SHEPHERDS
Jenna Worsham
Today’s Scripture: “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.” Luke 2:8-9, ESV
Theme: Like us, the frightened, unsuspecting shepherds were invited to know Jesus and to tell the world about Him.
UNSUSPECTING
It would be a very big day. They had no idea. They were minding their own business. The shepherds in the field may have been connected only by occupation, caring for adjacent (maybe even competing) herds, spaced out over the hills, and overlooked or unfit for other tasks. It was an outside, remote job that wasn’t well respected. Shepherds worked long hours, came home dirty, and even slept outside sometimes. We don’t know their names or really anything about them. Were they even men? Some were likely young women. This is still true today in the Middle East. Women, especially young women without position or promise, tend sheep. If the men in the family are busy or otherwise employed, their sisters are sent to care for the sheep. Jacob’s wife, Rachel, was tending sheep for her father when he arrived. “Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherd” (Genesis 29:9b, NIV). What were the shepherds who saw angels in the night sky doing outside on a hill so late? Tending sheep, falling asleep, stoking their fires, and passing the time. They probably hadn’t bathed. Their names were not recorded. I’m so sorry: you can’t trace your genealogy back to a “nativity shepherd.” They represent a common worker, maybe like you or me.
LOWLY
Maybe this season you are well-prepared: cards sent and received, clothes for the occasion, gifts under the tree, and you are even on a serving team at church. Or maybe nothing seems to be going to plan this year. Someone has to work the retail stores late into the night. Maybe your occupation during the holidays is thankless. If God sent angels to announce Jesus today, I wonder if He’d send them to Walmart at midnight? If He did, it would be cleaner and less rural than the fields full of sheep. We may feel lowly and unsuspecting of any role in God's story. And yet, God presents Himself to us the same as He did to those unsuspecting, nameless, maybe teenage, maybe both female and male shepherds. Shepherds wouldn’t be shocked at the livestock and hay surrounding the Messiah. After all, they would be used to mangers and stables. If you’re feeling lowly and humble, you are in good company. In fact, the God of the universe gave only one lowly group a birthday invitation delivered by singing angels.
Make It Personal: In what ways is God inviting you to Himself this season? You may not have expected a personal invitation this season, yet God called everyone, especially working-class and humble people today just as He called shepherds to His birth.
Pray: Dear God, as I think about the significance of Jesus’ birth and that You would send Your messengers to lowly shepherds, I am humbled. Help me to understand how much You value all people. Thank You for choosing the lowly. No one is forgotten by You. Thank You for allowing Your own Son to be accessible to the poor and humble right from birth. I remember the tragedy along with the beauty of Jesus’ birth. He came, and we celebrate His arrival. Yet the reason He came is my sin and my need. Thank You for Jesus’ sacrifice. Help me to share about Him regularly and honestly. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Read: Luke 2:8-18
Weekly Memory Verse: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14, ESV