December 25, 2007
Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Proper II – Years A, B, C)
(Christmas Day)
Isaiah 62:6-12; Psalm 97; Titus 3:4-7; Luke 2:(1-7) 8-20
We gather today like the shepherds in the fields on that remarkable night. The baby has been born. The mother and father must have been thankful, very thankful, to have reached their destination without incident. So – they had to make do with an animals’ lean-to for shelter and a feeding trough for a crib because there was no room in the inn, and probably there was no midwife to assist with the birth. But they are there, in Bethlehem, their destination, safe and warm and dry; and mother and child, a healthy, baby boy, are doing just fine. So, now, today is the first day of the rest of the story.
But picture the scene a while ago, out in the fields: it is still night; the shepherds, lowly, uneducated, dirty, smelly, probably sleepy, are keeping watch over their sheep, protecting them from predators. Suddenly there is an angel standing before them and they are terrified. And wouldn’t we be, too, if suddenly a white-robed, winged, halo-ed creature stood in our midst? Isn’t that exactly how we tend to depict angels? But even if it had been a person who appeared among them, as indeed angels are far more likely to be, that is a heavenly being in human form, there was an aura about that personage which Luke describes in the following way, “the glory of the Lord shone around them,“ so that those witnessing this event knew that this was no ordinary encounter. And then in the same way that the angel had addressed Mary some nine months earlier, so this angel says to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid.” The angel then goes on to tell them something remarkable, saying, “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”
This is the heart of the story, a saviour, the long awaited Messiah, has come. And who is told first? Not the rulers or the priests or the scribes, or even King Herod, and definitely not the occupying Roman forces. No, rather it is to shepherds, lowly shepherds, that God sends his angel, to a group of people who in their simplicity, probably because of their simplicity, get the message, and they really do get the message. They receive it from the angel and they understand what they’ve heard, this Good News of great joy. And we hear no more of their being terrified, not even by the appearance of the “multitude of the heavenly host,” whose praising of God and speaking of peace on earth seems just to affirm for them the truth of what the angel has told them.
And they question not that this Saviour is a baby; instead they say, “Let us go and see.” And now we see the transformation of these shepherds into messengers in their own right. They go to Bethlehem, find the stable, and Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger as the angel had said. And suddenly they are telling everyone what they have heard from the angel, telling them that here is our Saviour, our Messiah. Luke says at this point that all who heard were amazed at the shepherds’ words. Amazed! This is the first instance of what is to be a common thread throughout Jesus’ life: Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Can anything wise and wonderful and knowledgeable come out of the mouth of a shepherd? To us obviously “yes” is the answer to both questions!
Jesus, although born in Bethlehem, eventually did come out of Nazareth to pursue his ministry. And the shepherds, inspired at this moment in their lives, became truly the first evangelists, as they spread the word about this baby. They even preempted Mary, who, in her own angel encounter, had been told that the child she was to conceive would be holy and called the Son of God. Mary could have shared what she had been told but instead she chose to keep all these things close to her heart. Of course would anyone have believed her besides Joseph and her cousin Elizabeth? I wonder if maybe she secretly hoped that her silence would protect this son of hers from a destiny that she sensed would not be easy or smooth.
On the other hand the shepherds become an extension of the angels as they return to their fields and their work, glorifying and praising God.
Now, putting ourselves into this story, you might say producing our own Christmas pageant, one or two of us might consider taking on the role of Mary or Joseph, but most of us would be, should be, cast as shepherds. No, not out in the fields tending our sheep, after all, this is the year 2007 and this is Acton, Massachusetts, and probably most of us are tending our computers. But those shepherds who went into Bethlehem to check out what the angel had told them have set a standard for us to live by. First, listen for and to the word of God. God does not always speak through a chorus of angels. Sometimes it’s just a whisper; sometimes it is in a dream; sometimes it is in conversation with friends; sometimes it is in an event, an illness, an accident, a chance meeting. You name it, God will use it. God knows only too well how to get our attention to present his agenda.
Then having heard what God had to say to you, pay attention to it; respond to it, shall I say, by thought, word and/or deed? It may not seem like much that God is asking of you, a phone call, a note, a basket of goodies; or it may be something momentous, a change in job or even career, life style, behavior, maybe a relocation. Whatever it is, as I said, pay attention and above all don’t be hesitant to pray about it. Talk it over with God, even argue with God if you feel so inclined. But never doubt that God will hear you.
The next step, of course, is to endeavor to put into practice what you have heard knowing that God will be there with you every step of the way.
And lastly, don’t be afraid to go, like the shepherds, and tell the world, whether it’s the big world out there or a small circle of friends and acquaintances, of your encounter with God and what it has meant to you and your life. In that way you may bring someone else to a closer relationship with God.
God chose to come into our lives over two thousand years ago in the form of a helpless, vulnerable baby, conceived in a miraculous fashion, born in an out-building to a carpenter and his young virgin wife. That was the first chapter of our story. Following in the steps of the angels and the shepherds succeeding generations have added many more chapters, some good, some not so good. It is literally a work in progress. And we are now working on our chapter. The story is unending. It is as someone once said, “the greatest story ever told,” and ever being told; and we are part of it.
So, as we leave this place this morning, let us go forth rejoicing in the newness of the once-again birth and the oldness of the forever message, God’s boundless. unconditional love for his people, his creation. In the words of the old hymn let us “go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere that Jesus Christ is born . . . . [that] God [has] sent us salvation.”
Amen.
Sonia F. G. Stevenson, M. Div.
Church of the Good Shepherd