Lowly Shepherds

Now there were in the same country

shepherds living out in the fields,

keeping watch over their flock by night.

And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them,

and the glory of the Lord shone around them,

and they were greatly afraid.

Then the angel said to them,

"Do not be afraid..."

Luke 2:8-10, NKJV

If you were going to announce the greatest event in the history of mankind, the birth of the one individual who would forever change the course of the universe and the destiny of all that is, who would you tell first?


Would you announce it in the halls of government to the seats of power? Would you print an announcement in the most widely-read publications of the world? Would you call CNN or FoxNews and request a video crew for the event? Think of all the fuss that gets made every year on January 1 over the birth of the "New Year's Baby", and multiply that by like, I don't know, a gazillion. If my baby was the most important baby to ever be born, I would want the world to know--right then.


Wouldn't I?


Imagine the press coverage at the nativity: Virgin Gives Birth. Son of God Born in a Barn. The Lord Has Come, Let Earth Receive Her King.


Cynics would challenge the veracity of Mary's claim and look for old boyfriends to smear her claims. Skeptics would debate the existence of God and the possibilities of Him fathering a child. Intellectuals would try to carefully explain away all evidence of the miraculous. Every citizen of the world would cry "Freedom" 'cause we don't need no stinkin' king!


God knew what the world was like, and there were lots of other considerations to making this most important of announcements. Like the mad king who would want to kill him. Like the need for a middle of the night flight to Egypt in perilous conditions. Like the wisdom of obscurity until it was time for the Christ to be publicly revealed.


Instead of the media circus, God chose to do something spectacular...and practically secret. Hundreds of miles away, astronomers were reading the signs in the heavens with excitement because the event they had been anticipating for centuries had finally arrived. And closer to home, nobody was expecting anything of this magnitude to occur. So God sends an angel to wake up some shepherds and give them the good news, thus demonstrating a long-held principle in the history of God's dealing with mankind--God often uses the humble things, the small things, to put to shame the wisdom and greatness of the world.


The first humans to hear the good news of salvation were a rag-tag bunch of sheep herders camping out on a hillside with their sheep. The first ones to know that the Son of God had been born were men of no reputation, servants, common men whose names are not even recorded for posterity's sake. How typical of God to show his greatness and his glory to those the world might consider least deserving or worthy. But imagine the life-changing impact such an announcement had on that huddle of men. When the good shepherd was born, God didn't send an angel to wake up kings and priests in the middle of the night; he made the announcement to folks who might actually appreciate the message, people who knew their need for what he was offering.

Love, Day Three

"A new commandment I give to you,

that you love one another;

as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

By this all will know that you are My disciples,

if you have love for one another."

John 13:34-35, NKJV

As Jesus sat around the table of his final supper before the crucifixion, he looked at his motley crew, this varied collection of intellectuals and blue collar workers, of former government employees, zealous revolutionaries, and ambitious politicians. He understood that he was the hub that held the wheel of their relationship together. He was the center, the glue, their entire reason for being together. Already there were arguments about positions of power and influence, both now and in the kingdom to come. There were jealousies and rivalries and little intrigues. This cohesion was fragile and tentative, and he was about to leave. What would hold them together after he was gone?

What would bind the fisherman to the priest, the zealot to the taxman? What would bind the young to the old, the rich to the poor, the slave to the free? What would bind these prejudiced and sometimes bigoted men to the Gentiles who would be coming into their ranks? What would empower them to go where they did not want to go, to people they did not want to go to, and offer what they naturally wanted to keep to themselves? Jesus knew they need one thing, and one thing only. Jesus understood, all they needed was love.

It was a new commandment, and yet an old one. The commandment to love God and to love one's neighbor was as old as the Law itself, spoken by the same voice at the same time and written by the same hand that gave them their Ten Commandments. Jesus had spoken of it before, calling it the Great Commandment. Now he institutes it as the singular tenet of his kingdom and their future. Love one another.

Much has been made of the four loves, especially in Christian circles by those familiar with C.S. Lewis. In exploring the concepts of Biblical, Godly love, Lewis identifies the four relationship kinds of love--affection, friendship, romance and unconditional love. Storge. Phileo. Eros (& Venus). And, finally, Agape. It is this last one that he identifies as the kind of love which has its source in God. It is the kind of love Jesus instructed his disciples to have for each other. It's the kind of love Jesus commands us to have, one for another.

Jesus wasn't telling them to like each other. He wasn't telling them to be nice to each other. He wasn't telling them that they were family and had no choice in the matter. He wasn't telling them to be "in love" with each other. He was telling them to discover the kind of unconditional, everlasting, completely selfless love that he was about to demonstrate for them. For he said "Greater love has no one than this, that a man lays down his life for his friends." He was about to show the world the meaning of sacrificial love, and he wanted his disciples to understand it first and appropriate its power and meaning for themselves.

