Daily devotion – keeping company with shepherds
Luke 2: 8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, 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,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Every Church nativity play, or scene always has a number of shepherds just out of the main scene watching on the baby Jesus as He lay in the manger that first Christmas.
Christmas has a beautiful mystique about it and it always takes me back to my childish imagination of that small gathering in the humble stable.
But prior to this scene in Bethlehem Dr Luke tells us that the angels first appeared to the shepherds keeping watch over all the flocks just a short distance out of Bethlehem. Helen and I have visited the location known as “The Shepherds Field” when it was safe to travel into Bethlehem. It’s not a vast area at all but it was here that the first announcement by the angels was made – to a small group of humble shepherds at work at night!
God choosing to send a massive angelic choir along with the world’s biggest heavenly lightshow to just a few shepherds always has us thinking – why them and why like this?
This first scene of the glory that had come to our world with the Son of God being born in a stable played out to a few humble shepherds. This was God revealing that His Son had come for those of whom the world had treated lowly. Shepherds at the time were not high on the class system. In fact they were way down at the bottom of the structure.
But God’s great display and Heavenly Choir of multiple angels was His way of telling the world – these are who my Son has come to save.
Paul picks this very narrative up when he wrote – 1 Corinthians 1: 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.
It is here where you and I fit! Each time I reflect on those lowly shepherds I am reminded each Christmas that I too can acknowledge the angel’s proclamation, their glorious announcement. This is why I can identify so easily with that small group of men gathered around a small fire and God telling them first above everybody else – your Saviour is born!
This Christmas season, in your thoughts take a moment to spend some time to wander into the evening of a cool night along with some blessed shepherds – and I pray that you will enjoy their company and the wonder of Christ revealing Himself to you!