Peace to Those

          And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

          Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

          When 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.”  (Luke 2:8-15)

          An angel … a great company of the heavenly host … We aren’t told what they look like, just that they are frightening. Artists tend to depict them as having wings and perhaps as having an aura. No wings are mentioned. Was that because they appear without warning where there was nothing half a second before? Was it because their feet didn’t touch the ground? Was it the “glory of the Lord” that shone? From what’s written here, we don’t know. Clearly, they were impressive and inspired fear.

          Shepherds living in the fields nearby … Back in Genesis, Joseph encouraged his family to downplay their interest in sheep, to tell the Egyptians that they tended livestock. Later, David’s brothers belittled him because he was the one of their number who was chosen to go tend the sheep. When you think of the careers you’d like to pursue, or that you’d like your children or grandchildren to pursue, is a shepherd in the top ten? In the top fifty? Oh, sometimes we see videos of cute little lambs capering about and romantic fancies join the dance, but for most of us, that’s all it’s likely to be. Shepherds just aren’t popular.

          So, shepherds, sitting out on some hillside, in the dark… can you think of a worse witness? I can think of a couple in that culture: pig farmers, lepers, Samaritans, women, or women who are shepherds, pig farmers, lepers, or Samaritans. The angels may not have been scraping the bottom of the barrel, but they didn’t miss by much.

Some folks may say that this is proof of God’s preference for the poor and oppressed. But God also brought wise men from the East, who could afford to bring gold, frankincense, and myrrh and who didn’t have a problem with stopping by Herod’s palace to ask directions.

          For whatever reason, the angels appeared to the shepherds. I would speculate that shepherds were told because they were awake and because they weren’t likely to be jealous either of Mary and Joseph or of Jesus. They would not kill Jesus (as Herod later sought to do) or take Him to raise Him as their own. What better way to get God on your side than to make His Servant your ward?

          How long after they left did the shepherds sit staring at each other and around before they galvanized themselves to go to town to find out what was going on? We don’t know the details, just that they decided to go ogle, and having done so, no doubt they gossiped. The news didn’t make it to Herod for more than a year, but I have to wonder how far it traveled among the deplorables of the day.

          From near the heights of heaven to near the lowest of the low, from the greatest to the least, peace to those on whom his favor rests.