Luke 2: 8-10
“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.”
Don’t you just love the story of the shepherds in the Christmas story? There they were, one of the lowest class of people in their society, living in squalid shacks out in the countryside. They have noisy bleating sheep that smell bad, and because sheep aren’t really very bright, they need constant care. So, the shepherds stay far away from the city. They are themselves probably unwashed and disheveled and just hanging out for a long night trying to get some rest.
But God had another plan. An angel appears first by himself to make an announcement that would change the course of the world and then is joined by a multitude of other angels making a heavenly ruckus shattering their silent night. Isn’t it something that when God chose to make history’s most important announcement, the heralding of His Son’s birth…He didn’t send the angels to Herod’s palace, or to the Chief Priests, or the Sadducees, or the Pharisees, or the Levites…He didn’t give it to some person of high repute or someone special…He gave it to the lowliest of the low… societal second class… the shepherds.
This Christmas, think about this: It doesn’t matter what kind of reputation you have, either good or bad; it doesn’t matter whether you have a lot of money or none; it doesn’t matter if you are, or think you are, on the bottom of the pecking order; or what kind of clothes you wear, or car you drive, or house you live in. No, it really doesn’t matter. The shepherd’s Christmas story speaks to all of us and says: If God can make the announcement of all announcements to the lowly shepherds abiding in the field with their flocks by night…don’t you think that His message can come to you? Because it does. Right here. Right now. God loves you so much that He sent His only begotten Son…for you.
Yep, consider those shepherds!!
Merry Christmas!!
Pastor Ben
