Shepherds were certainly valued for the work they did, but they weren't considered to be among those who had much status in the community. Surely not like the religious folk of the day. And yet, God chose to announce the birth of His son to these humble shepherds.
"An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified." Luke 2:9
Can you imagine what that might have been like? All of a sudden, in the darkness of night, an angel appears in the midst of a brilliant light; I'm sure the whole sky lite up! But the angel was quick to tell them not to be afraid.
""I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11
Then suddenly there was a great company of the "heavenly host" appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." Luke 2:14
The shepherds calmed down - they were not much different from us. When presented with something new, different, or alarming, we experience fear, sometimes we panic. But when we're open to God and have been given the faith to trust Him, we feel at peace and can go about our life. The angels went back to heaven and the shepherds decided to go to Bethlehem and check out this baby who had been placed in a manager. And, sure enough, there He was!
I think it's interesting, profound even, that the Lord uses the analogy of shepherds and sheep for the relationship between the Savior and His followers. Sheep are considered to be a bit dim-witted, not very bright. They can be ten yards from food and will starve to death if they don't have someone to lead them. They will get lost, run in the wrong direction, even fall over a cliff. They need constant attention. Just like us. Guess that is why we are called sheep.
The shepherd loves his sheep. If one drifts away, he will diligently search for that sheep and not give up until it is found. God knows His sheep, He calls them by name and His sheep know their Shepherd, they hear His voice and follow Him. They will never follow a stranger's voice. You will be blessed with new understanding if you read John 10. I call it the 'sheep chapter'.
The fact that the angel appeared to the common people of the day tells us that God isn't interested in our 'religious status'. He doesn't require and is not impressed with our religious works. He loves us just as He did the shepherds of the field - dirty, confused, afraid. He will remove our fear, illuminate us, and clean us up so when the day comes, we will appear at the throne of God 'white as snow'.
What do we have to do? Actually not much. When He calls us by name all we need to do is say, "Yes Lord, I want to be one of Your sheep and I will follow You as my Shepherd."
Celebrate this season with great joy and thanksgiving for all that God has done for us and all that He does every day. Stay close to Him; He loves you with great passion. YOU are His joy!
Thank you Lord for loving us enough to send Jesus to earth, fully human, fully divine, to show us how to have a relationship with You and live in heaven eternally.
***If you are interested, my books, How is The Day?, and The God Who Sees Me are on Amazon, hard back and inexpensive E-book, author, Roberta Van Hise.
