Luke 2: Three Things I Learned From the Shepherds III

The grand, majestic angel choir had announced the Savior’s arrival, nothing was more grand, more significant or divine than the actual birth.  God with Us.  Immanuel.  The Messiah. The Promised One of Israel.  The Name Above All Names had come at last.

Mary and Joseph, unaware of the demonstration of praise by the heavenly host to the Shepherds out in the fields beyond Bethlehem were muffled by Mary going into labor, finding the manger and giving birth. Mary was young and inexperienced.  Her Aunt Elizabeth may have helped prepare her for this very event.  She would have to completely trust her husband and God for his arrival. Her level of trust is seen as she left for Bethlehem heavy with child.

The Shepherds left the field that night in search of the tiny baby and the Scriptures say that they found him.  Maybe it didn’t take too much inquiry to locate the woman and man who had traveled to be registered in Bethlehem, very obviously pregnant.  Expectantly they crowded around the manager and found the baby, just as the angel had said. In their excitement and joy they told every one of the events of the night.  I’m sure Mary and Joseph were stunned when a group of smelly shepherds arrived to see this baby and marvel at his birth.  It says Mary pondered the words of the shepherds in her heart.  Don’t you think that when the guys ran all over Bethlehem sharing this amazing news that others came by to see him?  We don’t know how many people came by to see this little baby and his parents after the shepherds shared the news.  Hopefully some nice neighbors brought in extra diapers and some meals to help out the young couple and God’s own son.

Luke 2:9 says that “the shepherds returned.”  After confirming all that the angel had told them and witnessing the spectacular heavenly choir the shepherds went back to work.  They had work to do, day in and day out guarding and herding the sheep to food and water, ensuring their safety and the twice daily chore of counting. The events of the past several days had certainly been overwhelming – they had seen and heard with their own eyes and ears the glory of God.  Faithful men to their tasks they returned to life and the usual mundane tasks that lay before them. 

The third thing I learned from the shepherds is that as they returned to their normal life they returned, “glorifying and praising God.”  They had learned the secret that had been withheld in the Old Testament; they were the first witnesses of the gospel, they had seen God’s son, beheld his glory, and shared the great event with others and they got back to work – but worked joyfully praising God knowing of his great provision of Salvation for mankind – peace on earth to men.

As believers we walk this earth with the same secret, we are witnesses of the gospel, we know God’s Son and in this knowing we behold his glory in a unique way – believing without seeing and we have the greatest opportunity that has ever existed to share salvation with the masses.  Yet despite this great opportunity it seems normal life keeps us from glorifying and praising God.  We live unhappy, burdened lives. We keep to ourselves and rarely reach out to others with good news of great joy.  We keep to our inner circle daring others to invade our comfy space.

God first shared his message of hope with quiet, unassuming, boring, shepherds and they immediately turned into bold, excited jubilant heralders of faith – their lives changed forever. 

I have wondered if any of these shepherds were still alive when Jesus began his public ministry.  I like to think they were.  I think Mary shared with Jesus their arrival when he was born and the events that surrounded his birth.  I think he held a special place in his heart for the shepherds and used them regularly in his parables and equates those who watch over God’s flock here on earth as shepherds.  Maybe he had these guys in mind in his stories, especially the one that paints of portrait of God who leaves the 99 to go find the 1 who went astray. 

The Christmas season, the celebration of the birth of Jesus means different things to different people. There are mounds of sentiment and tradition, joyful memories and sad memories.  The month may not get by without a good cry or two over those who have passed away and are no longer with us, or the happiness of seeing a loved one we’ve been apart from too long.

The simple shepherds, however, have shown us the true meaning of the season:

Life is dirty and mundane.  Isn’t it?  This time of year is broken up into gift shopping and decorating, but normal stuff just keeps happening.  Wash the dishes, pay the bills, drive to work, do the laundry, throw in some extra baking, count the sheep….day to day life rolls on.  Folding clothes, putting away the socks, vacuuming the floor – it all blurs into the dirty and mundane. 

