The Announcement

Originally published January 2

Daily Reading: Genesis 3; Luke 2

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people…”

Luke 2:8-10

I’ve read of many theories of why God would choose to announce the biggest news in history to shepherds in a field. Two have stuck out to me: First, that God chose to share his news with the shepherds because God choses the humble and the lowly––the shepherds were certainly humble and lowly, to be a first century shepherd was to be at the bottom of the social ladder. Second, many have assumed that God chose the shepherds because they were available––others were preoccupied with all the issues of life and the noise of the world, while the shepherds were out under the stars quietly available to receive God’s great news. 

Both of these theories accurately speak to the nature of God: God does choose to speak to the humble and God speaks to those who allow quiet to be part of their lives. It is important to learn about that nature of God, but I found myself today asking what does this mean for me? What can I take away from this narrative that can inform my walk with Christ? How does God want me to grow because he announced Christ’s birth to a bunch of shepherds in a field? Certainly, I can learn from the story that if I want to hear from God I too need to be humble and seek times of solitude and quiet before God. But there is something more that I feel God wants us to take from this passage today.

Recently I was reading a commentary on this passage where the writer painted a beautiful word picture of the shepherds symbolizing those who care for God’s people, “The shepherds of Luke 2 may, therefore, symbolize all ordinary people who have joyfully received the gospel and have become in various ways pastors to others (Expositor’s Bible Commentary).” Maybe God is calling us 21st century ordinary people, as we receive the good news of great joy, to take the stance of the shepherd. Not so much to focus on the Good News of a baby in a manger, but on what we will do with the Good News––how we will live out the reality of the Incarnate God. Maybe God is calling us to humble ourselves not only to the Triune God, but to become pastors––in the truest sense of the word pastor––to those around us who are in need?

Lord, help me humble myself to serve as a shepherd to the flock you bring before me. Amen.