sit
around have a deep theological discussion as to whether the message they heard
was accurate, or if it aligned with Scripture, or whether it was some sort of
spiritual metaphor. In fact, the only thing they discussed was how quickly they
could get to Bethlehem to see this amazing event they had been told about.
Once they had seen
the baby for themselves, they didn’t hesitate to tell everyone they met about
the incredible events they had witnessed. They didn’t stop to consider that
they were ignorant, uneducated, smelly shepherds. They didn’t worry that they
might not be qualified to spread such weighty news. I’m pretty sure they also
really didn’t care if people thought they were a little wacko – spending too
many lonely nights with those sheep, no doubt!
How about us? Are we
so quick to tell others about this amazing person named Jesus, who came into
the world to save us from our sins? Do we get tongue-tied, nervous and sweaty
when we think about having to witness to people we don’t know? Are we afraid
that we might not be qualified enough or have the right answers? Or are we
simple enough just to take God at His word and excited enough to tell everyone
about Jesus, regardless of what they might think about us?
Christmas is the
perfect time of year for us to be able to inject Jesus into our conversations
and introduce people to the man behind the holiday. After all, it’s all about
His birthday, right?
Prayer:
God
of all creation, thank you that you didn’t send the Christmas angels to
important people of great standing and stature, but rather You chose to reach
down to simple people like us. Give us the courage and conviction to tell
everyone we meet about the real reason for our Christmas celebration. Amen.
Have a blessed week!
Pastor
David