They sought him immediately and didn’t keep silent about God’s message. If we will seek God in the middle of the mundane he will not be silent.  Remember, God had been quiet for 400 years, but the hearts of the faithful anticipated his coming, his voice would sound out again.  The shepherds responded with urgency to the message of hope.  Here was HOPE!  Here was PEACE!  God was real, he was big, he was magnificent, he was MORE than they ever imagined. If we anticipate him working in our lives, he is faithful to turn our day, our very lives upside down.  Look for his divine appointments every day – make room in your heart for him to do something wonderful in the middle of the mundane.  He may place a person who needs a kind word behind you in the grocery line. Maybe you need to take an extra few cookies to the lonely neighbor next door or surprise them by bringing their trash can back to the side of the house after pick up day.  Share the message of hope and peace and salvation with those around you, don’t be shy, share the joy you have with others just as the shepherds shared. This side of the cross we have the greatest news anyone could hear.

They returned to the mundane and dirty, yet they glorified and praised God.  Yes, back to the normal stuff.  After they were used of God to share the good news of the birth of his Son, they went back to work, but they were able to glorify and praise God for all he had done and would continue to do. It is in the praising and the glorifying and the worshiping that he fills our hearts and minds and it makes all the little tasks worthwhile. Praising him enables him to fill those empty spaces, to take away the darkness, it allows us to be responsive to him. 

It is easy to be weighed down by the clutter of life; the chores to do and our tasks can crowd out the majesty of the Holy One.  Jesus joined the mass of humanity in the most humble of circumstances, his birth announcement was proclaimed to dirty shepherds on hill while they counted sheep.  As you celebrate the wonder of His birth, celebrate also your re-birth into eternal life that he provided by his life, death and resurrection and ascension. Receive his gift of love with awe and humility.  Share THIS gift with others.

The Shepherds got it right.  They understood the message and they understood their role.  It was a simple one, yet they made it into the pages of Scripture for everyone to read, so we too can share God’s message:  

Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.

Photo Courtesy of Paul Oberlander 

A New Canvas

I’m not much of an artist.  In fact I cannot sketch out much more than stick figures on paper.  I can decorate, paint walls and organize a home which is an art form, but drawing is not my thing. My brother actually got that gene and is quite good at penciling out a cartoon and he has some nice art he did while studying for his degree at Georgia Tech. Stick figures are okay I guess, but just not very entertaining and their expressions are little more than thin emoticons. 

I often look at life as one big canvas and for me my canvas is often the calendar. I think in arenas of quarters or seasons and then map out a year.  I love to plan and try to orchestrate life around what I know is ahead.  I’m not quite sure why I’m like that.  I have kept a calendar since as long as I can remember and I have them saved away so I can prove it. Of course there have been hard and difficult years or seasons and thankfully many good ones. I love to get my new calendar and mark all the birthdays and anniversaries and things I know will happen circling holidays in color marking New Year’s, Valentines, Easter, Memorial Day, July 4 and such with appropriate holiday color.  Then I get a little more detailed on events that surround work and travel, I try to think ahead to when a vacation would be possible and mark that in pencil.  Then in pencil I also mark ahead to remember someone’s birthday or their passing away day so that I don’t forget to be sensitive to those days for someone else.

This has been my habit at the end of every year.  In some ways it’s very reassuring and reminds me of days or years gone by and comforts me that things are mostly the same. It becomes a canvas of my life...all the comings and goings and doings.

One year I ruined my canvas.  I tossed paint on the board and spilled it all over the floor. I was angry and rebellious and I turned my back on all that I knew and loved.  I left everything to follow an idol in my heart and I left a huge gaping hole in the calendar and all things familiar.  I destroyed relationships cut people and God out of my life.  The canvas was ruined, stained and un-salvageable. At least that is what I thought, and so did many others.

