Luke 2:8-12 NIV
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 of great joy that will be 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."
Luke 2:15-20
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.
Shepherds – Eye Witness News 2
I remember the first time I was chosen to play a shepherd in my church’s Christmas play. I felt great pride being chosen… I felt great pride wearing my father’s bathrobe… bath towel draped over my head… with a handmade shepherds crook in hand. You know some of Israel’s greatest heroes were shepherds… Abraham, Isaac, Jacob… and who could forget David. David with his sling… his aim that was so precise, he was able to fell the greatest giant. Shepherds were cool… and I felt cool… bathrobe and all. But as a child, there was very little else that I actually knew about shepherds… really… how much does any of us know about these guys?
From our scripture text… we know very little. We know that they were there… we know that angels chose THEM to appear to… but not much else is known about them. What was it like for them? We know that they tended sheep, but what did that mean? Were they like farmers? Were they more like cowboys? What IF… what if we could go back… and see the shepherds just as they were. See them in THAT moment… sit with them in the open field and live their lives if just for that one moment. What IF… this story about the angels appearing to the shepherds were not some event 2,000 years ago… but BREAKING NEWS for all of us today? What if?
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Weathered. Hard. Always moving. Always keen. Always sharp. Strong. Laying their own body down at the mouth of the cave to protect their flock from anything that would are harm them. Scriptures remind us how very rugged these men were. Even our Old Testament text today alludes to their nature… Isaiah 40:11 “11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” It almost harkens images of cowboys… of Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, or Marshall Dylon. Men of grit… men of tenacity… men, of integrity. However, even this does not really get us into the true reality of what is going on within our text today. Sure, we can romanticize the shepherds and make them into something noble… however… the truth of the matter is that they were the farthest thing possible from noble in their day.
In Jesus’ time; shepherds -- specifically, hireling shepherds -- had a rather unsavory reputation. The great historian Jeremias writes "most of the time they were dishonest and thieving; they led their herds onto other people’s land and pilfered the produce of the land." They often went months at a time without supervision, so they were consistently accused of stealing some of the surplus. Consequently, the pious were warned not to buy wool, milk, or kids from shepherds on the assumption that it was stolen property. In fact, they were SO mistrusted… that Shepherds were not allowed to serve on a jury or be admitted in court as witnesses, because you couldn’t trust them.
To help put it into just a little more perspective… a Jewish book known as the Mishnah, also known as the largest compilation of Jewish Oral Law, lists the professions of great contempt… to name just a few: donkey drivers, sailors, collectors of dog dung, dice players, organizers of pigeon fights, and shepherds. Let’s just be clear, these weren’t the sort of men that we would expect to be rubbing elbows with angels.
The angels should have appeared to the wisemen instead, to people trained in religion and philosophy! The angels should be talking to THEM. But no angels come to them. They came to those rogues… those outlaws… those outcast shepherds instead.
And there is another thing that is kind of strange here. During Jesus’ time, when a new emperor was born, they would throw a feast in the great banquet hall… and a poet would welcome the birth by declaring peace and prosperity for the land. So it is not surprising for us to find something similar to that in our scripture text today… the angels proclaim good news of joy and peace because of a royal birth, although… not an emperor, but a Savior, a Christ, and a Lord. What does surprise us, however, is that this announcement does NOT come in the palace halls… but comes out in the dirty and lonely fields. This news does not come to the high and mighty… but to the poor and lowly. This news does not come in the fanciest place conceivable… it comes in the plainest place possible.
God, in a strange sort of wisdom, sends the heavenly singers to the shepherds… men who don’t know anything about books, men who never study the skies for anything, except maybe clues for the weather. God chooses men of absolutely NO social stature to proclaim the good news. This… is something we should not take lightly, because it goes against… everything.
This past week in the news, you may have caught some of the buzz about the “Real Housewife” that crashed a party at the White House. It was hard to miss! Even websites dedicated to knitting were running stories about it! The privileged, the well to do, the high society folks are the ones that we expect to be at the most prestigious events… and some of them go to great lengths to be a part of those historical events… even when they are not invited! The White House defended itself by disclosing e-mails sent to the couple describing other distinguished people that had been turned down for invitations… Senators, heads of state, dignitaries. In this world… only the top of the top get into the big events.
But here, in our scripture, it is the lowest of the low that receive the grandest news the world has ever received. It was not given to the social privileged; it was given the social outcasts! The socially privileged would not have understood anyway… for 400 years they have gone without a king… now the new king was born. However, he would not rule… he would not hold court nor throw extravagant parties. He would not overthrow the tyrannical rule of Rome, nor would he elevate the nation of Israel to great power once again. He would become a man of meager stature and position, he would serve, he would make himself the least powerful man in the world… to become… the greatest ever. So it was to the hated… the despised… the outcast… that the angels appear and say “Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth… peace… goodwill to man.”
We forget that… we forget the shocking reality of the greatest news coming to the very least. We forget the dirt and grime of the fields… suddenly becoming holy ground. We forget the controversy this event would cause… as the shepherds went to tell the world what they had witnessed… and verse 18 tells us “and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them!” Ya think!?! We forget the awe and the fear that the shepherds must have felt… when they came face to face with the almighty glory of God. The trepidation when the shepherds realize… we are unworthy… we are unclean. You see working the fields… working with sheep… coming into contact with a million “unclean” things a day… meant a shepherd had to perform a ton of ritualistic cleansing before they could even set foot near a holy place… little less the presence of heavenly beings.
So imagine their fear and horror. “Let us go clean up first, let us become right with God before you enshroud us with God’s almighty grace.” The angel stops them… “Do not be afraid. I bring YOU… (not kings… not wisemen… not religious leaders…) but YOU dear shepherd… I bring YOU good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” And let us be clear on this… oh shepherd trembling… you were chosen to hear this message… because this message really is for ALL people. No one will be left out… not even the most despised and most hated in your land. You, shepherd, receive this message because you are loved and cared for as much as the littlest sheep of your flock.
We tend to forget all of that. We forget… just who this message was intended for! “Do not be afraid. I bring YOU good news of great joy, YOU convict… you homeless… you poor… you lonely… you abandoned… you sick… you persecuted… you shunned… you hurt… you average Joe… you average Jane… I bring YOU good news of great joy which will be for all the people!” We forget that. We forget how God turned the world upside down that day… how he gave the greatest gift in the world to the least deserving! The grace of God is the greatest gift man can receive and far too often we treat it like it is a gift only for those deserving… for those who fit the part… for those who do their share or are important enough to receive it. God reminds us today, who HE thinks is really important. This Christmas, we need to remember this message… that this Christ child has come for the very least of all of these… he has come. May we remember this Christmas… what is truly important. “Do not be afraid. I bring YOU good news of great joy that will be for all people.”
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
