Listen:
Luke 2:8-11
Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night. The Lord’s angel stood before them, the Lord’s glory shone around them, and they were terrified.
The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people. Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord.”
Consider:
This very short passage has very big good news: the first announcement of Jesus’ birth did not go to kings, priests, or the powerful. It came to shepherds—ordinary, overlooked people doing ordinary, overlooked work.
While they were simply “keeping watch over their flock,” heaven broke into their night. God met them right where they were, not in a temple or palace, but in an open field.
The message is personal and specific to those receiving it: YOUR savior is born. Born for you, here for you. No station in life created this for you, it is simply the outpouring of God’s love…
God’s love became human for everyone, for the important, for the humble, the weary, the unnoticed, the hated, the loved, everyone.
The shepherds didn’t find Jesus by changing their situation; they found Him because God showed up…just as we don’t need to change ourselves for God to show up for us…God has, and does, again and again.
Respond:
Perhaps you feel like what you do on a daily basis isn’t “world changing.” BUT if we take note of this story of the shepherds, it is quite often in the ordinary that extraordinary things begin. As David Lamotte says “You are changing the world whether you like it or not.” Make note this week of the little things you do to be a world changer…showing up for a friend who needs a kind set of listening ears; donating food or money to a local food ministry; working in the Giving Garden at WFPC; holding the door and offering a smile to the person entering a store behind you. The ordinary items that send positive ripples into the world can add up quickly to become extraordinary!
Pray:
God of all people, thank you for showing yourself to us in such a real way. May we continue to see you, to know you, and to share your holy love with all those we meet. Amen.
