Luke 2:8-20:
8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
My name is Isaac. I was one of the shepherds on that first Christmas night, two thousand years ago. I had been a shepherd all my life. My father, Abraham, had also been a shepherd. There were five of us on the top of a low rise in the ground when the angels announced the Messiah to us. We were tending our sheep. We had brought together three flocks for the night. It was safer for the sheep for them to be brought together and easier for us to watch them. Three of us would keep watch while the other two got some sleep, taking turns, of course.
Just before darkness fell, we made a makeshift pen for the sheep by setting out rope strung between stakes to make a broad circle. When a lamb is small you simply whack it if it tries to cross the rope. After a few whacks it will not try any more, even after it is grown.
We built a fire near one side of the rope pen to give us light and warmth and we warmed some broth to sip. Around us were the hills of Bethlehem. King David had been a shepherd in these same hills about a thousand years before, so Bethlehem was nicknamed the "City of David." The grazing areas had been wilder in David's day. He had contended with wild bears and lions. We never faced those beasts but at night the wolves and the thieves liked to come out. So, two of us would sleep while three of us stood watch: one standing close to the fire where thieves could see we were alert, and the other two walking quietly around the pen, armed with hefty staffs.
Halfway to midnight I had spent two shifts patrolling the perimeter of the sheep pen and it was my turn to stand by the fire. Then I would get some sleep. We would walk first, then stand by the fire so we could go to bed warm. I scanned the sheep pen with my back to the fire. Occasionally I caught a dim glimpse of Benjamin or Jacob walking their posts. All was normal. The fire behind me began to flicker low. One reason for the fire was to show my silhouette standing guard, so I decided that when Jacob reach the left side of the sheep pen, I would put more wood on the fire.
But just then fire got brighter, so I knew that either Gedalya or Penuel, sleeping behind me, had stirred enough to add some wood. I kept watching the sheep.
But something was odd. The firelight had increased quite a bit but there was no greater warmth. A brighter fire should give more heat. Just when this thought occurred to me, I heard Benjamin's urgent voice come from the darkness:
"Isaac! Isaac! Behind you! Behind you!"
My heart leapt to my throat. Someone must be approaching me from the rear! Without a thought I lunged quickly to my left, whirling and bringing up my heavy staff, ready to strike.
I stopped frozen with astonishment. I was struck dumb by what I saw.
Gedalya and Penuel were sitting bolt upright, hands raised before their faces, shielding their eyes. Without thinking I was raising my hands before my eyes, too, because from a single point about five feet above the fire shone a light of such bright purity and dazzling intensity that I could not look directly at it. It seemed to grow larger and even brighter until it shone round about us.
There was no sound except the pounding of my heart. I was suddenly aware that Benjamin and Jacob had run up and stopped, open mouthed, beside me. I was more frightened than I had ever been in my life. In fact, I was terrified.
The light began to change before our eyes. Its blinding brightness became softer until we could look directly at it. As we watched the light expanded in size. In mere seconds it took a shape much like a human being, but far larger. It hovered above the ground and then the light actually spoke to us:
"Do not be afraid! I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the city 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."
I caught my breath. Our visitor was an angel of the Lord God Almighty! A messenger announcing a Savior born of God! It was too glorious to comprehend!
Suddenly another, tiny point of light appeared beside the angel, incredibly bright though as small as the tip of knitting needle. Another appeared, then all at once so many shining points burst into view that I could not keep up with their advent. They swirled and swarmed around us in every direction, up, down, right, left, back and forth – a small galaxy of angelic visitors. We shepherds were encompassed in every direction by a countless heavenly lights! I laughed aloud, and I heard my friends laughing, too. I raised my arms giddy with joy, astounded that the God of all creation would favor such lowly ones as us shepherds with the announcement of the birth of the Savior and this celebration by a multitude of the heavenly host.
I raised my face toward Heaven, overcome by joyous excitement, and shouted, "Glory to God in the highest!"
Immediately, the heavenly host took up my phrase. They sang in the purest tones of praise, "Glory to God in the highest!" Then they added, "And on earth peace, goodwill among those whom God favors!" I had never heard voices like those before and I know that in this life I never will again. But that night was enough. The angels sang it again and again and we joined in, also, beside ourselves with amazement and thanksgiving, nearly delirious in our rejoicing. In a time – I don't know how much time – the lights dimmed. Their singing grew growing softer until at last there was only darkness again and the faint whispers of their chorus.
We stood speechless, warmed all the way through even though our fire was only embers. At last Jacob said, "We need to go the Bethlehem."
"Yes," I breathed, "Let us go down to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
With no further thought we hurried off to the city of David. "What of our sheep?" Penuel asked halfway there. Benjamin huffed while we trotted, "The Lord will never abandon them. The angel told us to go." That was good enough for us. Was not our Lord a Good Shepherd for his flock?
We found the manger quickly, almost as if we were led to it. And I suppose we were. We found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in the manger, just as the angel had said: Christ the Lord.
"Angels sent us," I said to Mary.
Mary smiled. "I believe you," she said. "We've had some experience with angels ourselves."
I said, "The angel told us that this child is our Savior, who is known as Christ the Lord. What does it mean?"
Joseph said, "When an angel appeared to me in a dream, he said that this child was conceived from the Holy Spirit. We have named him Jesus, as the angel said to do, because he will save his people from their sins."
Mary added, "The angel Gabriel told me, 'He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.'" She fell silent for a moment, then said, "That's really all we know."
We stayed no longer, for it was late and the Savior was sleeping. Mary and Joseph looked like they wanted to sleep, too. We had seen the child, so we left the manger. But it was impossible to keep this amazing thing to ourselves. We went about Bethlehem spreading the word concerning what had been told us about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what we said to them. Then we returned to the fields, where our sheep safely waited, and we glorified and praised God for all the things we had heard and seen, which were just as we had been told.
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When our Christmas season is over and we have returned to our usual routines, let us remember that the gospel we have and the salvation we are given is just that which we have been told. The grace of God is not mysterious. It is just as we have been told in God's Word: A savior was born in Bethlehem two thousand years ago.
Like the shepherds, we live in a world when the memory of Christmas will be overcome by other events. The shepherds' sheep would still get sick or be attacked by wolves. Our cars will still break down and we'll still have bills to pay. On the outside, nothing will seem different.
But we are different. God is with us! The glory of the Lord has shone around us, and there are heavenly words: Fear not, for behold, there are glad tidings of great joy. Unto us was born a Savior! God’s grace has been given to us. From a stable in Bethlehem our savior has come. We have seen the glory of the Lord revealed in the Christ who was born to us. Tell the world. Treasure the story. Ponder it in your heart. We will Glorify and praise God, for all we have heard and seen! Rejoice! Rejoice! Christ has come!
May the love of God, the redemption of his Son, our Savior Christ the Lord, and the strengthening company of the Holy Spirit fill you and fulfill you this day and all days. For unto us a child is born. Unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders. And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the King of Kings! Merry Christmas!
