Shepherds following Shepherds - Luke 2:1-20

Circuit Meeting
December 12, 2017
Zion Lutheran Church – Mission Valley, TX

Shepherds following Shepherds
Luke 2:1-20

In the name of Christ, our Coming King: Grace, mercy and peace be yours, dear Brothers.

This time of year, our attention is laser-focused toward Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We look forward to that joyous night of celebration when we join Linus in reading Luke 2 – in good, KJV of course. In our minds we travel back to O Little Town of Bethlehem where Gentle Mary Laid Her Child, tucked Away in a Manger, truly A Great and Mighty Wonder to behold. Once, in Royal David’s City, Of the Father’s Love Begotten, It Came Upon A Midnight Clear as Hark, the Herald Angels Sing. Candles are lit, the lights are bumped down and, soto voce, a capella, we remember the Silent Night when alles schleft, einsem vacht. As the final “Amen” echoes through the church, there is a sense that – if only for a moment – there truly is peace on earth and goodwill toward men.

Helpless romantics that we are, we view the characters in the Nativity drama through the Biblical lens. First, our attention is naturally drawn to Mary and Joseph – after all, they are the newly minted parents. Mary as anthropotokos (mother of man) and theotokos (mother of God) will always inspire both majesty and awe – even Mary herself wondered how this could be, that God would chose her from among the least of the women of Israel. Mary delivered the Bread of Life in the House of Bread. Joseph as step-father to God’s own Son, yet – we speculate – burdened with the shame he might have felt as people whispered about his wife “hooking up” with someone before they were properly married. A cursory glance is tossed at Herod the Great – both because it was his decree that God used to have Jesus delivered in Bethlehem, and because he was the monster who had a unknown number of babies and toddlers murdered trying to hunt down Jesus. Again, because of the romantic mis-notion, folks will also include the wise men, the magi, but they probably didn’t arrive for quite some time yet. We certainly can’t forget the angels – both the lead spokesperson and the whole, heavenly hosts who follow Gabriel’s lead in disturbing the peace with the message of peace.

So let’s see…Mary – check; Joseph – check; Herod – check; wise men – in waiting, but check; the angels – check; and we might as well toss the hotel manager in the mix, too. Who’s missing?

The shepherds. Ah, yes, the lowly, smelly, grubby shepherds who spend day and night camping out with the lowly, smelly, loud and obnoxious sheep. Those stubborn animals who look so cute and cuddly when they are little lambs but who quickly become wooly terrors, causing lost hours of sleep as the shepherd hunts down the lost and wandering critter. Shepherds weren’t much to brag on, socially speaking. It sure didn’t take much education to herd sheep. Shampoo, shower and shaving were optional and, I bet, were infrequently utilized. As my son used to ask, “Why should I shower? I’m just gonna get stinky later, anyway!”

But those shepherds have a very special place in the history of God’s plan of salvation. God gave the protoevangelium to Adam and Eve, but He first gave the evangelium to the Shepherds. They were the first recipients of the Good News of Jesus’ birth. (We should, at this time, pause and give thanks that God did not send the angels to a bunch of red-necks from East Texas, or the angels would have been shot, stuffed, and mounted on the walls of a double-wide.) “Unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord.” No greater news had been heard by human ears. The Savior, the Meshiach, for whom the world had long waited – promised to Abraham, Isaac, David, Isaiah, and Micah – had finally arrived. Not in a palace in Jerusalem, but in a manger in Bethlehem; not to a King and Queen, but to a Jewess and a Carpenter. Not to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.

Why would he chose shepherds, of all people, to be so blessed? Why uneducated sheep herders to be the first evangelists? Well, a better question is why not? It is how God works – He raises up the humble; He honors those who deserve no honor; He blesses those whom the world overlooks.

Allow me a moment of homiletic speculation. Bear in mind: this is extra-textual; just a little preacher’s license, if you will. Here is my theory why I think God chose shepherds as his first Gospel witnesses. I think its because shepherds understand faithfulness, taking care of the sheep entrusted to them. I think it's because they understand being a servant to their master. I think it is because they knew what hard work was. They were used to working hard in order to take care of critters in their care who didn’t always care. They were fearless, going out into the dark and against unknown wild animals to rescue the lost sheep. And, they were used to talking to critters who didn’t always want to listen. With those kinds of skills, they would be well served as evangelists. They would be going out into a dark world that didn’t always want to hear about, or who didn’t care about, the birth of this boy named Jesus. After all, folks were busy just trying to survive.  

But the Lord doesn’t just give them a wonderful message and a sight to behold – although either of those would have been more than enough. He gives them His Spirit. These rough-around-the-edges shepherds become the world’s first evangelists. What they have received, they must share; what they have been given, they must pass on.

Dear brothers: there is much to do before we, too, can enjoy the romance of the Christmas narrative on Christmas Eve and Day. There is a measure of emotional, mental, and even spiritual baggage that comes with the vocation of ministry this time of the year. Christmas becomes so much work that it is tempting for us to lose the baby in the manger, the Savior of the World born for you. We have sermons to finish writing, shut-in visits to make, hospital calls to attend to, LWML parties to drop in on, a long-planned wedding or a sudden funeral, carols to sing, bulletins to prepare and proof, perhaps a voters or council meeting to squeeze in as well, and a couple more services to lead before we celebrate and remember the arrival of the Christ child. There will be the marriage crisis, the request for financial assistance, balancing our own perilous budget, and the sick family member. Our kid’s Christmas program at school and our grandkid’s band concert vie for calendar time among all of the other events. The wonder and amazement of the Nativity can get lost, frankly, among the “professional” pastoral duties we perform and all of our family commitments we must keep. It’s tempting to become jaded; it’s enough to make us toss up our hands and quit; it’s tempting to grow immune to the power of the Christmas sermon delivered to the shepherds.

So, before you speak of the Christ of Christmas to others, hear the Christ of Christmas for yourself. Brothers, just as the angels spoke the Gospel to the shepherds, I speak it to you today: Unto you – read your own name here – unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord.

God has called you to be his shepherds of the flocks whom you serve. He has richly blessed you with the understanding of the mysteries of God that are contained in Scripture, including Christ’s Navitity, so that the Christmas narrative isn’t just a romantic tale told by Grandpa around the fireplace. You have received the Good News that Christ is yours and, more importantly, you are Christ’s. He was born for you.

Follow in the footsteps of the shepherds. What you have received, you deliver. You go out into the world of darkness and speak the light of Christ to sheep that sometimes wander, sometimes are ornery, sometimes become belligerent, sometimes get downright rude. Yet they are given us to care for, as they are Christ’s little lambs for whom He died.

Follow in the footsteps of the shepherds this Advent and Christmastide. God bless you with His Spirit of strength and peace. Fear not…for unto you is born a Savior who is Christ the Lord.