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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
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 2:15-20
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be
to God.
It had been a remarkable experience, one unlike anyone they
had ever had by far. After all, they were only shepherds who day-by-day lived
in the fields outside Bethlehem, watching over the flocks of sheep. They were
social outcasts in Israel and thus lived on the fringes of society. No one
really cared about them or for them, no one that is but God.
We know this because the Lord sent an angel to announce the
Messiah’s birth shortly after Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary in a Bethlehem
stable. No one else knew of the birth, the fulfillment of the ancient
prophecies, and so Joseph and Mary celebrated their child in anonymity amongst
the animals who were with them. They wouldn’t remain that way for long.
For as we turn to our scripture passage for today, we see
how the shepherds responded to the message from the angels who appeared to
light up the night sky and bring them good news of great joy. Look again at
these words from Luke 2:
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 2:15-20
No doubt still amazed that the word of the Lord announcing
the Messiah’s birth had come to them, the shepherds wasted little time in
responding, hurrying to Bethlehem to seek and visit the special, divine baby
who would bring salvation to the world. The scriptures tell us they found Him
lying in the manger with Joseph and Mary present, affirming that all the Lord
had shared through His angelic messengers was true.
The Savior of the world had come and it was something they couldn’t
keep to themselves. For after they had seen Him, they went to anyone they could
see and “spread the word concerning what had been told them” about the child.
Can you imagine the scene?
A bunch of shepherds who no one would give the time of day
to any other time running around Bethlehem proper and sharing an amazing
message that the predicted Messiah had come, born right in the midst of them.
The words they shared were not rejected but rather received with amazement by
all who received them. And perhaps the magnitude of the event had not yet
touched Mary until the shepherds came and told about the angels for as the
surprise visitors went out to spread their good news of great joy to the
general public, Jesus’ mother was pondering and treasuring everything that
happened in her heart. What amazing joy she must have felt!
Well, after the shepherds had finished telling the people of
Bethlehem about the Messiah’s birth, they returned to their fields to continue
tending to the sheep, their lives changed forever. The Lord had blessed them in
a special way, sharing the first announcement of the Savior’s birth and then
allowing them to carry out salvation’s first visitation.
Today, we get to share this message with others as well,
spreading the good news of Jesus’ birth while inviting people to visit Him and
discover salvation themselves. As we get set to close this year and enter the
next, let us follow the lead of the shepherds and hurry to tell everyone that
Christ the Savior is born!
Amen
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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