A Thrill Of Hope.
Week #4: The Shepherds.
O Holy Night.
“Long lay the world in sin and error pining till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.”
And there were shepherds living out in the fields near by, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.’ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Luke 2:8-20
In Christ’s day, shepherds stood on the bottom rung of the social ladder, sharing the same unenviable status as tax collectors and dung sweepers. They were considered dishonest and thieving and were deprived of all civil rights, officially labelled “sinners”—a technical term for a class of despised people. So, what do you think is the significance of Christ’s birth being first announced to them?
Please ask someone to read this passage to the group.
Pete Greig (from Dirty Glory)God’s story from beginning to end describes glory getting dirty and dirt getting blessed. The Creator made humanity out of the dust and if, on that day, we left a little dirt behind in the creases of his hands, it was surely a sign of things to come. When God made us again, he came first to a teenage girl, and then to unwashed shepherds and later to pagan astrologers. God spoke the gospel as a dirty word into a religious culture. The Word, we are told by John at the start of his Gospel, became ‘flesh’… God’s infinite glory has moved, as Eugene Peterson says, ‘into the neighbourhood.’ …This is the staggering message of Christ’s incarnation: God’s glory became dirt so that we – the scum of the earth – might become the very glory of God… Jesus made himself unclean again and again, touching the untouchables: lepers, menstruating women and even corpses. He got down on his knees and washed between the toes of men who’d been walking dusty roads in sandals behind donkeys... Yes, we believe in the Word made flesh who dwelt among us as a kind of prayer, and sends us out to speak the ‘Amen’ in every dark corner of his creation. He hand-picks dim-witted people like us: ‘the foolish things of the world to shame the wise’. Bewildered by grace we go wherever he sends us, eat whatever is put before us, kneel in the gutter, make the unlikeliest locations places of prayer. We participate fervidly in a morally ambiguous world, carrying the knowledge of his glory ‘in jars of clay to show this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.’ And so, with angels, archangels and that great company of gnarly old saints, we believe that someday soon this whole dirty world will finally be filled with the knowledge of God’s glory… He will choose the ones with dirt in the creases of their hands, just as he always did. Flesh will become Word, and dwell with him in glory.
The outcast shepherds, living with dirt in the creases of their hands, are chosen by a holy God. What encouragement does this give us that our mess or pain does not disqualify us as recipients of His grace and purposes?
Think about your family, friends, or colleagues – who can you think of that could do with discovering this truth right now? Why would this be good news to them?
Pray for one another.
Take time to pray together (in pairs or groups) in response to the above.