Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
The text for this meditation is written in the 2nd Chapter of the Gospel according to St Luke: Verses 1 – 20:
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before 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; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favours!”
15 When 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.” 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
As the Gospel was read, did you hear the announcement? The King James Version, which many of us learned in our youth, has it, (Lk 2:11 KJV) “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord”. This is not a parody of the movie “Miracle on 34th Street” that makes Santa a reality, no! this is the miracle of the ages! “Christ, the Saviour, is born!”. God takes human flesh, becomes a Child, to (Mt 1:21)“save his people from their sins”.
Quite apart from the Baby in the manger, who is the (Is 9:6) “Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”, the other characters in the story are common, ordinary people. Mary’s husband is not some mover and shaker entrepreneur, but a poor carpenter from the village of Nazareth. Mother herself is not a member of the famous ‘entitled upper class’, but a humble Jewish girl who, if the ancient scrolls are correct, may not have been more than sixteen years old. And the story itself does not take place before television cameras in the centre of bustling city, but before lowing cattle in a smelly stable.
You see, this is a marvellous story about a gracious God who, in the fullness of time, fulfilled a promise made thousands of years before.
But we may well ask: To whom does the announcement come? To the affluent political Sadducee? To the proud Pharisee? To the rich and mighty, dining on roast lamb and pudding? No, to shepherds. To shepherds, mind you, who carry with them the smell of the fields and the sheep they tend. Of course, this is God’s way of doing things, isn’t it? Was it not a woman, once possessed by the devil, to whom the Saviour first appeared after his resurrection? And was it not upon unlearned fishermen that the Spirit of God fell on the first Pentecost and to whom our Lord entrusted the spread of his Gospel?
So if on this Christmas Day you carry a burden in your heart, if you feel lonely and forsaken, if your heart aches with bereavement for a loved one during this holiday season, if you wonder whether God has time for one so insignificant as you—above all, if you feel ashamed of what you have been and what you have done and seek peace for your soul, this story is for you as it was for the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night.
Today we Celebrate Christmas with the Shepherds, and may the Lord visit us with his Spirit as powerfully as he visited the shepherds so many years ago.
If you want to celebrate Christmas with the shepherds, just remember the three things they did. They went, they worshiped, and they witnessed. The first thing they did is they went. Listen: “When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.’ And (Lk 2:15–16) “they went with haste”.
Literally, the text says, “They were speaking to one another.” They were probably all talking at the same time, babbling like little children. “Let’s go.” “We’ve got to go.” And it was unanimous. Not one of them disagreed. No one said, “It’s too far.” “It’s too cold.” “Who will take care of our animals?” Nor was there the slightest doubt in their minds as to whether the angel’s story was true. They didn’t say, “Let’s go to Bethlehem to see if this thing has happened.” They were convinced the story was true. They were sure these were God’s messengers whom they had seen, and that it was the Lord himself who had made it known to them.
Today, sadly, there are many who do not celebrate Christmas with the shepherds. They don’t go to Bethlehem. They’re too busy. Now let me hurry to say that there is nothing wrong with enjoying the outward trappings of Christmas. Sometimes even well-minded Christian ministers make people feel guilty for shopping or baking or having fun decorating the tree. That is sad. We should see all those things also as gifts of God. But it is true that many get so wrapped up in the trappings that they take the Christ out of Christmas. They go to the mall but not to the manger, to the shop but not to the stable. They go to the bakery but not to Bethlehem (which means “the house of bread”).
And we? Is it only tonight and tomorrow morning that we have had time to go with the shepherds? Are we grateful for what the Lord has made known to us here tonight as Christian worshippers?
They went, those shepherds. And when they went, they worshiped. V 16 says, “And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.” They hurried, and can you imagine their excitement? More excited than little children on Christmas morning looking for their presents under the tree—their hearts pounding as they ran, wondering, asking for the Child! And you can be sure they worshiped, even though this is not expressly mentioned. They knew that this Baby, though lying helpless in a trough where the food for animals was placed, was in truth the very Son of God, Christ, promised Messiah, Lord, who had come to save them from their sins.