The kind of love he was talking about would define their existence, identifying them as his followers and setting them apart in a world that didn't--and still doesn't--understand the nature of true love.

It was a love of welcome and acceptance, without reservation.

It was a love of fellowship and entertaining others, of sharing your life liberally with others.

It was a love of fondness, demonstrated by affection and kindness, which is why the apostles later urged their readership to greet one another with a holy kiss.

It was a love of depth and dearness, of holding others close to your heart.

It was the kind of love Jesus had for the whole world, the kind of love Jesus had for us...when we were unloving, unlovely, and unlovable. And it's the kind of love Jesus wants us to have for each other now.

Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night

Now there were living in the same country

shepherds living out in the fields,

keeping watch over their flock by night.

And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them,

and the glory of the Lord shone around them,

and they were greatly afraid.

Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid..."

Luke 3:8-10, NKJV

It was a moonless summer night, quiet and seasonably warm. On the hills around Bethlehem, flocks of sheep were bedded down for the night, watched by their vigilant shepherd guardians. In a nearby cave set into a hillside, a singular event of universal proportions was taking place, the birth of a child that would change the world and forever alter the course of humanity. For the moment, the shepherds were oblivious to the birth. But they would not be ignorant for long.


In a flash of light, an angel breached the realm between heaven and earth, between the things which are seen and that which is eternal. We are not told his name, but perhaps it was Gabriel again, that great announcer of good and joyful news. We are not told his appearance, except that he was accompanied by the shining glory of God, but Israelites were familiar with angelic visitations and always seemed to know when they were being addressed by a celestial being. And their reaction is always the same. Fear.


Perhaps it was the angel's size. Perhaps it was the luminescent glow of God's glory. Perhaps it was simply the sudden appearing of the angel from invisibility. But this was no common occurrence. This was no every day happening. This was no ho-hum, another-angel-appeared-to-me-today (and he was dressed in yellow polka dots...symbolizing the spotty nature of the revelation). This was a revelation of the glory of God, a little bit of heaven illuminating earth to enlighten the earthlings.


And the shepherds were greatly afraid.


With reason, I think. Angels in their history had a penchant for being harbingers of great things to come, usually terrible things. Like the destruction of cities and the overthrow of nations, the slaughter of God's enemies and sometimes His disobedient people. To date, angelic appearances often preceded judgment.

But not tonight. As he stood there shining in the light of heaven's manifested excellency, he spoke to them. I can hear it in the surround sound of my technicolor imagination, a deep and gentle voice, ethereal and strong, majestic and benevolent, awesome and soul stirring. and he said these beautiful words: "Be not afraid!"

If God Asks

Sometimes God asks His people to do really strange things.

Like build a boat on dry land in preparation for a cataclysmic rainstorm that is going to flood everything...when it had never rained before.

Like leave your homeland and family, pack up everything you own, and move...without knowing where you're going.

Like add a nursery onto the house...when you're 99 and your wife is 90.

Like throw down a stick, or lift it up, and witness a miracle...when all you have is a stick.

He might tell you to go forward where there's no place to walk (yet). He might tell you to make a pan of cornbread with the last handful of cornmeal and the last drop of oil...and give it to someone else before you make another for yourself. He might tell you to prepare for rain, when it hasn't rained in months and there's not a cloud in the sky. He might tell you to capture a city by taking a walk. He might tell you to kill a giant with a slingshot and a rock. He might tell you to fight an army with a choir and a song of praise. He might tell you to ambush the enemy with a bugle and a flashlight.

With so many prophets running around these days, we need to keep in mind what God had some of His prophets do. Like preach in the buff (Isaiah). Like preach with a yoke around your neck (Jeremiah). Or wear your underwear on the outside of your pants (also Jeremiah). Like shave your head and do odd things with your hair (Ezekiel). Or save your poop to cook with (also Ezekiel). Or tie yourself to the ground for 430 days (Ezekiel again). Like marry a prostitute (Hosea). Then when she runs away, do it again. And again.

He may tell you to quit your day job, sell everything you have, and go to the mission field. He may tell you you to resign your comfortable position and do something else, something new, something everyone is warning you against. He may tell you to do the craziest things.

He won't tell you to do something that violates His word or causes you to sin. But He may tell you to do something that's against your better judgment. He sometimes makes adjustments to His instructions or gives you fuller understanding. But whatever He tells you to do can be trusted. Whatever He tells you will work out according to His plan and purpose. Just have a little faith. He won't let you down.

