“Seven Scenes from the Advent-Christmas Story:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. Amen. The theme for our services during Advent and Christmas this year is, “Seven
Scenes from the Advent-Christmas Story,” including, “John Preaching,” “Angels
Singing,” “Mary Praising,” “Joseph Dreaming,” “Herod Fearing,” and “Wise Men
Worshipping.” Today we consider “Shepherds Watching”: “And
there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch
over their flock by night.” When the Wise Men came from a distant land to worship the newborn king, they
did not first go to the little town of Bethlehem, or to the Babe wrapped in
swaddling clothes, lying in a manger, or to the shepherds abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night. As Jesus once said,
regarding John the Baptist, “What did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine
clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in
palaces.” And, that is exactly where the Wise Men expected the newborn king of the Jews
to be, in the royal palace at Jerusalem. So, that is where
they go at first looking for the King of Kings. His birth
should have been announced by the royal herald to the court at Jerusalem.
But, as his mother Mary says in the Magnificat, “He has cast down the
mighty from their thrones, and has exalted the lowly.” The Christmas story is so familiar to us that we take for granted “the angel
of the Lord came upon . . . [the] shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch
over their flock by night” to announce to them “unto you is born this day in the
city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” But,
for people in the ancient world, this was a totally unexpected and fantastic
twist in the Christmas story. Shepherds were considered the lowliest strata of society. They
were dirty, smelly, uncouth, and unwelcome in polite society.
And, because only rarely could they get in from the fields to attend religious
services, they were also considered great sinners, outcasts not only from
society, but also from the synagogue. Why would the Savior’s birth be announced first to these lowly “shepherds
abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night”?
Because the shepherds symbolize all of us. Although we don’t live out in the fields with animals, although we regularly
bathe and shower, and use soaps and shampoo, yet we are filthy like the
shepherds, spiritually filthy with sin. The announcement of
the Savior’s birth to the lowly shepherds symbolizes that Christ came into the
world to save sinners like you and me. As Jesus said, “I have
not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” The announcement to the shepherds also symbolizes who the Savior is and how
he will save us. “I am the Good Shepherd,” he says, “and I
lay down my life for the sheep.” Jesus your Good Shepherd
laid down his life for you, and because of his sacrifice, your sins are all
forgiven. Because he is your Good Shepherd, goodness and
mercy shall follow you all the days of your life, and finally he will lead you
through the valley of the shadow of death into the green pastures and quiet
waters of heaven, where you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Seven hundred years before his birth, Micah beautifully prophesied the coming
of this great, Good Shepherd: “He will stand and shepherd his flock in the
strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they
will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.
And he will be their peace.” Amen. Return to Top | Return to Sermons | Home | Email Church Office
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