“Announced To Whom?

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Read Luke 2:1-40
Pastor David Stoker

Most people in America are familiar with this passage in Luke 2 even if they rarely open a
Bible. These verses have even entered popular culture, through Linus’ famous speech in the
Charlie Brown Christmas Special. Every December, in between televised scenes of the Grinch
slithering around Whoville, and George Bailey being saved by Clarence the angel just as he’s
about to jump off the Bedford Falls bridge, we have Linus, who discovers the true meaning of
Christmas in the gospel of St. Luke, chapter 2.
My concern is that with all the annual repetitions, the familiarity of the story can cause us
to take it for granted – to overlook just how amazing this incident really is. Who does God
announce the birth of His Son to? Who does He invite to come and see the new baby? A
ragtag collection of sheep herders!
Shepherds were the last people you’d expect God to take notice of. First of all, they were
religious outcasts. Their line of work prevented them from participating in the feasts and
holy days. When everyone else was making the trip to Jerusalem to make sacrifices at the
temple, they were out in the fields watching over the sheep. A modern day example might be
a trucker or a shift worker, whose job keeps them from regularly attending church. It wasn’t
really their fault. But they were looked down on from a religious point of view.
As if that was not enough, shepherds were borderline social outcasts. As they were constantly
on the move to find new pasture for their flocks, they were looked on with suspicion; similar
to how people today might look at gypsies or carnival workers. They were often accused of
being thieves. Whenever something came up missing – it must have been those shepherds.
Theirs was not a 40-hour a week job; they didn’t come home at night; instead they were with
the sheep 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Shepherds just didn’t have much social contact. Put
another way – you probably wouldn’t want your daughter to marry one.
Now, step back for a moment. Imagine you’re God and you want to announce the most
amazing, incredible, joyous news ever; an event which will literally change the course of
history – the birth of your only Son, Jesus Christ. Who do you announce it to? Who do you
invite to come and see? You would expect an event like this to be announced to the most
important people. Political leaders – kings, governors, magistrates, even Caesar – might be
invited to come and pay homage. Religious leaders – priests, rabbis, synagogue officials – they
would all be invited to worship their Messiah. But none of them got the word. None of them
were invited. Only these few, poor, shepherds- these social and religious outcasts- received
the important announcement.
So why did God send His angels to announce the birth of Christ to these shepherds? Why did
He invite them, and them only, to come and see the child? I believe it is because God wanted
to show that His love does not discriminate on the basis of class, or wealth, or social standing.
He does not respect kings and princes more than hourly laborers; he does not value pastors
 DAY 53
above the people in the pews. God does not show favoritism; He does not give preferential
treatment to one group of people over another. His love is available to all on the same basis –
faith in Jesus Christ, and faith alone.
So, what does all this mean to you and me? Well, if we identify with the shepherds, it should
be very encouraging. Maybe when you compare your level of religious observance to
others, the comparison is not favorable: spotty church attendance, not much Bible reading,
infrequent prayer. You may think that God doesn’t have a very favorable opinion of you. You
feel like God doesn’t really care, couldn’t care, about someone like you. Well, I have good
news! Great news! God loves you just like He loved those shepherds. You are special to Him
just as those shepherds were special to Him. He gave them the incredible privilege of being
the first to hear of Christ’s birth, of being the first people other than Joseph and Mary to lay
eyes on the Son of God, and of being the first to tell others about Christ.

P R AY E R
Father in heaven, thank You for caring about me…me with my problems, my hang-ups, the
things I do that I know don’t please You. Thank You for loving me…even when I don’t feel
lovely. Lord, it is awesome that You came first to the shepherds so many years ago. Lord, it is
awesome that You love me just the way I am. Thank You for Jesus who came years ago in a
lowly stable in Bethlehem, and Who lives in my heart today. In Christ’s name, Amen.

QUESTIONS
What did the shepherds do to earn God’s love?

What do I have to do to deserve God’s love?

Why are you special to God?

MY REFLECTIONS
Does any particular verse (SCRIPTURE) in today’s reading speak to you?

OBSERVE what this verse is saying to you:

How can you APPLY this verse to your life today?

My PRAYER for today is: