Devotions
Rev Gav
Announcement
Luke 2.8-14
That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior — yes, the Messiah, the Lord — has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
Reflect
If you were going to announce the arrival of a newborn royal king, to whom would you write? Perhaps you would let heads of state know — dignitaries, members of parliament, and your nation’s religious leaders? But if the story of Jesus’ birth already started with what looks like a blip — Jesus being born in an animal shelter — then God seems to have got it wrong again. God sent a troop of angels to announce the birth of Jesus, but they must have taken a wrong turn because they did not head for the temple, Herod’s palace, or the Roman governor’s villa. Instead they headed for the hills surrounding Bethlehem, and a solo angel appeared to… wait for it… shepherds.
Shepherds? God let shepherds be the first to know the good news of Jesus’ birth? Really? Angels are highly esteemed, heavenly messengers sent from God, and shepherds are low, earthly, manual labourers. Although shepherds were respected by society, they were pretty much your average working-class peeps, yet God let them know the good news before anyone else, and because this news was so great, the solo angel was joined by a huge choir of angels who burst into song. When the angels were gone it left the Shepherds not a little freaked out!
Firstly there was the whole animal shelter birth, and now sheep herders? Apart from an animal theme going on here, God is saying something deeply profound about who this Jesus was to be.
Even before the ministry of Jesus started, we see God’s heart for the poor, the marginalised, and the ordinary. God wants us to know that he identifies fully with us — with our human situations, difficulties, and circumstances. He wants us to know that he is for us, and he wants you to know that he is for you.
Today, accept that Jesus came into the world for you.
Why did God choose shepherds to be first to hear the good news of Jesus’ birth?
How does it make you feel, to know that God specifically wants you to know that Jesus came into the world for you?
Pray
Holy God
I find it so hard to believe you came for me.
Do you know what I'm like?
Do you know who I am?
And yet, you do know.
You know me better than I know myself.
Help me to welcome you, King Jesus
this day and for ever.
and then