There are those who go to Bethlehem (or at least go to church on Christmas) who never worship that Baby. They like the carols. Jesus is a cute baby, but they don’t recognise him as their living Saviour and God. Others flat out reject the message of the angels. “A virgin, you say, a girl who claims to be the mother? Come on now! They admire Him as a heart-warming Christmas concept perhaps. But a Saviour they do not need and do not want. They never kneel. They never worship the King.
Pray God we do. What would we do without the story of Christmas and the song of the angels? How should we stand before the judgment seat of God? Have we not broken his Commandments? Have we not sinned? Do we want God to judge us on the basis of what we’ve done and not done when he says in (Ezek 18:4) “The soul who sins shall die”? If so, then we would all be most miserable people. Then we should have to spend eternity without hope, without God, forever damned.
But the good news is this Christmas and every day!! God loves us, even us. He loves you, whatever your station in life. Bethlehem says this is true. (Lk 2:11) “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour”. God did not forsake us in our trouble. He sent his Son to take away our sins, to carry them to his cross, to suffer the pains of hell for them and for us, to gain our pardon, to earn our heaven. And he urges us not to turn our backs on his promise and so to lose our own souls. And because God has given us the gift of faith to worship with the shepherds and believe, we can live our life assured that Jesus is walking with us into eternity.
The shepherds went. The shepherds worshiped. And, finally, the shepherds witnessed. They told other people what great things God had done for their souls. V 17 says, “When they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.” They made it widely known. To whom did they speak? I suspect they told every last person they met that night and for days to come. Their lives were never, and could never, be the same. “Did you hear the news? The Messiah has come. The Saviour is born. Angels told us all about it, and we saw him.” You can be sure they shared the news with their families. How could they hold back the message from those nearest and dearest to them?
You can be sure they told Joseph and Mary too about the visit of the angels. In fact, v 19 says, “Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.”
We are told also the message they spoke; (v 17) “They made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child”. They talked about Jesus. They carried the Word. The message was the important thing.
The message of Christ. A national church survey taken a few years ago revealed that they are many who go to church mainly for the social interaction; “The people are nice. The hymns are modern, the sermons are short, not too boring, lovely morning tea, and there was plenty of room to park.” ….. There was none of that by the shepherds. They didn’t say, “The angels harmonised beautifully, and the messenger angel looked absolutely stunning.” No, they witnessed to what God had done; they talked about the Saviour.
As we celebrate Christmas with the shepherds, we, too, have the privilege to witness, to share the news. We do it, for one thing: to announce the Saving Gospel of the birth, life, death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ that all may come to know Him and the power of His saving Grace and love.
The Word of God is so empowering that there are very few countries and languages in the world today that does not have it in written form. In my time in Central Australia when the Holy Bible, along with Hymnals were presented to the Aboriginal people of the four different language groups with whom I worked, they were received with the joy that clearly hearing and understanding God’s Word brings.
Of course, there is much to be done closer to home. The shepherds had no missionary society to help them spread the Word. They belonged to no church body. But they themselves spoke. They didn’t think they needed a course in evangelism before they could talk to others about the Gospel. They didn’t worry about whether their grammar was correct. They simply shared the Good News. Pray God that we shall do the same.
Over a yarn at work, sharing a ‘cold drink’ at a Bar-B-Que or over a cuppa with a friend. You would be surprised at questions people ask, simply because they do want to know what makes you different. That’s just another way we celebrate Christmas with the shepherds.
Friends, “Let’s go to Bethlehem.” Some never do. Some go but never worship. Some worship but never witness. Pray God that we shall, like the shepherds, do all three. Then, when the holidays are over and we return to our usual routine, we, too, like the shepherds, can as written in (v 20) return “glorifying and praising God for all we have heard and seen”. Amen.
The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Child as He comes to you this Christmas. Amen
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