Advent 3 Joy and the Big Scene
To think about: Luke 2:8-20
It would’ve been chaos.
Sheep falling over, dogs barking, bright lights, snoring shepherds stretching and yelling, angels singing. It has all the makings of a rock concert gone horribly wrong. One angel voice tries to get a message across and it seems the heavenly sound system isn’t working; the shepherds are still running all over the place, scared by the lights. Who knows what’s going on with the terrified animals?! Maybe it wasn’t just the sheep hiding behind the plants….
And out of this chaos comes some instructions:
Not “Please proceed to the nearest exit”.
Not “You are doomed!”
Not “You’ve won the lottery!”
Just “Don’t be afraid. I’ve got good news.”
How long do you think it took for that to sink in?
And while it did, what’s happening to the sheep, their livelihood? The animals probably didn’t even belong to them–usually shepherds cared for the animals of rich landowners, and if an animal was lost, they would have to pay back the owner with their own wages or go into debt. The animals had to be protected. But the shepherds weren’t always the most reliable characters in those days.
But the angels still speaks.
Don’t be afraid.
How often, when we are in the middle of chaos, or stress, or a multitude of choices, do we hear “Don’t be afraid” but just keep going and ignore what’s said after because we believe what we have going on in the moment can’t wait?
The instructions continue: Here is the next part in your story. Here’s where to find the baby, here’s the way you’ll recognize him. What’s interesting is the angel never says to the shepherds, “You have to go!” The angel never says “Stop what you’re doing, leave the sheep and listen to this!” The angel comes to the shepherds while they are working, and gives them information. The shepherds hear the angel chorus, all of heaven so pent up with excitement that they send the whole group to sing for the shepherds–and now the shepherds are listening.
They aren’t afraid. But they do need to talk about it.
I love the line “The shepherds said to one another”. They haven’t been told what to do with this good news—only how to recognize Christ. The invitation to meet Jesus in this kind of unrestrained joy isn’t a command. It’s an invitation. As we talked about in the first devotion with Philip and Nathaniel, God invites first. Come and see. And in this case, for the shepherds: Here’s what you’re looking for to find this news of great joy.
This week, we light the Advent candle of joy. A light that says joy is here, and joy is coming. Christian joy does not stop and gaze, and shut out what is going on in the world. Joy is given, but what we do with that joy is a choice. It’s the same for the shepherds. What happens next is one of the greatest moments in the story, I think. The shepherds choose what to do with God’s offered joy.
Welcome to shepherd strategic planning 101.
- First, they agree on a plan. Let’s go. (Apparently, they believe the sheep are going to be ok on their own. Or maybe the sheep are no longer a priority.)
- Second, they act on the plan. They go to see Jesus–to make sure that what they have been told about is real.
- Third, they talk about it. Market it. Share it. Unashamedly, enthusiastically, making the whole town buzz with the news, spreading it around the other shepherds.
And so the joy God sent grows.
I wonder what we would do.
Would we say “We’ll get to it tomorrow, have to take care of the sheep tonight. “
Would we want to stay out on the hills because whatever is going on in that manger is so weird we’ll have no part of it?
Would we just keep the joy to ourselves, knowing that the angel message is good, and we’re past fear, but there’s no rush? The kid is just a baby. We can see him later.
Would we go, and see the baby, and go back home? Or would we run, see, go and tell because this is just too good not to share?
The thing is, God often comes in the middle of our work, in the middle of everyday life, and sometimes that coming causes chaos before we settle into the joy. Sometimes God has to tell us, I’m interrupting, but look, don’t be afraid. This is good news. I need your attention here. I’m going to tell you what to look for that will bring you more joy.
Then we need to decide what to do with the joy that’s offered.
This week, may you be blessed with surprising moments of God’s joy in the middle of your work. And may you have the courage to share those moments with someone else.
Peace in Christ,
Rev. Susan
Photo and content © Susan Kerr 2024. Shepherd and Sheep finger puppets by Peruvian artist, unknown, Ten Thousand Villages. May not be reproduced or circulated without permission of the author.