Today’s scripture: Luke 2:15-21 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message)
As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.
My thoughts (Ben Lamb):
I remember a television special from many years ago that I’d really like to see repeated. I was too young to remember too many details, but it was something like this: a famous choir was enacting the Christmas story inside the walls of its church. And believe it or not, the narration was being magnificently carried out by James Stewart and Lucille Ball! It was quite moving. (Mr. Stewart didn’t do his famous stammering once, and Miss Ball didn’t seem at all like Lucy Ricardo.)
That beautiful scene presented on television was typical of how I always imagined it must have been for the shepherds to gaze upward into the heavens 2000 years ago in order to see and hear the glorious angels wafting away with heavenly sounds announcing the Savior’s birth. And then they surely must have made a short bee-line straightway to the Mangers-R-Us Hotel and asked for directions to the New-Born-Savior suite, right?
According to the American Bible Society, “shepherds spent most of their time outside watching over the herd, no matter what the weather. They often slept near their flock to protect it from robbers or wild animals.”
So now, I’m thinking to myself, maybe I ought to be seeing a different picture in my mind.
According to today’s reading, the shepherds didn’t dawdle after the angels left. They hustled themselves right away to Bethlehem. That seems like a big leap of faith: leaving one’s four-footed/furry income unattended and scurrying off into the city for who-knows-how-long. Please notice that the angles didn’t include “BTW, he’s at 623 Moses Street, Manger 3B” in their song, so it seems the shepherds had to spend some time canvassing the city.
After seeing the Holy child, the shepherds were so transformed that they couldn’t wait to tell others. It would seem that God chose very common folk to be the first missionaries who told others how their lives were changed by Jesus. [Aside: See, it can be non-theologians who share Jesus with others. Obviously, God thinks it’s okay. So, mark that excuse off of your list.]
Why did God choose to send the angelic messengers to people who were on the fringe of society, both figuratively and literally? I can’t help but wonder if it was to send a clear message to everyone of the time (and now, too) that everyone is welcome to check out who Jesus is.
Thought for the day: Thank you God, for sharing your most precious gift with the entire world.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.