Luke 2:8-14 Angels Proclaim

 

God is with us; his love is big enough for everyone. How do you measure love that looks like leaving the most perfect place in the universe to come to an oppressed afraid poverty-stricken country, to a humble family who have royal roots but who give birth to their first child in a stable? In his love for us, God comes to meet us where we are at. Thomas Lane Butts writes, “Jesus was born into a world riddled with fear. So much of the lives of people was controlled by factors over which they had no control…. Israel was occupied by the Roman army. The destiny of the country was in the hands of people who did not have their best interests at heart. Every change seemed to worsen their situation, which was already bad. Most news was bad news. Fear so consumed first-century people of Israel that when they did not know how to feel they were instinctively afraid.” Fear was normal; imagine living in a time where being afraid was a normal part of living. This is when God shows to change the world!

An angel appears one evening to shepherds watching their sheep in a field outside the small town to Bethlehem to proclaim God’s great love, a love that takes away fear. “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people.” In our own world, a world filled with more bad news than good news, a world filled with pandemics, conflict, hatred and fear, our ears and hearts are drawn to the angel’s news, hoping to finally hear good news, news that will bring joy to all people, not just a fortunate few. We’re not meant to live in fear and conflict and anger; these all come into the world through sin. Fear, conflict and anger drive people apart, this is not the way it’s supposed to be. God’s answer for the bad news in our world is found in the angel’s message, “Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”

The news will cause great joy for all people, the Messiah has arrived, words of hope, words to bring people together rather than drive people apart. The angel brings good news for all people, to bring hope that things can be different. Did you hear? It’s for all people. The Messiah who comes to save, comes for all people!

Thomas Lanes Butts tells the story of a powerful children’s message, “She ended the brief homily by saying, "And God loves you and you and you," pointing as she spoke in three different directions. She paused to let this profound message sink in. During the silence, a child down at the far end of the chancel behind the baptismal font toward which she had not pointed, said in a wee, small voice, "What about me?" I hear that child’s cry, I’ve heard it in so many conversations with people who are seeking God, people who wonder if God sees them and if he could ever love them. They’ve heard too often that they’re not wanted, that they need to change before God can love them or accept them; they’ve heard this even from the church and they find it hard to believe God could ever love them. They’re searching for good news, for someone who will love them, who can save them from the fear, the oppression, the brokenness all around them, and often in them. I’ve cried those words myself.

The angel reminds us that the good news is for all people. Our theology tells us that God chooses us while we are yet sinners, that he chooses us way before we could ever choose him, that Jesus has come to offer forgiveness, to bring healing to the broken-hearted, to give us his Holy Spirit to begin the journey of sanctification, the journey of being shaped into his image; a life-long journey. You see, the good news the angel brings is that a saviour has been born, not just for the Jewish people, but that the saviour, who is Jesus, has come because God so loves the world that he has given us his only son, that whoever believes in him shall have eternal life! Did you hear that: “whosoever believes!” god’s love is offered to all people; all that’s needed is belief.

Marcus Goodyear writes, “Jesus is more than just a baby in a manger. He is more than just a good teacher and a storyteller. He is more than our prayer buddy who takes our requests to God. Jesus is our savior. He is Christ. He is the Lord, fully God and fully human.” …. “Christmas is the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. His life is a model for how we should live. His death for our sins is a model of the humble nature we should have. And his resurrection is a promise that someday we will know peace on earth and good will toward all people.”

In coming to proclaim Jesus’ birth to shepherds, God is showing that the Messiah is for everyone. By choosing to proclaim the history changing birth of Jesus first to simple shepherds working in the fields, God is showing that Jesus is coming for all people. Shepherds held a low place in Jewish culture and were considered untrustworthy simply because of their job. In the eyes of most Jews, they were social outcasts, even though they were mostly ordinary people trying to provide for their families, put food on the table and a roof over their heads. These are the people the angel reveals the good news to first! Who are the social outcasts today that ache to hear good news for them: the homeless, often times First Nations peoples, drug addicts, LGBTQ persons, among others; all are often looked down on or easily dismissed by many, even within churches? Yet today, these would likely be the ones the angel would come to, to proclaim the good news of the coming of the Messiah. Just look at who Jesus hung around with during his life-time, all those on the fringes, yet today our churches are mostly main stream. How did this happen? If the good news is for all people, how do we so easily leave some out, especially those who need the good news to give them hope, strength and healing.

The Bible, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, use the image of a shepherd for those who care for God’s people, including the Lord himself. Psalm 23 is the Shepherd Psalm, calling the Lord our shepherd, Isaiah 40:10–11 also pictures the Lord as a shepherd, “See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” Hebrews 13:20–21 is a blessing, “Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Jesus, the Great Shepherd, reminds us that we’re called to a life of humility and service, to seek out the lost sheep in our community, to protect them and feed them. The message is for all the people in our community. Many of the heroes in the Bible were shepherds: imperfect shepherds who needed God’s grace too: Abraham, Rachel, Jacob, Moses and David. Jacob comes from a broken family, Rachel deceived her father and fought with her sister in a dysfunctional marriage, Moses ran from an angry Pharaoh after murdering an Egyptian soldier and spent years in the wilderness; all with stories of brokenness. Their stories remind us that when you have messed up badly, when you have been rejected again and again, when you have lived in humble circumstances, that the good news of Jesus, the forgiveness of sins, the healing from the brokenness that sin creates, the grace that Jesus offers is for them too. Your own stories of brokenness and hurt and how you found healing in Jesus, speaks loudly to the good news of great joy. Jesus came to find lost sheep, even when they don’t even realize yet that they are lost and has passed the torch to us to tell the good news to all people, to show them Jesus’ love.

Jesus comes to bring “Glory to God in the highest heaven,” as he draws people from all nations to himself with the offer of the gift of, “peace to those on whom his favour rests.” Picture the angels appearing in the night sky, shepherds looking heavenward in wonder, the sheep sleeping and waiting for morning to arrive, a picture of peace, of calm, of what peace feels like. Peace with God and with others, peace with yourself, healing and wholeness in our relationships, flourishing communities where all people are embraced and the potential of their God-given gifts are encouraged to grow. This brings glory to God and comes because Jesus defeated Satan and death, and is establishing his kingdom of peace here on earth. Jesus is “the good news that causes great joy for all the people.” Let us bring glory to God by going and telling others the good news of Jesus!