Now God is an amazing artist.  His landscapes, sunsets, sunrises, waterfalls, seasons and mountaintops bespeak of a master painter with an eye for detail in color, placement and timing.  His artwork is not only found in nature, but in people’s lives.  He can make shy people bold, he can make the prideful humble, he can make joy out of sadness and tenderly bring life back to one filled with grief.  His handiwork can take our breath away if only we will look with eyes to see.

After my disaster in the art room, the creator of the universe quietly and gently took my canvas and placed a fresh new one in its place. He mopped up the spattered paint on the floor and set the canvas stand by an open window with different hues from the sunlight. His heart of love removed my hand from the paintbrush and he started a new work of art and he turned a heart of stone into a heart of flesh.  He is not only a true artist but he excels in music and put a new song in my heart as well.  He removed all the trappings and expectations and disappointments putting one goal before me, to love His Son, Jesus.  He gave me a new family and a new life.  All I have known since is his deep abiding love for me, grace and mercy that completely overwhelm me and I cannot praise or thank him enough. 

Right now the canvas is not finished.  The colors are not dry.  He works daily to show me the shades and colors he is using to paint a portrait of a woman devoted to him.  I sometimes want to advise him on a nice palate that would suit me, but he asks that I trust him with the painting to be fully revealed when I see him face to face.

Occasionally I grab an etch-a-sketch and try a design of my own, all squiggly and off center, but gratefully we can shake it up and down and erase the mess I can make on my own.  I still pull out my calendar and outline the year and plan (it’s who I am), but now I seek his guidance for each facet of our home, life and business.  He fills the edges of the painting with people and friends both near and far.  Then slowly, but surely the image of Christ begins to emerge as the Creator generously fills in the lavish landscape with his loving-kindness and the righteousness of His Son.  My stick figures hardly compare to the master, and my sketches are more like post it notes.   

Rest in his Word today, he is in the business of making all things new… even a ruined canvas.  The Architect of the Universe can mend a broken or hurting life.  He makes all things beautiful.

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal”… “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come.”

Luke 2: Three Things I Learned from the Shepherds II

We left off with the Shepherd guys on the hillside receiving a message from God’s angel messenger with the glory of God shining and surrounding them.  The most beautiful, wonderful, glorious baby reveal message is being delivered to these dirty, plain, smelly men who watch sheep. 

The angel tells them where the baby is located, “this will be a sign unto you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”  This was a very subtle communication that they would need to leave and go find this baby.  YOU will find…. YOU will have to go look, YOU will have to stop what you are doing and…go. 

This is exactly what we have to do today.  Stop what you are doing, stop being busy, stop making the next plan, just stop and go find the Savior.  He’s there.  He’s always available, no longer a baby, he’s our loving Savior and Lord, but we need to stop and spend time with him, go seek him.  In the endless mundane of life, the rush of the holiday season, the never ending work load, the laundering, vacuuming, the doctor visits,  we must stop what we are doing and go spend time with Jesus.

Now while these wholly guys are processing this message – there is a SUDDENLY.  I love this word, suddenly, as Scripture reveals that suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God.  I can’t even imagine.  Tears, awe, shock, belief, unbelief, joy and the amazing realization that God is authentic and real.  What does a heavenly choir company sound like?  How incredible to have your world changed instantly as you understand just an inkling of the magnificence of God? 

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests”

The heavenly hosts proclaimed the message of the ages – the Savior had arrived.  

 Then quiet. 

The angels departed and the night sky returned.  The shepherd guys looked at each other and didn’t waste a moment (this was bigger than a caffeine rush) .  They said, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”  Now don’t miss this part either; first, they knew that the city of David meant Bethlehem.  They didn’t have to google it, or have a discourse about the location or find a map.  Secondly, there was no doubt that this message was from the Lord.  No doubt.  They understood the urgency and in verse 16 it says they hurried off and found Mary, Joseph and the baby in the manger – just as they were told. 

I don’t know who kept watch over the sheep while they departed for Bethlehem.  I would not want to be the one who drew the short straw.  This was huge.  Maybe this night the sheep were on their own, but it was clear to the shepherds, they needed to see the Savior of the world, tonight.

