Listen to the audio of today’s Reflection:
https://soundcloud.com/hapearce/reflection-for-december-22-2022
Luke 2:8-20
The Shepherds and the Angels
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 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.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
In yesterday’s Reflection we read and thought about the first part of Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus. And as we did, we said that Mary and Joseph were ordinary, blue-collar people who lived under the oppression of the Roman Empire. In fact, Mary’s pregnancy might even have exposed them to judgement and rejection by the people of their own culture. And we said that it was into these humble circumstances that God chose to be born, showing what he meant by being “Immanuel – God with us.”
Today, we’re reading and thinking about the second part of Luke’s story. And we’re reminded that it was also to poor and marginalized people that his birth was first announced.
We tend to think of shepherds with a certain sentimentality, because we think of sheep as cute and hug-able animals. And in normal years, we dress up kids as shepherds in church plays and Christmas pageants, which is also pretty cute.
But people in the ancient Hebrew culture had a complicated attitude toward shepherds. In their history and their scriptures, the idea of a shepherd had been used as a metaphor for leadership among their people. King David was their greatest hero as a warrior and a ling, and he’d also been a poet who was understood to have written a third of the psalms. And as you might remember, David had actually been a shepherd in his youth. So there was a certain positive vibe around the idea of the shepherd.
But actual shepherds were on the bottom rung of Hebrew society. They were poor. They were dirty. They were regarded as thieves who stole other people’s sheep (and anything else they could lay their hands on). And because of their way of life, shepherds were even considered ritually unclean, so that meant they weren’t allowed to take any part in the religious life of their people. They could not enter any synagogue or the temple.
But it was to these shepherds – people who were on the bottom rung of Hebrew society – that God sent angels to announce the birth of his Son. These dirty and disreputable outsiders were the first to hear the news of the coming of the Messiah.
In a world where the rich and the powerful and the religious would reject Jesus and eventually demand that he be killed, these poor, unclean, irreligious shepherds left their flocks and went to find Jesus and worship him. And they were so transformed by their encounter with the baby Jesus that they became the first witnesses to his coming.
In his adult life, Jesus would be criticized for hanging around with morally suspect people – he would be called “a friend to sinners” and would say that it was sinners for whom he came. So it makes sense that at his birth, Jesus would be worshipped first by poor people considered sinful by their culture.
As we celebrate the birth of our Lord this Christmas, we should probably pause to give thanks that sinful people have always been drawn to the manger-cradle of Jesus, and have always found a welcome there. That those who came looking for Jesus have been welcomed by the gracious love of God, and not because of their own moral superiority.
Throughout this holy season, may you hear in your heart good news of great joy the angels announced for you, and may you experience the peace that passes all understanding – the peace of knowing God’s favor rests upon you. And by your encounter with the Christ child this Christmas, may you be led to glorify and praise him as the shepherds did.
Let’s pray. Lord, we thank you that from your birth in human form, you drew the poor and the marginalized to yourself, and you gave hope to those who struggled against the hopelessness of this world. Renew our hope in this season, and move us to joyfully share the good news of what you have done, so that the hope of others is renewed through us. Amen.
Grace and Peace,
Henry
(The listed readings for today are Psalms 62 and 126; Isaiah 31:1-9; Revelation 21:22 – 22:5; and Luke 1:39-56. Our readings come from the NIV Bible, as posted on Biblica.com, the website of the International Bible Society.)
Recent Comments