Christmas is just 8 days away! It is hard to believe this year went by so
fast!
I want to share a passage I taught my two year-old Sunday
School class this week. The scripture is
Luke 2 :8-20:
Now there were in the
same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock
by night. And behold, an angel of the
Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they
were greatly afraid. Then the angel said
to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy
which will be to all people. For there
is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the
Lord. And this will be the sign to you:
You will find the Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly, there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the
highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” So it was, when the angels had gone away from
them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “let us now go to Bethlehem
and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”
And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a
manger. Now when they had seen Him, they
made widely known saying which was told them concerning the child. And all those who heard it marveled at those
things which were told them by the shepherd.
But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the
shepherd returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had
heard and seen, as it was told them.
I want to reflect on this passage as we near the date of celebration
of Jesus’ birth. It is amazing to me
that God chose to deliver this message to some shepherds in a field. I have wondered why this event did not occur
before kings and other “important” people.
Why did God choose to announce the birth of His Son to some guys
watching sheep?
I think the answer is found when you look at the rest of the
story. Jesus was born in a STABLE, one
of the dirtiest, smelliest places around.
He was born in the little town of Bethlehem. His earthly father Joseph, was a tradesman, a
carpenter.
On the surface, there is nothing spectacular about this
child’s birth. But when you are familiar
with the meaning behind these events, you begin to realize how spectacular it
truly was. Mary was a virgin; Jesus was
conceived by the Holy Spirit. It is
prophesied in the Old Testament that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. A star later guided wise men from the east to
worship Jesus.
I think God chose these particular people because they had
faith. Mary had faith that she would
bear a Son who would be the Savior of the world. Joseph had faith that Mary was telling the
truth (after being told so in a dream).
The wise men had faith that this strange star would lead them to
Jesus. And the shepherds had faith that
what the angels told them was true.
Can you imagine what was going through their heads when they
saw the night sky lit up bright as day and filled with angels? I bet more than one thought they must be hallucinating
or dreaming. The text states they were
afraid. I would be too! But notice what
they did after the angel delivered the message.
They “came with haste” to see Jesus.
They didn't question it. They
didn't disregard it. They RAN to meet
Jesus. And of course, they found it to
be just as the angel said.
And after they saw these things? They TOLD people! They told LOTS of
people. They didn't seem to worry about
what other people would think. They
weren’t afraid to be called crazy. They
were so excited and wanted others to know that the Messiah had come. I think this is why God chose the shepherds
to announce His son’s birth. I think if
the angels had appeared to other “important” people, they may have questioned
it and tried to rationalize how this could have happened, or even dismissed
it. I think God knew the shepherds had
faith and new they would be courageous in sharing the good news.
I want to challenge you to have faith this holiday
season. We all know how hard it can be
to stay focused on Christ with so much to do.
But let’s try to keep things in perspective and not get blinded by all
our to-do lists and shopping and wrapping.
Let’s make sure to keep our hearts open to hear any messages God may be
trying to give us. Let’s be courageous
in sharing the true meaning of this season with those who may not believe
us. Let’s be like the shepherds, with
unwavering faith in what God tells us.
I want to wish each of you a very Merry CHRISTmas! Always remember that He IS the reason for the
season.
Blessings,
Brianna Richards
Historian
National Board of Trustees
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