Rev. Jennifer Whipple
Congregational Church of Brookfield (UCC)
News We Can Use
Luke 2:1-20
Christmas Eve
December 24, 2011
Prayer: May the
words of my mouth and the meditations of all our minds and hearts gathered
together this night be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, for you are our
Strength and our Redeemer. Amen.
This year during Advent here at the Congregational Church of Brookfield
we have been talking about prophets – people who have been bearers of God’s
message of hope, peace, joy, and love throughout history – and how God calls us
to be prophets even today sharing that same message with our world.
We have also been talking about how those messages have been and continue
to be transformational in the lives of millions.
So this year as I read through the birth story once again in the gospel
of Luke I found myself intrigued by the shepherds – unusual and unlikely
prophets of their time, and according to Luke the first humans to share the good
news of the birth of Jesus Christ and all that it would come to mean for the
world.
I picture the shepherds hanging out among their flocks in the field in
the middle of the night when this miraculous thing happens – when one of
God’s messengers appears with this good news of great joy, followed by a
chorus of the heavenly host. I can
also picture them looking at each other and asking, “Do you see what I see?”
In the 1950s they may have looked around and asked if they were on candid
camera – or nowadays, if they were being punk’d.
Because why would God have wanted them,
of all people, to be among the first to hear about the incarnation – about God
coming to earth in the form of a small child?
But there was the angel…
“Do not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy
for all the people.” This
was an event that was meant for everyone.
What better way to prove that then to have the angels appear to the shepherds
who were out in the fields keeping watch over their flocks?
Because, you see, every historical description of the shepherds of
biblical times uses words like lowly, mangy, bathless, and stinky.
(At best the beginning of a funky new list of dwarves, and at worst a
list of words that I hope can only be used to describe me on mission trip…if
at all!) These guys weren’t the
Herods of the time, sitting pretty in their palace finery.
Their work often took them far away from their homes and families to find
ample food and drink for their flocks, to places where they had to deal with the
conditions of harsh weather, meager “people food” offerings, primitive –if
any –lodging, and the threats of thieves and dangerous wild animals.
All the while their main objective was to guard their flocks – being
sure that they were in good health and all were with the group – collecting
those who went astray – and being sure that all of them arrived at their next
location safe and sound. These
shepherds weren’t lazy, by any stretch of the imagination.
Instead they were diligent and had some major endurance – all the while
being gentle and caring.
So now, considering all of these things, we can understand why God chose
these humble folks to spread the word about Jesus.
If God could get them to believe – could get them to understand the
seriousness of the message – then these were the perfect bearers of it.
They were steadfast and knew how to travel.
They were regular people who could spread the news – not as edicts or
orders from on high – but rather as one “regular Joe” to another.
At that time and in that place this was “news that people could use”
– the news of a prince of peace born to bring about God’s reign of love,
instead of the oppression and competition of the ruling powers of the time.
So we get why God would want it to spread as quickly as possible and to
as many people as possible.
So,
after getting over the way the message was delivered – by this host of angels
- in those moments the shepherds became the bearers of the Good News of Jesus
Christ (chapter one) – before anyone else could really comprehend it.
They went to Bethlehem and even reminded Mary and Joseph about who their baby would be and become.
In those moments the shepherds were transformed from the lowly, mangy,
stinky guys in the field to messengers of God, called to share about the
surprising birth of the babe in the manger.
So the shepherds set out from the fields, sheep in tow we would imagine,
to head into Bethlehem and to find the baby.
They make it to the place where the baby Jesus was with his parents, and
that was all they needed. It was as
if they had held everything in until they were ready to burst.
And, as soon as they saw the proof of what the angels had told them, that
little body there, they let ‘em have it.
They shared what the angels had told them about the baby with EVERYONE
that was around. You can just
picture them, after making sure the sheep were secure of course, walking up to
perfect strangers in this city that was just full of people registering for the
census – giddy with excitement about a baby.
Yes, friends, in those moments – after seeing the baby Jesus, the
shepherds were transformed. They
were transformed into true believers. If
seeing is believing, then they most certainly believed.
It even says in one version of this story, “The sheepherders returned
and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and
seen. It turned out exactly the way
they had been told!” They received
all the proof they needed about the fact that there was a God – and a God who
was real enough in their lives to care about them, the humble shepherds in the
field. They were transformed into
prophets for their
time – spreading the news.
So tonight we can be excited for the shepherds – they lived from that
day on as those whose lives God had broken in to in a very real and good way.
They became something – not ordinary
everyday guys who would go unnoticed throughout history, but those who would go
down in history as God-bearers…those who authored the true first chapter of
the Good News of Jesus Christ. But
what else does the story of the shepherds hold for us on this Christmas Eve?
Well I believe that the shepherds teach us a few lessons as we gather
together this night to celebrate the birth of a baby with our own fears and
concerns, our own anticipation and joys in our hearts.
- First, they remind us
that the good news is not just for a select few who have the right
qualifications, but rather it is good news for everyone – including you
and me.
- Second, they teach us
that once we know God’s presence in our lives it’s important that we
don’t just keep it to ourselves but rather that we share it with others
– so that they might have the opportunity to know the peace and love that
comes from feeling God present with you each day as well.
What is your proof that God is real?
And who have you shared it with recently?
- Third, these shepherds
show us that it’s not only okay but wonderful to get a little bit excited
about the baby born on this night – that this baby, in his own very
different way, brought power and strength, love and peace, care and hope to
a world that was so in need – and continues to bring it to a world that is
in need to this day.
Just as the gospel writer tied the politics of the time in with his
account of Jesus birth, we cannot avoid the fact that we do not live in the
bubble of the beauty of this meetinghouse and this night every day.
Rather we are faced with the harsh reality that we live in a world that
is in need of healing and hope - a world in which there are things like dividing
lines, nuclear weapons, wasted resources, and hurting hearts.
So finally, the shepherds teach us that the good news they brought to the
world so long ago, is the same “news we can use” today.
That news, so different from what we hear on the TV, radio, internet, and
in the papers, is the good news of God’s in-breaking – that God cares enough
for us to be an active and engaged part of our lives, even now.
That may not come in the form of a tiny baby in a manger on any other
night but tonight, but it does come in the form of small things like a prayer
shawl from your church, a small gift that appears out of the blue, a kind word
from a friend, a smile from a stranger in the midst of a tough day.
And it comes in the form of big things like stories of recovery and
healing, wars ceasing, the knowledge that there are millions of other people in
the world lighting candles with us this night.
So tonight in the midst of the carols and the candlelight – in the
midst of worship with family and friends – in the midst of the deepest hurts
and most joyful celebrations of our lives, may we be transformed like the
shepherds. May we open our ears to
this news we can use – this news that God still cares for us as much today as
he cared for those humble servants in the fields so long ago.
That our God weeps with us when we are weeping, rejoices with us when we
rejoice, and wants nothing but the best for us.
That is why, even as we get a little bit excited about Santa’s arrival
tonight, we are overjoyed with the arrival of the baby Jesus.
Because with his arrival we get to renew our spirits and our hope for his
gifts of joy, peace, and love to truly become a part of our lives and the
healing of our world. So, may we,
like the shepherds, be transformed into giddy messengers of God’s message, so
that others might come to know the reality and presence of God just as we do on
this night, and as we walk life’s journey.
Let us open ourselves up to God’s most precious love and Christmas
blessings this night and all of our nights.
Amen.
