“For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests
upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Imagine: a shepherd tends his flock in the scraggly field,
trading off with others to stay awake and keep the watch. The lights in the
town barely reach, and grow dimmer as one by one each household puts out their
lamps and fires and goes to sleep. The sky grows darker, the air colder, as
night settles in. This night is no different than any other night, and the
morning will be like any other.
Shepherds were not included in the busy life of the rest of
society. Shepherds were out of place at gatherings, with their clothes rumpled
and dirty from nights and days in the fields with the messy sheep. They weren’t
cultured, they weren’t up on the latest happenings. They were outcasts:
literally living at the edge of society, out in the fields, with only each
other and the sheep to talk to.
The shepherds weren’t invited. They weren’t the ones you’d
expect. They wouldn’t have decorated their house (what house? they’re in a
field!), they wouldn’t have baked the cookies (see: no house), they wouldn’t
have travelled miles away from their sheep or had time to neatly wrap perfect
gifts bought with money they certainly didn’t have… The shepherds were just
themselves, exactly themselves, no apologies, no excuses made up.
And there they were, tending their flocks by night. When
suddenly, breaking the quiet of the night, an angel of the Lord stood before
them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were, quite
understandably, terrified. Angel, did you get lost? Town and all the important
people are in the other direction.
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid—” yeah, right
“—for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people—“ all
you say? “—To you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is the
Messiah, the Lord.”
It doesn’t matter what field you are in, or what messy flock
you are tending: Christ was born for you.
It doesn’t matter who you are, or where you’ve been, or what
relationships have hurt you, or what box society has put you in, or any of the
other tools that we messy humans have of separating each other.
For a child has been born for us, for each and every one of
us. Authority itself rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
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