The
people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in
the land of gloom a light has shone…For a child is born to us, a son is given
us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero,
Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:1,5
Now
there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the
night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and
the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great
fear. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good
news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city
of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord. And this
will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling
clothes and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:8-12
Piety
What shall I say to you; what shall I tell
you? I behold a Mother who has brought forth; I see a Child come to this light
by birth. The manner of His conception I cannot comprehend.
Nature here rested, while the Will of God
labored. O ineffable grace!
Study
Imagine how dark it was at night, in the
desert, watching sheep two thousand years before Edison invented the light bulb or 1,700 years before Ben Franklin coined the term battery? There most certainly was a live fire pit for
warmth that night and for some light to watch that the sheep did not wander
afar. Temperatures were likely to dip into the 30-40F range in this area with a
San Diego-like climate. The sun set around 4:40 pm and would not come back up
until 6:30 am Friday leaving more than 14 hours of darkness to illuminate on
one of the longest nights of the year.
Is it any wonder in the middle of a cold,
dark early winter night, that the appearance of an angel with a message from
the Lord would generate fear in these workers raising sheep to yield lambs for
an upcoming Passover sacrifice? And what
was the message?
The belligerent army of the most powerful
nation in the world had invaded a small, poor Middle Eastern backwater
territory. The leader of that nation half
a world away wanted to survey the spoils of his victory and ordered all people
to a census. No need to search for
weapons of mass destruction because they were not yet invented. Old-fashioned methods of torture like
crucifixion remained the coin of the realm striking fear and obedience into the
populace. A trembling poor, engaged
couple walked (or rode via donkey – no Uber or Lyft) for more than a week about
80 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be counted in their ancestral home. When they get there, the hotels were
booked. No Kayak. No Expedia.
No Air BnB. No smartphones for
toll-free reservations. No relatives
with empty beds. After all that travelling,
no wonder she went into labor. The
pregnant teenager gave birth out-of-wedlock and wrapped her new son in the only
blanket handy and lays him in the feeding trough used by the cattle. THIS? THIS!!
This is the savior that has been born for you who is Christ and
Lord??? Yes. This is the savior that has been born
for you who is Christ and Lord!!! Yes! Yes!! YES!!!
William Shakespeare, Agatha Christie, and JK
Rowling could not come up with a more fantastic plot line if they pooled their
talents.
Action
Are you at work today? You might be if you are in healthcare,
hospitality, food service, public safety, the military, farming, ranching and
shepherding. We still have shepherds
raising sheep which need to be fed, and cleaned, and exercised, and sheared,
and watched over. If an angel appeared
to them tonight, they would probably be as afraid as their counterparts were
2015 years ago.
Waitresses and waiters today have diners to
serve. Chefs have meals to cook. Hotel staff have rooms to clean and guests to
check in and out of the rooms. Police
have roads to patrol. Firefighters have…well,
fires to fight of course. Social service agencies have homeless to shelter and
hungry souls to feed. Ambulance crews have to pick up the pieces of tornadoes
which have chain-sawed their jagged path through the American south.
Is it any wonder that the heavenly birth
announcement for this Servant-Leader, Wonder-Counselor would go to people who
already were at work serving others? If
those angels came today, they probably would not show up at St. Mary of Sorrows
or St. Brendan the Navigator or Our Lady of Pity or Belmont Abbey or even St.
Peter’s Basilica. They would probably
appear in the break room at a Holiday Inn or behind the Silver Diner where the
staff are taking a smoking break. Or in
the bunk room at Fire Station No. 11.
The message, though, is the same. The baby is born for you. All he wants is
some room in your inn.
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