Here is the second thing I learned from the Shepherds – it comes from verse 17.  “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”  They sought him immediately and didn’t keep silent about the message of the Christ child.  What a magnificent night.  What amazing news!  After the long silence, God revealed in the reflection of the night that he had sent the Savior and all that was foretold was true.  They shared with everyone all that they had seen and heard and witnessed with joy.  Can you image hearing their story?...the amazement of the town?  Maybe even the audacity that this was revealed to these guys?  Would you go check it out too? 

When we have the best news anyone can hear – the message of Christ, do we share it with those around us?  Do we back down or keep quiet because it might offend others or put them off?  Do we keep quiet, unsure of how to share the message of love and great grace?  The shepherds weren’t worried about what people would think.  They hurried to see what this message from heaven was all about and when they saw it, they shared it with everyone. 

We need to possess this same great joy, this exuberance, this desire to tell everyone of the Savior.  Remember too, this message they shared was face to face.  And that is how we should share Him too.  The shepherd guys would have been familiar to the town’s people, they had family there, they provided sheep for the temple, they shopped and traded in the village so they were not strangers with an odd message, they were trusted sheep herders who faithfully watched their flocks and lived on the hillside day after day.  Build relationships, build trust and love and share the good news that fills the pages of the Bible.  We don’t have angelic revelations and heavenly hosts singing in our night sky, (it would be awesome, huh?) but we do have the greatest message that can be shared written down and in our hearts.   Some of my deepest conversations with God happen on long walks nearby a field not far from my home.  Then some of my sweetest conversations with neighbors happen at my kitchen table or in town about the greatness of God.

Consider this:  Men tend to multiply duties in their observance of religion.  This practice enables them to give Me (God) money, time, and work without yielding up to Me (God) what I desire the most - their hearts.  Rules can be observed mechanically.  Once they become habitual, they can be followed with minimal effort and almost no thought.  These habit-forming rules provide a false sense of security, lulling the soul into a comatose condition. (Jesus Calling, Sarah Young, December 6) 

Some of the most stinky, smelly, obscure guys on earth first shared the good news of the gospel.  We should do no less.

Luke 2: Three Things I Learned from the Shepherds (Part 1)

I decided to re-read the Luke 2 passage in the quietness of my office and pondered on the words.  There is just so much in this second chapter.  Facebook and Twitter do not hold a candle to all of the drama surrounding the conception and birth, the travel to Bethlehem, no Inn or place to stay, finding a manger, the visitors, the announcement surrounding the birth of our Lord.  The perfect time had arrived and Jesus was born in a small town in a little stable with a manger for a bed. Tiny pieces of a large puzzle combined for the most defining birth of mankind.  God had been silent for 400 years. No prophets, no messages. I’m sure the silence seemed deafening for those who faithfully served and worshiped God year after year after year.  We don’t know about many of those people but we know they exist because of the descriptions we have of the life of Joseph who would be Jesus’ earthly Dad, of Mary and her servant heart, of Elizabeth and Zechariah who would birth John, and Simeon and Anna who served in the temple and were awaiting the Christ child.  These were faithful followers of God in spite of the silence.

I didn’t realize I could learn so much from the lives of the shepherds. When you consider that they received the first and only angelic birth announcement made about Jesus we have to be touched and meditate on their lives, their response, and God’s purpose for sharing the most important fulfillment of his promise of a Savior that was made all the way back in Genesis. Here is the embodiment of the redemption of man, the One who would bridge the gap for fellowship with the Creator and who receives the news?….plain, obscure, smelly, messy shepherds living out in the fields.

One of the first things we learn is that God can and will interrupt a life that is dirty and mundane.  The shepherd guys were living out in the fields with their sheep.  That is dirty work.  Except for the occasional predator to deal with I would have to think was a pretty boring job and it was 24/7.  Their job was to move the sheep around to feeding grounds and keep count.  During harvest time they would have been hired by landowners who needed help to harvest their fields.  When these food sources got scarce they would move their herds to mountain pastures to feed.  This was not an easy life as they spent most of their time outside watching the herd no matter the weather.  They slept near their flocks to protect it from robbers or wild animals.  At night they gathered the sheep into “sheepfolds,” stone walls made by the shepherds or possible natural enclosures provided by caves.  They counted them each evening as they brought them into the fold and again in the morning as they lead them to pasture. 

