There are only 11 days until Christmas! When this same sentence is said downstairs in Kid City, it is followed with joyful shouts and cheers. Up here, I think some of you wanted to yell for different reasons! This holiday season is supposed to be a joyful time for all of us! Many of our songs, Christmas cards, and phrases that we use remind us of this: Merry Christmas, Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas, Happy Holidays, Joy to the World, etc. However, the reality is, most of us struggle to experience the joy of the holiday season.
In our home, we have tried to implement some traditions to help capture the joy of this season. One of those traditions is watching Christmas movies! We love “family movie night” at our house. So, it made sense that as soon as December hits, we take turns picking out our favorite Christmas movies and we watch them together. We watch all different kinds of movies—everything from classics like A Christmas Carol or Miracle on 34th Street to Frosty and Mickey’s Christmas. So, this morning, I thought I would share a little of our joy with you. Let’s see how well you know these movies. . .TAKE MOVIE QUIZ!!
CHRISTMAS MOVIE TRIVIA
• Frosty—What is the first thing Frosty says when he wakes up?
• White Christmas—What advice is given when someone can’t sleep?
• What is the store that Santa works for in Miracle on 34th Street?
• What is the name of the bank that George Bailey works for in It’s A Wonderful Life?
• Where does Rudolf go when he runs away from home?
Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer—the Island of Misfits and the “light bearers”—Our scripture lesson for today is really about a group of misfits: it is the Shepherd’s Story.
The Shepherd’s Story:
1. Who they were: Outcasts and Misfits Luke 2:8
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
Shepherds were considered to be outcasts and misfits. They were considered to be the lowest on the social ladder and did not have a good reputation.
Sheepherding is one of the oldest professions, and it was a difficult occupation. Often the care of the flocks was given to young boys and girls. They were nomadic. They farmed around the villages. They faced burning sun and cold winds. Regardless of the conditions they were responsible for the care of their sheep. They would stay with their flock for days at a time.
Since they lived in the fields with their sheep, they were not able to be a part of the community. Their jobs required most of their time, and they were not able to keep up with all of the religious laws and practices of their day. For this reason, they were also considered “unclean.” It is said that in this ancient society that a shepherd could not even testify in court, because no one trusted them. They were “misfits!”
To better understand the context of our story, let me remind you that this is a very dark time for Israel. The oppressive Roman Government is in control. For over 400 years there has been no prophet in Israel and the people of Israel had no one to help them hear from God—or to help them understand what God wanted. The heavens had been silent—no word, no revelation, no promised Messiah. The people are praying, “Deliver us. Deliver us.” It is during this dark time when the Jewish people longed to be set free from their oppressors, the Roman Empire, they longed for peace, and they hoped for a Messiah. And then, one dark night a light broke into the darkness. Jesus was born. And, the light and message of JOY is first given to this group of outcasts and misfits. The shepherds were the most unlikely people to receive the message from the angels. **While no one trusted shepherds, God saw fit to trust them with the greatest message!
I want you to imagine this next scene. . . READ TEXT
2. What they heard: Angel’s Message Luke 2:9-14
9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
These sheepherders were watching over their sheep at night. It was dark and still when the angel of the Lord appeared to them and God’s glory surrounded the shepherds. (V9)The glory of the Lord shown around them! I always thought the glory of the Lord was around the angels, but scripture tells us the glory of the Lord surrounded the shepherds! “Glory” means majesty or splendor. It is also beauty that inspires feelings of wonder and joy. I wonder what the “glory of the Lord” looks like? God demonstrated how much he valued the shepherds! While we don’t know what it looked like, we do know that they were TERRIFIED!! But the angel said, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people!”
The angel brought the good news with great JOY!
A. What was the message?—Good News!
A Savior had been born and the Promised One had come!—The word Savior in that context would have meant a deliverer or preserver. One who had come to save mankind. They would have understood it to mean that God had come to redeem His people, to set them free and to rescue them from the hands of the enemy. A Savior would preserve them from evil—forgive them of their sins.
This baby was the Promised One! Isaiah had said long ago (Isaiah 7:14) that “the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel,” which means God with us! GOD WITH US—God loved us so much that he sent his Son to be here, to live among us, to be with us—God’s presence here! That is Good News.
B. How was it told?—Great Joy!
The angel brought the news with great joy! Then the host of angels joined the first to sing praises to God! Why did they appear suddenly? I wonder if they couldn’t wait to share the news? I wonder if the joy of what had happened bubbled up in them until they couldn’t keep quiet? The joy of the message could not be contained!
Have you ever seen this in action?
Think about the greatest news you have ever received. Whether it is a new baby, a new job, a promotion, a new house, a good grade—when something amazing happens in your life, you can’t wait to tell someone else! Just last week, my daughter, Brooklynn came home from school and she had just been to the “Gingerbread Shop.” She had been able to purchase gifts for the entire family, and she couldn’t wait to tell what she had bought for everyone—I had to stop her from ruining my surprise! ƒº
Joy is contagious, isn’t it?! I am convinced that our witness would be far more effective if we brought our good news with great joy!
When the angels left, I can just picture what happened next—The shepherds must have been speechless! They probably looked around at each other, wondering (briefly) if they had been dreaming! (Did I hear that right? Is this message true/for us?) These shepherds knew who and what they were. They understood their place in society, and yet angels had just come and gave them the greatest message they had ever heard!
Read VS 15-20
3. What they did: The Shepherds’ Response Luke 2:15-20
15When 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." 16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When 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. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
a. They became involved in the story—This was such an exciting message that they shepherds had to experience it for themselves! They ran to find Joseph and Mary, and the baby. They became involved in the story. It is not enough to hear or even to believe. We are called to become involved! Shepherds heard the news, believed the news, and then went to see the Christ-child for themselves!
b. They told everyone what they had seen—they became light-bearers!
These shepherds were not able to read the Scriptures, and we already heard that they didn’t have time to go to hear the Scriptures being read. Yet, when they saw Jesus, they saw with their very own eyes how the Word became flesh. . .and they couldn’t keep it to themselves! They became messenger of JOY—light-bearers.
They spread the word. . .and all who heard it were amazed!
How do we experience the JOY of Advent?
It seems like people are searching for joy, and finding it can be a real challenge in this life. Let’s be honest—in the midst of our business, sickness, grief, loss of jobs, financial difficulties, joy seems to be out of our reach.
The Good News of JOY this morning is for you and for me. We all are misfits—just like the shepherds. Many people feel like they are undeserving of God. Perhaps they feel like their past is unforgivable. They may feel like a misfit or an outcast, as if God couldn’t love them or doesn’t love them or has forgotten them. This message, the gift of joy—the Savior, the Promised One, Emmanuel—is for everyone. . .you and me. If we take seriously the reputation of the shepherds and the words of God’s messengers, we see good news reaching all people, even the lowest of the low.
We can experience the Joy of Christ when we recognize the presence of Emmanuel—God with us in our lives. In the midst of our stress, grief, business, trials (our night), we recognize that the Good News of Christ’s coming is for us. We experience joy when we understand that He came for us (misfits), and that he is calling us to be his “light-bearers” to others.
We need to be people who bring a message of God’s love and forgiveness to others. We are called to be people who announce that a great and joyful event has taken place—the very peace you need, the hope you long for, and the joy that you search for has come! A Savior, a deliverer has come! We can experience the presence of “God with us”.