Inglorious
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them. Luke 2:8-9
Lets take a step back in the story, not far, just a sentence or two. “And an angel of the lord appeared to them”. Them. We see that word and by our own standards, “them” seems like a pretty normal, appropriate word, but in Jesus’ time, to hear that the shepherds were the sole audience at the heralding of the birth of the Savior, would have brought a reading more like “THEM??!!”.
“Them”, those shepherds watching their flocks by night. THEM?? Really?? Shepherds were know to be shifty, and stinky. They were kind of like land pirates. Rabbinic sources give report of the shepherd’s life to the effect that "most of the time they were dishonest and thieving; they led their herds onto other people's land and pilfered the produce of the land." Because they were often months at a time without supervision, they were often accused of stealing some of the increase of the flock. Consequently, the pious were warned not to buy wool, milk, or kids from shepherds on the assumption that it was stolen property. Shepherds were not allowed to fulfill a judicial office or be admitted in court as witnesses. A Jewish expert on the Psalm 23:2 named Jeremias wrote, "There is no more disreputable occupation than that of a shepherd." Philo, a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher of Alexandria (25 BC - 45 AD), wrote about looking after sheep and goats, "Such pursuits are held mean and inglorious."[1]
“Mean and inglorious”, and yet they heard first. They heard of the Infant King before anyone else. Why on earth would anyone choose them? Scripture tells us it is because the Messiah, God in Flesh, “would not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear,4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;”
He came to the shepherds to give us all pause in how we see who is deserving of God’s love. He came because he so loved the WORLD. We don’t get to make the list of who’s in and who’s out. We don’t get to rank sin, discriminate or judge. Wasn’t that why he came in the first place? Mankind had forgotten how to live out love for God by loving their neighbors. Rules had replaced real compassion. Law after law seemingly kept everyone except the full religious elite from approaching the throne of God. So Jesus showed us just how simple it was to follow him by making some of the most reproachable men in society into his first disciples. THEY would be the first to bow down because they knew who they were…sinners. They didn’t try to cover it up. It was out there for everyone to know, especially them, but when they were confronted by the Holy, they were not too jaded and refined to fall to their knees in awe and then celebrate the newborn King.
It’s a good thing we don’t get to make the list. This Christmas may we have the humility to recognize that we are THEM, sinners in need of a savior. And may we fall to our knees in worship of Christ the King whose ways, thankfully, are not our ways.
Prayer: Jesus our Savior, thank you for coming to earth for all of us. Thank you for not judging as we judge. Help us to see one another through your eyes. -Amen
