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Today’s
text
Now it happened that
when the angels had gone from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one
another, 'Let us go to Bethlehem
and see this event which the Lord has made known to us.' So they hurried away
and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger.
Reflection
What did the shepherds expect to see? What were they looking
for?
Angels had promised something glorious and life changing. This
part of the story is enough to stop most moderns from taking any of it
seriously.
Angels are hard to imagine today, except for those
messengers of grace in our lives who lift our hearts by the light of their
presence.
But a peasant child in a manager, his parents huddled near
to keep him and themselves warm? This sight is easier to imagine. Shepherds and
the shivering poor are down to earth, as common as the evening news.
Even 20 centuries later we can understand the shepherds
leaving the loneliness of the night watches to come out of the cold to see a
child--or most anything that would warm their hearts and give a moment of
happiness.
After all, that is why they came to the manger. They wanted
to get out of the cold. And the manger where Jesus laid was the warmest place
in Bethlehem.
No, it was and remains the warmest place on earth, which is
why we come there, too.
We return each year to the stable to see the child because some
messenger of grace has told or shown us that there is warmth there that
penetrates that chilled soul. There is a love that comes from an Eternal Source
to warm us through and make us truly alive.
We will never comprehend this love no matter how far we go
or how long we live. It’s a mystery. You can describe it but never explain it.
Neither can you deny the warmth of the love or the beauty of
the grace that emanates from this peasant’s child lying in a bed of straw at Bethlehem. It streams
through the centuries and the souls of billions.
Drawing near to him--and to the angels of grace in which he
lives--one is warmed by the heart of God become flesh in human form.
What ever the shepherds expected to see in Bethlehem there is no doubt in my mind that
they tripped over the Judean hills hoping to come out of the cold, hoping to find and know the
warmth of truest life and love.
It’s why I still come, too. And I am not disappointed.
Pr. David L. Miller
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