The Shepherds
The Shepherds
Luke 2:8 Now in that same region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
2:9Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
2:10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:
2:11to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
2:12This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger."
2:13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
2:14"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"
2:15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us."
2:16So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger.
2:17When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child,
2:18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them,
2:19and Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.
2:20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.
The Shepherds
Did you have a creche in your home when you were a child? A model of a stable, with figurines that you could move? I remember some years when I tried to set the story up in some sort of chronological fashion, moving the Shepherds closer day by day, until Christmas Eve. It was a very visual way to understand the story, and how fascinating it really was that the Shepherds were the first ones, after Mary and Joseph, to hear the good news.
They got the message, and instead of being afraid, or staying put in their own places, living their own lives, they got up and went to see this thing that had taken place. They got up, they believed, they walked into the new reality, and they became a permanent part of the story, as the people that gave Mary the words that she would ponder all the days of her life. What did it mean to give birth to this child, this child of God?
This Christmas, may we be witnesses to the love of God as it is born into the world. May we let that good news move us into a new reality, where we say yes to the greater angels, and breathe the hope of a new tomorrow into being! May we never stop pondering what it means that God’s love can be born into our lives day by day!
Merry Christmas!
Reflection Questions:
1) If you were the Shepherds, what do you imagine you would have done that Christmas night?
2) What memories of Christmas help you feel the love of God alive in you?
3) What are you pondering in your life right now?
Prayer: Dear God, In all the days of our lives, help us to be present to the possibilities of your love breaking in. In Jesus Name, Amen
