Angels and Shepherds

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:

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 that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14      “Glory to God in the highest heaven,

    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

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. (Luke 2:8-20, NIV)

…………

1        Who has believed our message

    and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

2        He grew up before him like a tender shoot,

    and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,

    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3        He was despised and rejected by mankind,

    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces

    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. (Isaiah 53:1-3, NIV)

…………

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6        Who, being in very nature God,

    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

7        rather, he made himself nothing

    by taking the very nature of a servant,

    being made in human likeness.

8        And being found in appearance as a man,

    he humbled himself

    by becoming obedient to death—

        even death on a cross!

9        Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

    and gave him the name that is above every name,

10      that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11      and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

    to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:1-12, NIV)

REFLECTIONS:

The nativity story is a familiar one. We have plays and songs and decora­tions that capture the event. We know this story so well, in fact, that we miss just how unexpected and shocking the story really is.

First of all, it begins with an announcement from angels: The High King of Heaven is coming to earth. This is a story from another world, which is now coming to us. Given the realities of the day, we might expect the angels to make this announcement to the Roman authorities or to the re­ligious elite in Jerusalem. Instead, they went to a small town in the middle of nowhere and proclaimed the coming King to a group of shepherds.

Shepherds! Lowly shepherds. They were not the movers and shakers, and certainly not the kind of people through whom you would spread the word, so to speak. From any common sense point of view, this is bizarre.

So why would God do this? Why should Jesus be born in Bethlehem, unknown to most of the world, and be only announced to an inconse­quential few?

God seems to nearly always use the weak, unassuming and humble to bring his kingdom of peace. Abraham was an old man in the land of Ur. David was a young boy in the pasture. Gideon was short-handed against a great army. This is the story of the whole nation of Israel: “The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples” (Deuteronomy 7:7).

The fact that the angels announced the peace of the Messiah to the shep­herds instead of kings and priests is incredibly reassuring. God has made, and will make, peace with the humble—those who are not dependent upon themselves for righteousness or moral acceptance. It is those who understand their lowly position before the Wonderful Counselor and Mighty God, the Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace and come to worship him, who will be saved.

Jesus taught this to his disciples (Luke 9:46-48; Luke22:24-30). Paul and the other apostles taught it as well (1 Corinthians1:18-31; Philippians 2:1-11; 1 Peter 3:12-19; James 2:1-13). The connection between humility and peace is at the center of the gospel message.

In response to the criticism that Christianity is just a crutch for the emotionally or psychological needy, John Piper counters that it is not only a crutch—it is an entire ICU. We were once dead in our sins and trespasses (Ephesians 2:1), naturally God’s enemies (Romans 5:10), and in need of a saving God to bring us to life (Ephesians 2:4-10). Those who do not think they are sick will never get well (Matthew 9:12-13).

The season of Advent brings us peace because God has reconciled us to himself through his Son. We experience this peace when we recognize our humble state before the unassuming manger of the saving, loving and good King Jesus. Jesus, “being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8).

POINT TO PONDER AND PRAYER:

Am I trying to keep up appearances? Am I trying to be good enough for God to love?

God, you are a holy God, righteous and just, beyond com­pare. I confess my pride—thinking I am somehow acceptable on my own merit. I confess my fear—thinking that you would not love a sinner like me. I turn to Jesus, “who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” He came for the sick. He died for the ungodly. May I be counted among those who are lowly enough to see the Lord in the manger.