Misfits
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 of great joy that will be for all the people.
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the
Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and
lying in a manger. (Luke 2:8-12)
Most everyone
knows this passage; even if they’ve never cracked a Bible open. That’s because
each December, in between scenes of the Grinch slithering around Whoville, or George Bailey being rescued
by Clarence, or Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer running around the North Pole
with Herbie, we have Linus, who discovers the true meaning of Christmas in the
gospel of Luke. Now, I love Linus as much as the next guy, but has popular
culture made this story just a little too familiar? Maybe.
You see, the
story begins with God sending out a birth announcement. In fact, there’s only
one announcement of Christ’s birth recorded in the Scriptures, and there’s only
one invitation from God to anyone to come see his newborn Son. And God puts the
wrong address on the envelope. He sends the announcement, priority overnight
express, to a bunch of uneducated, smelly, low-class, social and religious
dropouts: shepherds. They’re the last people you’d expect God to have on his
mailing list.
They were the
religious outcasts of their day. According to Jewish law, shepherds were always
religiously unclean because their line of work kept them from going to church.
But without them, who was going to watch the sheep while everyone else made the
trip to Jerusalem to make sacrifices at the temple? Apparently, that didn’t
matter. They were doing the dirty work so the churchy people could pretend to
be holy. They were kind of like truckers, or maybe shift workers, whose jobs
keep them from regularly attending services. It wasn’t their fault, but who
cares if you’re one of the pretty people.
Shepherds were
also social outcasts. They were constantly on the move and viewed with
suspicion – kind of like how some people might look at carnies. They were often
accused of thievery, and weren’t allowed to testify in court since their word
wasn’t considered trustworthy. That’s a polite way of calling them habitual liars.
Making matters worse, they had more contact with sheep than with people. They
didn’t even come home at night since they were with the sheep 24 hours a day, 7
days a week. Worse yet, they slept in the sheep’s pen at night to guard against
theft and attack. In other words, you probably didn’t want your daughter marrying
a shepherd.
So, imagine
you’re God and you want to announce the most amazing, most incredible, most
joyous news ever; an event that will change the course of human history – the
birth of the Savior; the one for whom the nation of Israel had been waiting and
hoping and praying for thousands of years to come. So, who do you announce it
to? Who do you tell? Who do you invite to come and see? Probably not a bunch of
shepherds.
The point is
that you would expect an event like the birth of Christ to be announced to the
most important people in the nation. You know, the political, religious and
military leaders. The hoi polloi. The media, maybe. But none of them got the
text, or the e-mail, or the tweet, or the whatever. Oh, some foreign wise guys
figured it out by following the star to Bethlehem, and then they informed Herod
of what they’d heard. But they didn’t get an angelic messenger, or angel choir,
or an invitation either. Only the social and religious outcasts got the memo.
It’s like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearsing all year to perform Handel’s Messiah in front of a handful of folks from
skid row.
Why? Why did God
send His angels to announce the birth of Christ to a bunch of misfits? Were the
shepherds especially pious, or unusually holy? Maybe they got the MVP for
believers since they’d been locked out of church by the church police. Or,
maybe they were expecting this thing to happen. Or, maybe they were part of the
Occupy Grasslands movement. The truth
is they probably thought that God had no idea who they were. And why would he?
They don’t sacrifice at the temple; they don’t show up for the feasts; they
don’t go to church; and their deepest theological discussions are with a bunch
of sheep. So why them?
Maybe it was
because God wanted to demonstrate, first to the shepherds, that his love
doesn’t discriminate on the basis of class, or wealth, or social standing. God
doesn’t discriminate on the basis of intelligence, education, profession,
political power, or any other quality that we can think of. God doesn’t respect
kings more than cabbies, or priests more than pew potatoes. He’s kind of
indiscriminate that way.
Paul makes the
same point in his first letter to the Corinthians where he says, “My dear
friends, remember what you were when God chose you. The people of this world
didn't think that many of you were wise. Only a few of you were in places of
power, and not many of you came from important families. But God chose the
foolish things of this world to put the wise to shame. He chose the weak things
of this world to put the powerful to shame. What the world thinks is worthless,
useless, and nothing at all is what God has used to destroy what the world
considers important. God did all this to keep anyone from bragging to him. You
are God's children. He sent Christ Jesus to save us and to make us wise,
acceptable, and holy. So if you want to brag, do what the Scriptures say and
brag about the Lord.” (1 Cor. 1:26-31)
I imagine that
many nights, as the shepherds sat in those cold, lonely fields, they looked out
over the village and saw the lights of homes far away. Maybe they heard the
faint sound of families, people laughing, and wished they could be a part of
that. And maybe you’ve felt that way too. Maybe you’re not one of the pretty
people. Maybe you’re not particularly wealthy, or powerful, or influential.
Maybe you’ll never see your name in the paper for some great accomplishment.
Maybe you’re on the fringes, either socially or religiously. And when you
compare your level of religious observance to others, the comparison doesn’t
stack up very well: spotty church attendance, infrequent Bible reading and even
less frequent prayer. You think that if God actually knows that you exist, he’s
probably not impressed.
If this strikes
a chord, then I’ve got good news. Great news, in fact. The best possible news.
God loves you – just like he loved those shepherds. You’re special to him –
just like those shepherds were special to him. So special, in fact, that he
gave them the incredible privilege of being the first to hear of Christ’s birth
and, other than Mary and Joseph, the first to lay eyes on the Son of God.
God didn’t give
those privileges to the Roman Caesar, or to the Jewish high priest. He gave it
to the shepherds. Not in spite of who they were, but because of who they were:
humble, ordinary people with few opinions about themselves. Simple people who
were willing to believe what God told them, and when they heard the news they
didn’t seek out a bunch of religious professionals for a second opinion. When
they were invited to visit Bethlehem to see the newborn Messiah, they didn’t
worry about who was going to watch the sheep. They didn’t get bogged down in
debates about how they were going to find a small baby in such a large city.
They simply obeyed, and went.
God likes to use
the ordinary so that, like a mirror, his power can be reflected in his
creation. And it’s true that God didn’t send an angel to give you or me the
news, either. But he did send you an invitation. Here’s what it says: “I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for
everybody, worldwide: A Savior has been born in David’s town, a Savior who is
Messiah and Master.” (Luke 2:10-11)
Don’t let the
simple yet profound message of Christmas be lost on you this season: God knows
you and loves you anyway – even if you’re a misfit.
Merry Christmas,
Randy
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