December 24, 2005

Angels and Shepherds

By Susie Bjork

It's a familiar story; one that many of us have heard over and over again. It is a story filled with vivid imagery and we can recall it in our mind's eye like a favorite fairytale or a meaningful memory.

We can imagine a long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. We can envision a manger holding a newborn. We see Mary and Joseph, shepherds and animals, a starry night and an angelic chorus. The many Christmas pageants and nativity scenes we have viewed in our lives pop into our heads, sometimes bringing in extra characters like inn keepers and donkeys (which are not actually included in Luke's version of the story).

Actually, Luke's story doesn't really devote much time at all to the birth event itself. Only 2 verses illustrate it and leave us with a number of questions:

Mary goes into labor while in Bethlehem, gives birth to her firstborn son, wraps him in bands of cloth (which was a common practice in caring for a newborn), and lays him in a feed trough because there was no room for them at the inn. This inn could have been a sleeping area or guest room in a house, or a place for travelers and caravans; but we don't really know.

As the children and youth reminded us in their pageant last week, the circumstances of the birth of Jesus remain quite mysterious, especially when one considers that there are a couple of versions of it and some of the gospels don't even discuss the birth at all.

Instead of focusing on the birth event itself, Luke spends much more time talking about angels and shepherds.

Angels and Shepherds...

As modern people, we often envision a beautiful pastoral scene of humble shepherds and their sheep peacefully asleep in a field when suddenly they are caught off guard in the middle of the night by an angel.

We might also recall that the celebrated Judean King, David was said to be a shepherd once too. The connections between Jesus, Bethlehem (David's city), and shepherds point us to Jesus' Messianic importance as the new David, the new king.

This is certainly an important reference that Luke wants to get across, but I think it is also important for us to know that shepherds were, in fact, outcasts of society in 1st century Palestine. They were relatively poor to begin with, probably living hand to mouth, nomadic, and homeless. Shepherds were also viewed as shady and dishonest. And many within civilized society accused them of being thieves who grazed their flocks on other people's land. They were total outcasts.

Why then would the angels visit the shepherds?

To get a sense of why this might be, perhaps we should start with the angelic message itself. "Don't be afraid, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord."

This good news of great joy for all people is that God is present. God is present right now in this baby boy born in Bethlehem. God is not only present to the rich and powerful, to the religious elite, to those who are actively in search of a Messiah. God is present to all, even shepherds.

What began with one angel's announcement now becomes a full gaggle of angels, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among God's people"

The height of the drama and Luke's theological proclamation of Jesus' birth is found in this exchange between mysterious spirit-filled messengers from God and the lowly, outcast recipients of the good news.

The juxtaposition of these two very different groups could hardly be more stark and dramatic. One holy and otherworldly, the other poor and viewed as criminals; one sent by God, the other perhaps too busy with the ways of the world to be concerned whether or not God even exists; one beautiful, glorious, overwhelmingly and terrifyingly radiant, the other probably dirty and smelling like sheep. You get the picture.

And, as if this contrast wasn't enough to emphasize the radical and present love of God that is big enough for all, even the outcast; yes folks, this birth announcement is actually politically subversive too!

You see, Roman culture highlighted Caesar as the peace bringer. But Luke's birth story highlights that God is the one who is bringing peace to the world, and not through a conquering hero, but through the birth of a vulnerable little baby boy, cradled in a feed trough. And, to add insult to injury, God doesn't send messengers to tell Caesar this news; God tells this to a rag tag bunch of shepherds.

Pretty dramatic isn't it?

God's message of Good News, God's affirmation of God's presence, God's love shows up in the most unexpected place, in the strangest of circumstances and is announced to those we least expect. God's Good News is much bigger than we can comprehend.

This Good News points to something new and different, to a reality that is governed by God's radical love where shepherds, not Caesar and not the religious elite, have a place of honor.

This Good News of the birth of the one called the Messiah, the Lord, is an expression of God's abundant grace and love. The result is joy and celebration; praise and thanksgiving!

The shepherds are overwhelmed and in awe. They go check out this event which has taken place and after beholding the child, they become the messengers themselves, going out and telling the good news to others. They can barely contain themselves!

Their message is clear: Praise be to God because God is here! God's love and grace; God's justice and mercy; God's peace and compassion are present!

So, here we are, 2000 years later, and I wonder...do we believe them? And if we do believe them, do we share their enthusiasm?

This has been a difficult year for a lot of people. Tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, wars, famine, disease, deaths of loved ones, the list goes on. We only have to look around the world to see loss and injustice; pain and struggle.

We seem to be a world in desperate need of the Christmas message.

But, for some of us, Christmas may actually be a difficult and perhaps lonely time.

For others of us, it is easy to get caught up in the beauty and excitement of Christmas. But even then, sooner or later, the tinsel must come down, the decorations must go back in their boxes, the leftovers get eaten up, we must go back to work and school. Reality sets in again.

How do we take to heart the message of the angels and shepherds? How do we live in the Good News?

Sometimes the message is hard to hear, hard to believe, and hard to sustain.

But, I'll say it again: We seem to be a world in desperate need of the Christmas message.

Someone mentioned a couple weeks ago, during one of our chapel services at PSR, "God doesn't wait around for things to calm down and smooth out to become present to us. In fact, sometimes, it's the exact opposite."

It's true isn't it? The story of Jesus' birth in Luke's gospel paints a vivid picture of surprise, unexpectedness, and the reality of God's presence in an occupied land, in humble, lowly, and strange circumstances.

Perhaps we have to strive to be open to unexpected experiences of God, even (maybe especially) in the difficult times of our lives.

Perhaps we have to hold fast to our hope for God's peace to overpower our strife.

Perhaps we have to have hope in our own willingness as communities of faith to work together daily in small and large ways towards God's vision of peace and justice for all creation, both human and non-human.

That hope and that perseverance is what our Green Christmas has been all about.

Perhaps we have to rejoice daily in those small reminders of God's presence which we find in our relationships with those we love, in our families, and in our communities.

One of my favorite Christmastime stories is Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and I will freely admit that my favorite film adaptation of this tale is A Muppets' Christmas Carol. I watch it every year and I think that Kermit the Frog played a convincing and Oscar-worthy Bob Cratchit! Believe it or not, it actually uses a lot of Dickens' original language (aside from a few changes like Fezziwig to Fozzie-wig). Gonzo the Great plays Dickens and narrates the story.

Dickens' avoids a lot of explicit theological language, but I think that much of what this story is about is the pervasive nature of the Good News of Christmas. Talk about a message given to an unexpected recipient! Scrooge is, of course, not poor; but he is an outcast whose miserly disposition alienates him from virtually everyone.

And talk about a conversion experience! Scrooge is hit over the head by three ghosts with the message, "change your ways!" And he does. He becomes a philanthropist.

It's what is said about Scrooge at the end that always catches my attention. Scrooge came to be known for his drastic change and new generosity and, as Dickens states, "it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge."

I think that is what it is really all about...it's all about "keeping Christmas." It's about being open, not only year after year, but also day after day, to a new experience of the Christmas message of God's abundant grace and love. It's about continually learning what this message means for us and for the journey we take through this life.

Christmas is a reminder of the hope we have in God who was present and remains present, not in trumpets and splendor, royal processions, and glitz and glamour, but in the simple, humble, vulnerable baby boy whose birth was announced to shepherds by angels.

So, Merry Christmas! And, as Tiny Tim observed, "God Bless Us, Everyone!"

Amen.

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