Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
Original Manuscript:
In every Nativity Scene, we, of course, have Mary, Jesus, and Joseph: the Holy Family. Many also add other characters and creatures. Some have Angels and oxen and even a donkey. Others have the people we hear about in Scripture, such as the Wise Men. We also include the Shepherds.
Whether they include men or women, these Shepherds usually are classically handsome or pretty, with cute little sheep either at their feet, over their shoulders, or in their arms. They seem like people we would want to be with. They seem like they belong in this scene.
The truth is, in Jesus’ time, shepherds weren’t all that well respected. They lived in the off-skirts of towns and villages and kept mostly to themselves. They weren’t “the cool kids”. They were the opposite.
Yet these are the people the angel announces Jesus’ birth to. These are the people the angel greets with a “come and see” message. These are the people who hear God’s word and journey to see what they’ve been told about.
As they come to see Jesus, we are told that Mary “treasures” their words in her heart. She doesn’t do so because they are amazing people that she would love to hang around with. She does so because they are not, and yet God spoke to them first anyways.
Throughout the history of Scripture, God always chooses the underdog. God always chooses the unlikely person to serve or to lead. It was Moses, a stutterer, who is called on to confront Pharaoh to “let my people go.” It is the Israelites, who complain and moan all the time even after God has saved them, that God calls to be His people. It is this small nation in the middle of nowhere that God highly favors. It is David, who is so slight of stature he cannot even wear armor, that God makes into a great warrior and king. It is the Israelites who God chooses to continue to love even though they repeatedly reject Him.
Even the laws the Israelites follow are meant to set them apart. They are meant to make them different from those around them, perhaps even strange. But this strangeness means we notice them, and in turn we notice God.
Mary noticed that the Shepherds were the ones God sent to witness Jesus’ birth. She notices and treasures that God would send those who others wouldn’t have cared to spend much time with. These are the people who draw her attention to what God is doing.
Simeon, when Jesus is presented in the Temple, says that Jesus is meant to be a “light to enlighten the Nations.” God always chooses people who will do that, who will draw people’s attention in to then bring that focus back to God. As Christians we are called to do the same. As Christians, we are called to be the same.
As Christians, we are called not to think about what makes us the same as others or even amenable to others. We are called to think about what makes us different like the Shepherds. We are called to be different in all that we do and all that we are.
That difference most certainly includes our celebration of Christ’s Birth. Yes, that celebration looks different this year, and yes, it may not be what we want it to be. But this is an incredible opportunity, one that we cannot miss out on. This is the time for us to take back the celebration of Christmas from the world and make it what it is really about: the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, God made flesh in this world. Because we’ve broken our Christmas traditions, we do not need to be a slave to them anymore. We can celebrate Christmas in a way that truly honors our Lord, even if that makes us different, even if that makes us weird.
We no longer have to do what the world does or even what it wants us to do. We can take back the celebration of our Lord’s Birth. We can be who we are supposed to be again, even if doing so, even if our celebrations make us different and weird. Be like the Shepherds. Be the ones God chooses. Be the ones that stand out. Be the ones who are marked clearly as different. In this way, bring the world back to God.