"The Shepherds"

A Sermon on Luke 2:14-20

Preached December 22, 2002

By Donald M. Tuttle

First Christian Church, Corpus Christi, Texas

"Children," Art Linkletter taught us, "say the darndest things."

And most pastors agree. It happened to one pastor a few years ago. She had gathered the children on the chancel steps and began to describe for them a person. "This person," she said, "takes care of you, makes sure you have food to eat, gives you medicine when you are sick, and teaches you lots of wonderful things. Who is it?"

Well, one little boy’s had shot into the air and out with the answer he came: "Jesus," he said. "It has to be Jesus, but it sure sounds a lot like Mom."

If I were to ask our children about Christmas, I suspect that I would get "the right answer." They have been well trained to give the answer they figure the pastor or teacher wants to hear. But take them out of worship, away from the church, and how might they answer the questions: "What is Christmas? What is it all about?" Would they talk about Jesus or Santa, the stables or the shopping mall?

Better yet, what would you say?

Of course, it would be different things to different people.

Some of us might say that it is about being with family, sharing and making memories with those we love, gathering around the table to break bread together. A few years ago, researcher George Barna asked more than a thousand Christians what was most important about Christmas and a majority said "family."

But there are other answers. Some might say Christmas is about the smell of the Christmas tree, the sight of wrapped presents and the sounds of Christmas carols. Or, some might say it is about time off from school, Christmas bonuses from the boss, or a chance to get away. It can even be about sitting on the church pew late on Christmas Eve, waiting for the Lord’s Supper and a procession of candlelight.

We are fortunate people because Christmas can mean many things to us. It is a wonderful time of the year, one into which we can easily become immersed.

But have you ever wondered what Christmas might mean to those in far different circumstances? I hadn’t until recently. But I ran across a sermon from a pastor in Brownsville he asked that question.

• What does Christmas mean to a Christian in the Sudan whose village, whose home, has been destroyed by his own government?
• What does Christmas mean to a family in El Salvador, a family that knows nothing of shopping malls or Santa Claus?
• How about the woman whose husband of three-dozen years died this year? What does Christmas mean to her?
• Or what about the man who has been too sick to buy presents or hang lights?
• What about the person who made the worst mistake of his or her life this year and struggles through every day with the guilt?

What is Christmas to people like these?

If they have heard the Christmas message, it is salvation. Christmas is that moment in history in which God gave us not just his Son but also a Savior. That was what the angel proclaimed: "Fear not, for I bring you glad tidings of great joy. For to you was born this day in the city of David a Savior, Christ the Lord."

Christmas is about salvation. In Jesus, God has given the world a Savior, the one person who can, does and will continue to set the oppressed free, to tend to the impoverished, to comfort the grieving, to raise the dead, to heal the sick, to forgive the repentant. Christmas is about the one person who has come into our world that can reconcile us to the God we both long for and sin against. Christmas is about salvation, about you and me and all humanity being delivered from evil and restored to wholeness.

That is why the shepherds came running on that night so long ago.

We tend to picture shepherds as the epitome of bucolic beauty. Being well versed in Psalm 23—

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want;

he makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me besides still waters; he stores my soul—

we imagine them in romantic terms—gentle, peaceful, caring and the like. But the reality is that shepherds were not the people pictured on Hallmark cards. Their job required them to spend days, weeks, sometimes longer, in the field. They not only had to protect the sheep from robbers and wild animals, they had to protect those dumb, defenseless animals from themselves—from wandering off or falling in a hole or even tipping over and not being able to get back on their feet. Shepherds were uneducated and smelly. They weren’t welcome at worship and their reputation was so lousy that they weren’t even allowed to testify in legal proceedings. Many of them were rogues, which shouldn’t surprise us. Think about some of the great shepherds in Israel’s past. Jacob, for example. After he tricked his older brother out of not only his birthright but also his father’s blessing, he had to flee. What did he become? He became a shepherd. And After Moses killed the Egyptian and had to run away from pharaoh’s court, what did he do? He became a shepherd. It was a great job for scoundrels like these.

And yet to whom would the angel appear? To whom would the news that a Savior had been born be announced? To some shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem, to people who knew they needed a Savior, to people who knew they needed to be reconciled with God, humanity and even themselves.

And that’s why, when the heavenly host disappeared, they abandoned their posts, left their sheep, risked their jobs, and ran—not just walked, but ran—all the way to the manger where the Savior, their Savior, slept.

And when they left the stable, when they returned to their jobs, they were so filled with joy, so grateful for the Savior that had come to make them whole, that they praised and glorified God all the way back to the field. They didn’t know it, but it was Christmas. And from that day on, Christmas would mean for them salvation!

Diane Komp tells of Ann and her husband. They were baby-boomers, enjoying the fruits of their success. While their relationship was marginal, they stayed together, in part out of a desire to maintain their lifestyle and in part for their children.

Although the family was too busy for church and never even mentioned God in their home, one December their son, TJ, told his mother. He told her that he loved her more than anything in the world, except maybe God. "I love him a bit more," he said.

She was surprised by his comment. "Why would he even speak of God?" she wondered.

Then two days later, the unthinkable happened. TJ was crossing a snow-covered creek when the ice broke and he fell through. Ann’s world was shattered. As any mother or father might do, she railed against God. "I hate you," she said.

Later that day she remembered a Christmas gift TJ had bought her. He had tried to give it to her early, but she had just laughed and told him to wait to Christmas. But now she wanted to see it. And so she went upstairs, found the gift, and unwrapped it. Inside was a beautiful gold chain, and dangling from it a cross.

That Christmas, amid every parent’s worst nightmare, Ann and her husband discovered what Christmas really means—that come to earth is a Savior, one who can heal broken hearts, mend broken relationships, and even grant eternal life to children like TJ. Since that Christmas, Ann has helped more than 200 families cope with the accidental deaths of their children. Ann has helped others come to praise the Savior.

Leonard Sweet tells of a cartoon he once saw. A husband and wife are seated on a couch. All around them are the signs of Christmas—the tree, the presents, the decorations. But on the woman’s face is a huge frown. She looks weary, exhausted. The husband offers this note: "Of course your depressed; ‘tis the season to be melancholy."

If that describes you this Christmas, maybe it is time to get back to the heart of Christmas—to reclaim for yourself the good news that the angel proclaimed. To reclaim the news that the man in Sudan grasps, the news that the family in El Salvador understands, the news that the widow, the ill, the guilty comprehend—that born is a Savior—your Savior, my Savior, the world’s Savior. Christmas means salvation for in Jesus, God can and does make us whole. Amen.