Willing To Go
Advent season is second only to Easter on the Christian calendar, and it is filled with memorable people and events which culminate in the birth of Jesus. The rhythms of the days preparing for him to arrive display familiar stories. The carols and hymns rehearse the thrill of hope as a weary world rejoices and invitations to come, all you faithful, to see the baby so long promised and how here. The narratives, mostly detailed in the writings of Matthew and Luke, trace the lives of two teenagers caught up in the whirlwind of a supernatural drama that doesn't end with the birth, but carries through to a visit from mysterious men from the east and the young family running for their lives from a murderous tyrant, to Egypt, where they found safety as refugees.
Last week we explored some thoughts about the Innkeeper in the Christmas drama. This week, how about letting our imagination wander a bit more along these lines? Ever wonder about what else we might learn from the shepherds out in the fields?
Let's listen to the story again from Luke 2:
There were shepherds camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you are to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger."
At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises: "Glory to God in the heavenly heights, and peace to all men and women on earth who please him."
As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. "Let's get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us." They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard them were impressed.
There has been much written about and plenty of guessing as to just what kinds of folks these sheepherders might be. Some insist they were of low class and outcasts among their betters, but that has mostly been set aside. A larger group of scholars agree that, in the times of Jesus, while they were probably dirty and smelly from their work, they certainly were seen as a necessary and reliable part of society, as evidenced by the crowd listening and responding to their retelling of what they experienced. They were most likely young men, teenagers or younger, and they were pulling the graveyard shift.
Now, we have to work a bit to drag the narrative out of a children's church Christmas pageant understanding and dress it in its setting. It had been a long day and finally the flocks had settled down for the night. Guards to watch over them, armed with staff and sling, sat on post. A low fire flickered while some of the others slept or talked quietly huddling close to the warmth. Dew was settling and the cold creeping in. Just another day in the fields done and dusted.
Then the text says "suddenly." I think of "out of nowhere" or "stunningly" or "holy moly, what's that!" I can only imagine what the "angel of the Lord" might look like, and can't put into a picture how the "glory of the Lord" blazed, but it clearly arrived as an awesome sight. And it scared the stuffing out of the boys since the first words to them were, "Don't be afraid!" And then it might have looked like the sky was ripped open when a massive angel choir jumped into the scene. Imagine Handel's Hallelujah Chorus on steroids. And all for a bunch of shepherd boys out in the fields, minding their own business and doing their job. Isn't that just like God, to show up when least expected and blow everyone's socks clean off?
You probably have heard folks teach this passage and draw solid applications, like God choosing the shepherds as a sign that the message was for everyone starting with the marginalized, or that God would use these normal working stiffs would be the first to tell others about Jesus and not the religious mucky-mucks. These ideas and others are sound and valuable.
I think there is another point of application that all of us can relate to. Time and again we stand at intersections where God shows up and we face a choice. Think about the shepherds: They had a job to do and responsibilities to cover. The sheep weren't going to watch themselves and who guards their stuff if they took off? But how could they ignore, not just a nudge from the Holy Spirit, but a 4th-of-July-fireworks-crescendo kind of encounter? Go, to who knows what, or stay put and chalk it all up to indigestion from the chuckwagon dinner? They had responsibilities. They chose to go, and that made a huge difference.
As we pay attention, there are times every day when the Spirit nudges us to speak or to go or to befriend or to be inconvenienced, and we confront our own shepherd's intersection. To go, even when it seems odd or irresponsible, or play it safe? Likely, no angel or heaven-choir will help us decide, but we know, as a child of God, the Spirit moves us to become the hands and voice of Jesus to those around us. Standing at the intersection, I'd like to believe I'd join the shepherds, but I know sometimes I'd stay put and play it safe.
How about for this week, at least, we choose to be shepherds...and go. Pay attention to what the inner voice whispers. Pray for eyes to see and not just look. Ask for chances to do good in spite of reasons to stand pat.
Hooray, for the shepherds!!
And more music!
...and a funny for the road
An elderly gentleman walked into an upscale cocktail lounge. Well-dressed, with a flower pinned to his lapel, he cut a suave figure. Seated at the bar was a fine-looking lady of a certain age. The gentleman walked over, sat beside her, ordered a drink, then turned to her to ask, “Tell me, good-looking, do I come here often?”