O – ordinary
R – routine
D – dull
I – inferior
N – normal
A – average
R – repetitive
Y – yawn
These words, along with a few others of like kind, could be used to describe an evening with the shepherds. Nothing ‘too much’ happened out in the fields while the shepherds kept watch. There may have been an adventurous lamb or two “with a ‘baa-baa’ here and a ‘baa-baa’ there, here a baa, there a baa, everywhere a baa baa” but that was about it! And of course, a wild animal could make the night a little ‘wooly’ too but other than that it was usually the same ole, same ole.
Have you ever had an evening like that? An ordinary
evening? Nothing dramatic expected…just ‘do’ the job and get it done. Then in a ‘slow motion moment’, black and white turns to living color! The boring brilliant! The mundane becomes magnificent! Perhaps it came by way of a hand-shake and bonus, maybe it came when the Dr. handed a ‘cancer free’ report, or, like the shepherds, in the announcement of the birth of a child!
I’m going to invite you to join the shepherds on that infamous evening. Pull your “mantle” (clothing made of sheepskin…the wool side warn on the inside on cold nights and reversed on warmer nights) around you and grab your “staff” has you prepare for an evening to remember!
It strikes me as more than interesting to realize that it was first to a humble, lowly people the message of salvation and love was sent. Dr. William Barclay, writer and teacher, impresses on us that the shepherds spoken of in this portion of Scripture were mostly likely ‘special’ shepherds. ‘Special’ in that they were probably in charge of the flock of sheep from which the Temple offering was chosen. He writes, “It is a lovely thought that the shepherds who looked after the Temple lambs were the first to see the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
Let’s sit with the shepherds…
…sheep watching
…sky gazing
…“Saviour” seeking
First of all:
1) Sheep Watching
Much has been written and discussed as to whether Jesus was actually born on December 25th. There are some who think it would have been too cold to ‘watch sheep’ at such a date so have assumed it would have been earlier in Oct. Still there are others who would say there is not enough evidence to support or not support this position.
So here we are…sitting in the field with the shepherds and the sheep, possibly on a chilly evening. This night started out like all the others. An evening of pasturing, protecting, guarding…tending to bleating, smelly, roaming sheep. Not a career that offered much promise, prominence or position. Not until this night watch! Luke wrote, “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.” (2:8)
Max Lucado, preacher and writer, teaches that ‘every day deserves a chance’. He feels so strongly about that, he wrote a book with the same title. The thinking is that regardless of what is in our day, if we give it a chance it can become a ‘good’ day. Of course, coupled with that thought is the understanding that God infiltrates ‘our world’ to make a difference, a difference for good.
God infiltrated the world of the shepherds on that celebrated night and when given a chance made it an evening to remember. An extraordinary evening, not only for the shepherds of that day, but for teachers, store clerks, ditch diggers, lumberjacks, doctors, taxi drivers, lawyers, caregivers, support workers and the like for years to come!
Walter Russell Bowie, religious scholar and writer wrote, “Shepherds were despised by the orthodox good people of the day. They were quite unable to keep the details of the ceremonial law; they could not observe all the meticulous hand-washings and rules and regulations. It was to simple men of the fields that God’s message first came.” That same message has come to us and when received, we are never the same!
The shepherds of long ago not only spent an evening sheep watching, but also:
2) Sky gazing
Robert Russell, pastor and author tells a story of how about twenty years ago there was a house near the entrance of his subdivision that kept their Christmas lights burning long after the season was past. They burned through January. Even through the first of February those outside lights burned every night. Finally, about the middle of February, he said, he became a bit critical and said, "If I were too lazy to take my Christmas lights down, I think I’d at least turn them off at night."
But about the middle of March there was a sign outside of their house that explained why they’d left the lights on. It said simply, "Welcome home, Jimmy." Pastor Russell went on to say, “We learned that that family had a son in Vietnam, and they had unashamedly left their Christmas lights on in anticipation of his return. Lights are a symbol of hope.” (Robert Russell, author and pastor of Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky)
The light that shone on that recognized night long ago while the shepherds watched their flock, was a light symbolic of great hope! Hope to the shepherds in the field, hope to the people who heard ‘this thing that has come to pass’, hope to us today! One author said, “To believe that God is above us is one thing. To believe that God is a strength sufficient for us is another and still inspires confidence. But to believe that God is not only almighty, that he is not only all-sufficient, but that he is God with us, God the near, the understanding and the intimate – that is best of all.” (Walter Russell Bowie – The Interpreter’s Bible)
The Christmas story as recorded in Luke 2 tells us, “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 Saviour 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 favour rest.” (Luke 2:9-14)
It has been said that ‘good news doesn’t sell’! That people are more interested in the ‘bad’ that happens, rather than celebrating the good! While that may have an element of truth to it, this ‘good news of great joy’ has spread like ‘wild-fire’ through time, down through generations. We have the awesome responsibility of continuing to share this message of love and hope. May we ‘hurry’ (NIV) to do it, ‘make haste’ (KJV) to spread it, ‘go as fast as we can’ (MSG) as the varying translations speaks of the shepherds response.
The shepherds spent that evening long ago…sheep watching, sky gazing and finally:
3) Saviour seeking
Have you ever received a gift that you really didn’t feel you deserved? Maybe it was too extravagant, ‘too much’, one of equal value could not be returned? How difficult it is to gracefully accept it sensing your own inadequacy.
A daddy came home one day carrying a gift that certainly caught the interest of his three sons. “This gift is for the little boy who has been so good, he has picked up all his toys and has listened to mommy.” The three boys sat united in defeat. Then the youngest son shared his childlike wisdom: “You keep it daddy!”
When Father God offered the world the gift of His Son, it was a gift ‘indescribable, uncontainable, incomparable’ as Chris Tomlin so aptly describes it in his song of praise. A ‘gift’ not one is deserving of. There are three titles given this newborn babe of Bethlehem. First - “Saviour” – the Greek word for Saviour is ‘deliverer’ or ‘preserver’. Secondly - “Christ” – ‘the anointed One’. Thirdly - “Lord” – the Lord of all. (Wesleyan) A matchless gift!
After hearing the ‘good news’ of the birth of a ‘Saviour’, the story continues in Luke 2:15. “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.” Upon finding the Christ Child, they ‘spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed’. (2:17-18) The shepherds – Saviour seeking!
In a Native American community, they have an interesting custom. After midnight service on Christmas Eve, one family takes the doll from the manger home with them. They keep the Christ child in their home for the 12 days of Christmas. It is considered a great honor to be the family chosen to do this. They take the Christ child home with them. That is really the dream we all share, isn’t it, to take Christ home with us?
Conclusion
The shepherds’ extra-ordinary affair led them to desire to get closer to the Babe of Bethlehem. I trust that desire is sparked in your own life as you ponder again the presence of the King to ‘our’ world.
A contemporary christian singer provides a song (“Move me Closer – A Shepherd’s Prayer” - Evie) and narration of what could possibly be a message of the shepherds. The stage is set in the song as she prepares her nativity at home in the season of Advent. Then the nativity ‘comes to life’ so to speak and the shepherds message is heard. May it be our desire during this Christmas season – to be drawn closer to the Saviour. Allow the message of the shepherd to be the message of your heart today.
