How the Shepherds challenge our worldview

For the second week of Advent, Pastor Jason will be sharing from Luke 2:8-20. As Jesus is born, heaven meets earth. Angels appear in the field to dirty and smelly shepherds, turning them into unlikely messengers. What does this have to teach us?

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Transcript

     There was a little girl who was watching her mom apply a facial treatment. Not knowing what her mom was doing, the little girl asked, “Mommy, what are you doing?” The mom answered, “Honey, the lady at the store says this cream will make mommy look beautiful.” The little girl gets quiet and studies her mom’s face for a moment before saying, “Mommy, I think that lady at the store lied to you.”

     Obviously, the little girl misunderstood how the process worked. All her little mind would see was the smelly green gunk all over her mommy’s face. The facial cream had to be removed after its effects took place. Appearance fooled the little girl.

     The same can happen to us. Certain appearances and smells raise alarm bells in our minds. We tend to form opinions of people based on appearance, judging their cleanliness, worthiness, and economic status. Worse yet, we determine whether a person is worthy of God based on those things. But God will show us through the Christmas story that appearances are not as important as we think.

     Luke 2:8-20(CSB)

In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all people: Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!

When the angels left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in a manger. After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told.

This is the Word of God.

For the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

     As we study this passage, we are going to examine the differences between the main characters. They are vastly different. We will begin by looking at the angels.

     First, a single angel appears. But the glory of God, the Shekinah glory that marked God’s presence when the Law was given to Moses and Solomon dedicated the Temple, surrounds this angel. This is the first time God’s glory has appeared in centuries. It terrifies the shepherds, so the angel greets them in verse 10 with, “Don’t be afraid, I proclaim to you good news.” That good news was that the Savior had been born.

     At that announcement, the angel is joined by the heavenly host. The word “host” refers to the idea of an army encampment. So, the Army of Heaven is present! They are not there to wage war but to join in with praising the good news! This same group we read about in Revelation, singing before the throne of God. Now here they are singing of God incarnate lying in a manger.

     Now that is the angels, the spectacular and holy beings from heaven. But who are they sent to share this message with? Shepherds. Shepherds at this time were despised in Israel. If shepherds were called to testify in court, their testimony would be considered unreliable. They were viewed as lazy and lacking ambition. Their flocks grazed on lands they did not own, and the shepherds did not care. Of course, working with sheep made them dirty and smelly.

     These shepherds receive the greatest news in the history of the world. And the crazy thing is they believed it. Verse 15 shares when the angels left, the shepherds said, “Let’s go and see what happened.” No hesitation, only the faith to go and see.

     And this event changed them. The shepherds still went back to their field, still watched the same smelly sheep, and still were considered the lowest of society. But now they had a story to share. They were part of an event that is still talked about today.

     What is incredible about this story, really the whole Christmas story, is it is an event where heaven meets earth. God became flesh, laid helpless in a manger. Angels from the throne of God invade the earth’s atmosphere and are singing praise.

     The other incredible thing is who is not present. God does not send his holy messengers to Caesar, or Herod. There are no priests or prophets present. Heaven meets earth not in a Roman coliseum or major city. Instead, this supernatural collision happens in a field outside Bethlehem to dirty and smelly shepherds. God went to the lowest and most unreliable witnesses to share with the world the most unbelievable news.

     You, me, and the world draw lines that divide us. Skin color, gender, nationality, economic status, and every kind of appearance we can find. Then we mix them together like a WWE Royal Rumble and watch to see who is left standing in the ring. It really is a survival of the fittest mentality. Even within the walls of the Church. We may hold all these things dear, but God does not look at them.

     The truth about when heaven meets earth, when those angels appeared to those shepherds is looks, smells, economic statuses, and public perception are not the dividing lines. The divine dividing line revolves around who is in the manger, who went to the cross and grave, and who ascended into heaven and is seated on heaven’s throne. That dividing line is based on our belief in Jesus and if we are living based on our faith. God is not as interested in our appearances or even changing the situations that surround us. He is interested in us confessing our sins and us living with His peace in our hearts.

     Repeatedly the Bible shares this insight about God with us. God chooses to use the lowest, the despised, the poor, and the smelly to show His great love for us. The Apostle Paul captures this in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 where he writes, “By ordinary human standards not many were wise, not many were powerful, not many were upper class. But God chose what the world considers foolish to shame the wise. God chose what the world considers weak to shame the strong. And God chose what the world considers low-class and low-life—what is considered to be something to nothing. So no human can brag in God’s presence.” (CEB) There is only One with the bragging rights and He does not use them. Instead, God invites us through Jesus to sit at His table.

     It does not matter if you come in here with holes in your ears or holes in your jeans or if you are here wearing a suit and tie. Jesus unites heaven and earth, clearing a pathway to God’s salvation. Will you believe? If you believe, can you look past the dirty, the smelly, and the ugly? Can we look past rough exteriors and celebrate that heaven’s gates are open wide? That is what Jesus does. That is what God did through the shepherds, and how the shepherds challenge us to change.