If He tells you to assault the gates of hell, take your water pistol. If He tells you to go catch Moby Dick in a rowboat, take your tartar sauce. If He tells you you're going to the other side, don't be concerned when the boat fills with water; it's not going under. If He tells you to rise up and walk, leap to your feet! Whatever He tells you to do, do it in faith, and do it with all of your heart.

God knows what He's doing, and everything is gonna be alright!

Things My Father Taught Me

I had my Dad for 25 years and some months before God saw fit to take him to heaven. It's where he wanted to go for as long as I can remember, so I don't exactly begrudge him the trip. Some have had their father's longer, yes, but some have had him for far fewer days than I did. But if I can be certain of anything, it is this: it is not the quantity of days that I shared with him that counts. It is the quality of those days that really matter.

Dad and I had lots of good times. To be honest, we had some not so good times too. But for the most part we had good times. I wouldn't say we had alot in common, but there was a common bond of love, and later of friendship and discipleship. We didn't share the same interests, but the things we did share were invaluable. We didn't always think the same way; we didn't always agree or see eye to eye. But we had the same heart for the things that truly mattered. Dad taught me alot about life and living and love and the Lord, and in celebration of Father's Day, I thought I would recall some of the things my Dad taught me.

Dad taught me

• 
  
  how to swim--by throwing me in. (thank God for floaties!)


• 
  
  how to ride a bike--even though I crashed my first time out.


• 
  
  how to change a tire--but not where the key was to the hubcap.


• 
  
  how to drive--starting when I was 11.


• 
  
  how to parallel park--I failed that part of the driving test, but can do it good today.


• 
  
  how to drive a stick-shift--even though I stalled multiple times on my date that night.


• 
  
  how to play chess and monopoly and 42--how to be thrilled with winning, and when you lose, how to be thrilled with playing.


• 
  
  the difference between right and wrong--that one brings rewards (usually eternal) and the other brings consequences (usually immediately, like a spanking)


• 
  
  my need for Jesus Christ as a personal savior--the single most important thing I learned.


• 
  
  how to pray--at all times in lots of different ways


• 
  
  how to read the Bible, how to enjoy its words and receive life from their meaning.


• 
  
  how to preach--not by instruction, but by example (and sometimes what not to say.)

There are lessons I wish I had learned from my Dad, things I wish he could teach me now. But God is gracious, and I have so much to be thankful for in having had such a man of God as my Dad.

Love, Day Two

Jesus said to him,

"'You shall love the LORD your God

with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'"

This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like it:

'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

On these two commandments

hang all the Law and the Prophets."

Matthew 22:37-40, NKJV

People always want to know what the biggest sin is, as if not committing it is going to be their ticket into heaven. I've heard it over and over again, people who point to the "greater sins" and say, "See, I'm not that bad. I haven't done..." And then they fill in the blank. They don't lie. Much. They don't steal. Unless it's cheating on their taxes. They don't commit adultery or murder. Even if they think about it from time to time. They're just not that bad. But they try to uphold their goodness without really understanding what the standard of measurement is, and that pleasing God and obtaining eternal life is not about following a specific set of rules, but rather about the condition of the heart.

Jesus was dealing with people whose lives were completely absorbed with following rules and regulations. They had 10 commandments, identified 623 supportive and explanatory rules, and developed volumes and volumes of commentary on each of the commandments, so that they knew and understood exactly how to adhere to the strictest point of the law...and still do what they wanted to do. So they kept coming to Jesus, these scholars and theologians and followers of the law, wanting him to identify for them what was the most important commandment to follow. Really, they wanted to trap Jesus with His own words. Instead, Jesus turned it around on them with an unexpected answer.

The greatest commandment is love.

First of all, love God. After that, love everybody else. That's it. That's all you have to do.

I can imagine their thought process. Wait a minute. What? Love? What about Thou Shalt Not? What about not having idols or worshiping demons? What about not working on Saturday and honoring God's name? What about obeying your parents? What about not lying, stealing, killing, adulterating, and coveting? What about our rules?

And Jesus said the greatest commandment is love. Loving God, loving people. Those two statements summarize 10 commandments, 39 books, and 1500 years of sacred writing and teaching. Love. That's it.

But what about blasphemy? If you love God, you're not going to blaspheme.

What about idolatry? If you love God, you're not going to worship something else.

What about murder? What about adultery? If you love people, you're not going to kill them, or sleep with their spouse.

What about lying? Love. Stealing? Love. Jealousy? Envy? Greed? Love.

I always marvel. We started out with one rule: Don't eat the fruit. We didn't keep it. God added another, 1500 years later: Don't kill each other. We didn't keep it. God gave the ten commandments. Failure times ten to the nth degree. And now we're back to one again: Love. People complain all the time about the laws and rules and regulations of God, when they don't understand the simplicity of God's requirement.

As one philosophical song-writer of the last century wrote: All you need is love.