Scripture Reading: Luke 2:1-20
Despite the contributions they make to society, some professions are held in disdain because their work is considered dirty and degrading. Consider the garbage collector. He performs the messy, unpleasant task of disposing of the things we consider useless and filthy. Dirty work but without his contribution, society would fall into squalor, and our streets would become breeding grounds for disease and death.
Likewise, shepherds played an essential role in ancient Israel. Shepherds kept watch over sheep, which contributed to the food chain, provided wool for clothing, and supplied sheep for the Jewish worship and sacrificial system. Yet, shepherds were considered unclean outcasts. Their nomadic lifestyle did not allow them to attend synagogue regularly. Shepherds had to work on the Sabbath. They had to come in contact with the bloody cuts and wounds of their sheep, as well as the occasional animal carcass while executing their duties. All this made shepherds unclean by Jewish law and tradition.
Yet, when Jesus was born, the birth announcement was not made to Caesar in Rome, the Roman Governor in Palestine nor King Herod in his palace. Even the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of Israel, was not notified of this birth. Instead, angelic beings were dispatched to give the news to shepherds watching over their flocks. Some would say the news was given to the “wrong people,” lowly shepherds. But it was a theme and message of Jesus’ entire ministry, to give good news of love, salvation and inclusion to those society looked at with disdain. The shepherds didn’t evaluate what this birth meant to their power base, how this child would challenge the political status quo, nor how this newborn would transform Jewish interpretation of the Mosaic Law. Instead, the shepherds were excited to receive this message of love and hope, and pass it on to anyone who would listen.
Are there any “shepherds” in our lives? No, not the type watching over sheep, but those who society consider “unworthy” of God’s message of joy and peace known as Christmas? Perhaps the people society, or even we hold personally in disdain because of how they look, dress, talk, or behave? The seemingly hostile neighbor, the unkind stranger, even the difficult relative. Like those angelic beings of 2,000 years ago, don’t hesitate to tell the welcoming message of Christmas to others. And encourage them to share it with others themselves.
Lesson to Remember: The true meaning of Christmas is far too valuable to keep to yourself; share it with someone.
“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.’”–Luke 2:15
