Worship in the Waiting 2020 Advent Series
Read Luke 2:8-20. As you do, put yourself in the shoes of the shepherds considering their example of faith.
““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, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.”
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When we come to this passage and take into consideration the culture and historical time period, Bethlehem is buzzing with crowds because of the census that is being taken. Mary & Joseph have already found no room in the inn and are in the stable with baby Jesus. This specific scene is a close-up of the life of a shepherd. These were hard working guys that were rough around the edges and may have been looked down as they were a lower class. At this time of year, winter rains had produced grass on the uplands outside of Bethlehem. The shepherds were at least five miles outside of town taking shifts to watch their flock and guarding it from predators because this was a prime place to feed their flock. Most of the shepherds were asleep, except for the shepherd who was “on duty” while the others rested. Their experience was like the worst version of your parents turning the lights on to wake you up or a deer in headlights type of reaction. No wonder they experienced some intense fear, as they were woken from sleep to the appearance of an angel above them and being completely immersed in the brightness, majesty & splendor of God. They listened to this extraordinary, unexpected proclamation that the Messiah who had been promised and they had learned about growing up was born. Suddenly, a troop of angels appeared alongside the original angel and bursts into praise “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth good will among men!” What a baby announcement! Can you imagine? It kind of puts our modern baby announcements on social media or via snail mail to shame, doesn’t?
Within this announcement, the shepherds are given two clues on how to find this baby. First, the baby would be wrapped like all babies were wrapped at that time in strips of cloth that bound the baby, cocoon like, to keep it warm and safe. Second, the baby would be laying in an animal feeding trough, not a typical place to put a baby. When the angels leave, the shepherds display they believe the proclamation of the angels, by deciding to “go see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” They travel the five miles to Bethlehem quickly and with urgency to find Mary & Joseph in a stable and the baby Jesus in the manger as the angels told them. This took a lot of effort, walking those five miles, searching through a town in the middle a of a census that probably had many feeding troughs, as at this time animals were the main form of transportation and livelihood.
When they arrive, they tell everyone in the area about the angels’ proclamation and how they found the baby just where the angels had predicted. People are astonished by their testimony. Mary responds by trying to preserve this memory in her mind desiring to bring all the intricacies of the event into her heart.
Lastly, the shepherds go back to work. They travel back five miles to the grassy pastures their sheep need for sustenance, but they go back to work changed men. These are men who are glorifying God and worshiping God by singing praises. What does the passage say motivated their worship: “all that they had heard and seen as it had been told to them by the angels.”
The Shepherds are a distinct example of worship for us. They have an encounter with new knowledge of God, and they listen. After acquiring this knowledge, they act on their belief and search for Jesus until they find Him. When they find Him, they tell everyone in the surrounding area what they learned, and how they found Jesus. Then they go about their everyday lives, but with changed hearts full of worship.
The shepherds had an intimate, first-hand, knowledge of God, and that personal knowledge produced sincere worship. N.T. Wright describes it this way
““If your idea of God, if your idea of salvation offered in Christ is vague or remote, your idea of worship will be fuzzy and ill-formed. The closer you get to the truth, the clearer becomes the beauty, and the more you will find worship welling up within you.” ”
Questions for Reflection
Like the shepherds…
1. …are you regularly listening to God’s truth?
2. …does your relationship look like chasing after Jesus with urgency, do you act on your beliefs, or is it a second thought, something you’ll pursue when life gets easier, more manageable?
3. …do you share what you learn about God and what you keep finding out about Him with those all around you? Are you talking openly about the truths that you’ve had to wrestle with, the truths that brought you joy & peace, or the truths that deeply convicted you?
Click the button below for a corresponding video on how to worship like the shepherds as a family:
*Resources used for reference: www.blueletterbible.org (Including, Strong’s, Vine’s Expository Dictionary, Thayer’s Greek Lexicon) and the ESV Bible translation.