Luke 2:1-14

“In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.” vss. 8-9

Luke manages to connect Jesus with David, the greatest king of Israel, in a story that is stunning in its simplicity. As in David’s time there were shepherds tending their sheep in the fields around the village of Bethlehem. David had been one of them before being anointed by Samuel. And now, about a thousand years later, an angelic messenger approaches shepherds by night, not to anoint one of them as king, but to announce the birth of the Good Shepherd. The visit isn’t noted by the Bethlehem Gazette, and it doesn’t seem to have made much of an impact in the region. But Luke’s story is the perfect example of how God has worked and continues to work in our world. Under the cover of darkness a baby is born in a stable to an unwed mother–the shepherds know about it, but no one pays any attention to such nondescript folks, even if they have an extraordinary story. The baby is born, and nothing much happens for 30 years–and then all heaven breaks out. What had been hidden was shouted from the mountaintop and the restoration of our broken world began to take shape. That’s why we’re celebrating tonight, and we’re not going to stop rejoicing until restoration is complete!

Thought for the Day: Why were shepherds chosen to hear the good news first?