Just a Shepherd
Musings from the Pew by Kerry Lighty | Dec. 1, 2023
Of all the characters in the story of the birth of Jesus, it is the shepherds who are probably most often overlooked. They were busy doing their thing- watching the sheep at night when an angel came among them. The Bible says they were “terrified”. I don’t know about you, but I have never seen an angel and I’m pretty sure scared out of my mind would be descriptive.
Then the radiance of the Lord’s glory shown around them. I imagine this meant it was no longer “night” or dark out in the pasture. Have you thought about that before? Again, this was certainly something the shepherds had never witnessed before. Even with the angel reassuring them not to be afraid, I can imagine they were still quite unsure of what was going on or if they could believe their eyes.
The angel goes on to tell them of the birth of Jesus and that they can find Him in Bethlehem. This is proclamation of the Good News and it was for all people. The shepherds were the first to hear about this wonderful report.
But their night of firsts wasn’t over. The angel was joined by a vast host of other angels. Called the armies of heaven, these angels were praising God. After the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds went to Bethlehem…with haste...and no sheep.
The shepherds left everything to go see Jesus. They came to Jesus with nothing to offer. They sought Him because He was the Savior, the Messiah that the angels had spoken of. After meeting Jesus, they told everyone they met about the One and the Good News.
Why the shepherds? They had no special talents, skills, or religious training. They were not rich, famous nor had any social or political sway. Many considered them as outcasts, and they were looked down on. But this much is true; God chose them to be part of His Divine plan.
Some 2000 years later, the Good News of Jesus has continued to be told by faithful “shepherds”. Take time today to thank God for His Divine Plan and for the shepherds who are sharing their story of how they encountered Jesus.
“After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.” Luke 2:17 (NLT)