Most of our lives are a little more adventurous than the shepherd guys although we can feel that our lives are mundane – we get up, get dressed, leave for work, deal with traffic, do our work, deal with traffic, come home, eat a meal, go to bed and do it again each week all year long.  Maybe we have small children and we feed, wash, clean, wipe, until we feel we can’t do it another day.  Possibly we are a caregiver and each day is long, sad and hard and exhaustion fills our soul.  Often we do have more opportunity to socialize and be around a variety of people, but the majority of us have plain, mundane, ordinary lives.  Our monotony is broken up sometimes by vacations or holidays, but not so with the shepherds. 

This particular night the sheep had been counted and put up for the night.  I would imagine that the guys took the quietness of the night to talk and exchange stories.  They were nearby Bethlehem so quite possibly they had family fairly close.  Maybe they discussed whose son would soon join them or how they might best market their sheep for the next festival when a sacrifice would be needed or begin preparations for sheering and contracting with a local seamstress for clothing.  Without the internet this was definitely a word of mouth operation.  They probably discussed the order of who would be on guard for the night as the others rested.

The silence was broken as an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them.   

And they were terrified.   

A normal, dark - yet star lit night was interrupted by the God of the Ages. 

This is a hold your breath and contemplate moment.  These guys are discussing sheep market prices and an angel appears.  Not only that – God’s glory engulfs and shines all around them.  I can hardly take that in.  There is no description of what this looks like exactly.  My mind pops back to Moses who asks to see God’s glory and he only sees God’s back, briefly. But here God’s glory shines around them.  They don’t shout hallelujah or amen or raise their hands – they are terrified. In that instant their lives are permanently altered. It is mind numbing.  I imagine they are immobile, trembling, scared and dazed.

The angel totally in tune with the fact that the shepherds are in the middle of a truly scary, unique and holy experience reassures them, “do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”  These lowly, smelly, simple guys are being told to not be afraid and must process that they are receiving the best news in the entire world on a hillside with the sheep. 

Notice, as well, that the event didn’t unfold a few days ago, the angel tells them that Today – today in the town of David a Savior has been born to YOU. (That’s personal). He is Christ the Lord.  This was a personal message to the shepherds.  The world’s Messiah has been born to touch you – to change you – he is your Lord.  The angel tells them where to find their Savior – a small newborn, wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.  They might not have believed this simple message except for the fact that it WAS an angel and the glory or the Lord was swirling around them.  How do you even process that?

One of the first things we learn is that God can and will interrupt life that is dirty and mundane.  No matter where you are in life – on a huge adventure or just stuck in traffic, or changing diapers, or folding laundry, or trying to make ends meet on tips from waitressing, or you are disabled and unable to leave home, or the house is dirty, or…whatever your story is while life is dirty and mundane.... God still speaks to us today.  We don’t have angel visits or magnificent glory shining around us, but his Word about His Son, our Savior and Lord should still take our breath away.  There has been no other announcement to match this one, ever.  You know how they have baby reveal parties to let you know if the baby is a girl or a boy?  This one takes the cake.  Literally.  It’s a boy, the heavenly host announces his birth, and he’s the promised Messiah.  A reveal party for the shepherds.  Only God would choose to announce his reconciliation of mankind to himself to some of the most insignificant people on earth. 

Let him reveal his love to you this Christmas and every day.  Let him fill you with joy, peace, his indescribable presence. We see from the humble lives of the shepherds that God has a message, a new life, and an unalterable footprint to change anyone’s life and it's personal. We may not think that there is anything new to see, hear or learn - but that may be because we haven't taken the next steps that the shepherd's took.....as we watch the social media exchange of the shepherds go viral…..