You have heard said many times I am sure “you just can’t make this stuff up.” Here is an excerpt from last week’s blog.

“We cannot pass over the stories of other people who were touched by God in the preparation for this wonderful coming and birth of our Lord. Zechariah and his encounter with the angel Gabriel and the news that God would bless he and Elizabeth with the birth of a son, their only child…we will come to know him as John the Baptist. It is written…Romans 8:28 NIV  28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

This week we meet the Shepherds in the field and the Angels in the Heavens. Like all things of God, there is order and a purpose to all His actions. The Angels visit with Mary, Zechariah, Elizabeth and in time others that would set this night and this birth apart from all others and change the world forever is a journey of wonder and faith. We start in a field in an Arab village of Beit-Sahur, which sits in the middle of the Booz fields mentioned in the book of Ruth (Ruth 3:5). By tradition it is known as the Shepherds Field, it is said it was here that the announcement of the angels of the birth of Christ to the Shepherds took place. The scripture written in Luke 2:8-12 paints a very clear picture of awe mixed with fear of the uncertainty of the moment and is a good example of the majesty of any and all things that are truly of God. We are given a very important insight into the lives of these shepherds in those verses. “Living in the fields, watching over their flocks by night”, gives us the understanding that this is a 7day, 24hr endeavor. It is a subtle reminder to those of the faith that our God is always with us. Later in this blog some little known facts about those shepherds. It is amazing how God knows the hearts of those he uses to bring His will to the people. The shepherds were not content with just hearing these words of the angels, they went in search of the baby…the Christ Child. But they were not content with just that…they did not worry what others might say, they went out and told others what they saw and what the angels told them to tell the people. Thus The Revelation that the Christ is born…God incarnate among us. What an amazing revelation and God chose the simplest among us to share it with the world.

Now some things about these shepherds. Orthodox people of the day despised the shepherds because the demands of their job made them unable to keep the details of the ceremonial law. They could not observe all the meticulous hand washings and rules and regulations due to the constant demands on them; and so the orthodox looked down on them. It was to simple men of the fields that God’s message first came. It should also be noted that most likely these were not just ordinary shepherds and the flock they looked after were no ordinary sheep. It was necessary that an unblemished lamb was offered as a sacrifice each morning and evening. The Temple authorities to be sure these were available had their own private sheep flocks and they were pastured near Bethlehem. William Barclay wrote…“that the shepherds who looked after the Temple lambs were the first to see the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” We end this blog with a note about the Angles…It was a custom of those times that when a boy was born musicians gathered at the house to great him with simple music. In the case of the birth of the Christ Child, William Barclay wrote…“It is lovely to think that the minstrelsy of heaven took the place of the minstrelsy of earth, and angels sang the songs for Jesus that the earthly singers could not sing.” 

Join us here in the Pew next week as we continue to discover the The People of Advent.

Life is Good 

jk