Rejoice (Advent post)
When I think of the Christmas story, and the “shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night” – I wonder if the shepherds sensed the wonder and glory of what was about to happen to them. It seems to be depicted that way, at least in the pictures that I grew up looking at in my children’s Bible. The shepherds are usually gazing out into the night sky, serene looks on their faces as if in anticipation of something wonderful. The sheep always seem to be lying down, and the dark night sky looks endless, practically begging to be filled with a chorus of shiny angels.
In reality, I’m guessing that this night began as nothing less than completely ordinary.
These were a group of shepherds, showing up for another night of the same old, hard work. I imagine the night air to be filled with the smell of animal poop – not the aroma of holy anticipation. And contrary to what you typically find in the picture books, I don’t know if sheep even lie down. In my mind they’re running in different directions, the shepherds hiking up the hems of their long robes so that they can chase the sheep down and bring them back to the flock. When these guys showed up for work that day, I’m assuming they expected another long night of animal herding, and nothing more.
How absolutely crazy must it have been for an ordinary day of work to turn into the most spectacular night of these shepherds’ lives.
One minute they’re making small talk about sheep, and the next the sky is lit with brilliant, angelic glory. The Bible says that multitudes (a whole lot) of angels filled the sky to deliver the news of the Messiah’s birth. And so these simple sheep herders literally run to the stable where an hours-old Jesus lay, and see for themselves the newborn King, marveling together in the presence of this baby whom the angels said would be the joy of all mankind. (Luke 2:10)
I’m sure there is so much more you could take away from this story, but what these unsuspecting shepherds and their reaction to this miraculous announcement have taught me is that we should expect and rejoice.
If we’re not expectant of Jesus’ presence in our mostly unremarkable, unglamorous, very real lives, than this story tells us that we should be. I don’t think it was any accident that God chose a mundane, run of the mill night to flip the shepherd’s lives upside down with His presence; I think He did it very much on purpose. Because of the Holy Spirit, we have access to Jesus at all times. Not just on Sundays, not just when we’re feeling particularly holy. We can expect heaven to intersect with earth while we’re folding laundry, when we’re chatting with a co-worker, when we’re stuck in traffic on the I-90 bridge.
So let’s anticipate God’s presence, right in the middle of our every day lives. Let’s expect Him to speak to us, to comfort us, to guide us, and to share with us about that same Jesus who is still the joy of all mankind.
And then, like these shepherds, let’s rejoice. The God who offers hope, comfort and peace makes Himself known to us – that is a reason to celebrate! Wherever your heart is this Christmas season, Jesus can be the our source of joy. As we work, as we rest, as we laugh, as we grieve. Let’s marvel at Him together. The King of King longs to sit with us in our ordinary lives; let’s invite Him in.