The Wonder of it All
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Luke 2:8-20
8. And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10. And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; 11. for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths 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, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!" 15. 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." 16. And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17. And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child; 18. and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19. But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
These shepherds probably tended the flock of sheep raised for the temple sacrifices, so they were geographically near the town of Bethlehem. Normally, a shepherd would not leave his flock unattended, under any circumstances! Of course, an angel appearing to you—a host of angels!—doesn’t happen just any old day! That’s how amazing this was to them—they left their sheep unguarded to see for themselves the mighty savior for whom they had been waiting their whole lives—as had generations before them!
Wow! History culminating on this night—and the shepherds were the first to hear and witness it! The lowest form of humanity—smelly, dirty, uneducated, probably quite odd, from living in the fields with no company but sheep! God chose to reveal the truth to them first! Be not afraid indeed! I might have feared that rather than a Messiah’s birth being proclaimed, God’s messengers were coming to proclaim the judgment day! So Gabriel and his companions put their minds and hearts at peace—they brought news! Those shepherds must have wondered, “why us?” They must have been puzzled to have been chosen as the messengers to all around the town. Some may not have believed them. But they were so excited! They spread the joyous news around town and the countryside, and then returned—for one more look at this amazing creature—future conqueror and king of the Jews!
And what about Mary? She remembered what another angel nine months ago had proclaimed to her, surely. What do you think ran through her mind as those shepherds crowded into the cave to see her precious baby on a bed of hay laid in a stone trough? After she counted his fingers and his toes and stroked his soft cheek with her finger, I’m pretty sure she was just so busy cuddling him and holding him, and was somewhat put off by all the attention! I’m sure she believed what God had revealed to her through the angel! But on that first night, I bet she just basked in the glow of being a new mother!
An odd band of quirky men. . . a teenaged girl . . . a kind and gentle-hearted man—a carpenter who was faithful to that girl. . . humble beginnings for a mighty warrior, a powerful ruler, a Savior! On that night the scripture was fulfilled, just as the prophets had declared. On that night history was changed forever. On that night, the whole world stopped spinning for just a moment as a star shone over head and wise men from far away lands set out to find this future king. They must have done some running around themselves! Asking each other, “Do you think this is the alignment of heavenly bodies that has been foretold?”
And in the midst of shopping and baking and more shopping and going to holiday parties, and more shopping . . . we stop to ponder how God could be so good. How could he grant us hope in the form of an infant? How could he let us know that if he chose shepherds to be his first earthly messengers that each of us is worthy of salvation? How could he have this planned so long ago, and waited so long to send his Son to earth? How could he have allowed that Son to die on a cross? How? Why?
This Christmas season, I hope you’ll feel the excitement and awe of those shepherds, the joy and warmth of Mary, and marvel at the wonder of it all.
Mary
