READING: LUKE 2:1-20

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields near by, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.’

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

REFLECTION

Hello and welcome to today’s Foundations Podcast. My name is Nikky and I’m on the staff team here at STC Sheffield. I lead the Eden Team over in Fir Vale in the North of Sheffield, and it’s a great joy to be able to share with you today what God has been speaking to me about through this great passage in Luke 2 verses 1-20. This is our passage for the whole week so I would really encourage you to take a moment to read the whole thing through again, but today I’m just going to focus on verses 8-11. I’ll read them for us now.

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”

I remember several months ago receiving a phone call from one of my best friends. It was pretty early in the morning that she called, so I spent a few seconds trying to get rid of that awkward morning voice before I answered so I could sound like I’d been awake for hours. It turned out that she’d called to let me know that she’d just got engaged, and the reason she was calling so early in the morning was because she wanted me to be one of the first to hear the great news and share in the joy! I felt so privileged that she had wanted me to find out straight away and there was a lot of laughing and jumping around our respective houses as we celebrated together over the phone. It was a great day.

And I wonder, as I read this passage in Luke, if that’s how the shepherds felt when God’s angels brought them this incredible news. I wonder if they realised they were among the very first people to hear about it, I wonder if they realised that God had wanted them to find out straight away so they could share in the joy.

These were men who, by very nature of their work, were part of a great lineage of God at work. Some of the great heroes of the faith were shepherds – people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David. The shepherds on the hill would have heard these stories growing up, and perhaps as they started their work as shepherds they would have been excited at the calling God had placed on their lives, that they too could be used by Him like the great shepherds who had gone before them. But through circumstance, they had ended up the outcasts in their community, despised and not to be trusted. And perhaps through all the disappointments and things not quite turning out how they’d imagined, they had started to question their calling, question whether this really was the right thing to be doing with their lives. Perhaps they, like countless others at that time were wondering why God had been silent for 400 years, and doubting whether they would ever see His promises fulfilled.

And then suddenly, God speaks.

What stands out to me as I read this passage is that it was as the shepherds continued to be faithful to their calling, as they carried on keeping watch over their flocks, during the long tiring nights, day by day, that God showed up. It wasn’t an easy life, it would have cost them to remain faithful to the calling, but it was as they continued faithfully that God spoke.

And when He spoke, they were no longer the same. The shepherds, having heard the great news, rush to Bethlehem to see Jesus, and having seen Him, they return to the fields changed. Their response is to glorify and praise God for all the things He has said and done.

I don’t know where you’re at today. Maybe you’re waiting for God to speak to you about something and wondering why He seems silent. Maybe there are promises God has given you in the past, and as another year draws to a close you’re wondering when you’re going to see those promises fulfilled.

Or maybe God has called you to something, but through disappointments and things not turning out quite how you thought they would, you’ve started to question your calling, whether this really is the right thing to be doing with your life.

In the waiting, in the questioning, remain faithful. Let’s be people who wait well, who carry on with what God has called us to do until He says otherwise. And as we do this, He will speak. Because a Saviour has been born to all of us, this good news of great joy – it’s for all people, that all might know God and that all may share in the joy. He is not hiding Himself from us, He has not forgotten us, He is a God who has given everything to make Himself known, and He will do just that. And when He does, we will be people who glorify and praise Him for all He has said and done.

PRAYER

Father, thank you that you are true to your promises. Thank you that you sent Jesus, our Saviour, to fix our broken friendship with you, that we can know you and hear your voice to us.

Help us to always praise you when we see you at work. Amen.