Luke 2: 8-20 8 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.
I look at this scripture and it seems to me to be a set of verses where I ask myself why and then always answer, oh, yeah. For starters, why shepherds? Oh, yeah, they represented the most common of common folk. They weren’t at all elite, refined or scholars of their day. However, the fact that the angels chose them as the first ones to break the really, really good news to means that even though I’m not necessarily upper crust, just an ordinary, common guy I might be worthy of being chosen to hear about the biggest news ever. That’s good for me.
Why were they so afraid? Imagine you’re in the country, far away from home. It is pitch black and all of a sudden some million candlepower light is shining from out of nowhere. Then some being tells you about this fantastic event nearby. Oh, yeah and even though you’re still quaking in your sandals after it’s over, collectively you have the good sense and presence of mind to follow directions.
So, if these guys could muster the courage to follow the path laid out before them out of the blue (really the black) then shouldn’t I be able to handle what God’s telling me today?
Why were the shepherds the ones moved to spread the news and why was everyone amazed? Oh yeah, they wouldn’t have been the most socially adept of people at that time (think long periods living with sheep, in remote areas, no cell phones, no twitter or Facebook). These were not guys that ran around in social circles and yet their news was big and they were seen as the herald of something awesome. They were transformed by the Holy Spirit which is really encouraging to me who is so NOT a lot of things.
Maybe they were brought into this thing to serve as an example of what is possible for a guy like me? Oh, yeah.
What big thing is the Holy Spirit trying to move you to do today? Have you told yourself a story about why it’s not possible?
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