Dear Friend, 

Reflection by Bruce Cargill

Steadfast in Hope: Waiting for Redemption

Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock (Lk 2:8).  We hear this familiar verse every year around Christmas.  Never in my life would I have guessed that, one day, I would be in that region, in those fields where the lives of a few lowly shepherds would be changed forever.  As you might have guessed, as part of our trip to the Holy Land, my brother seminarians and I did, in fact, find ourselves in the surrounding area of Bethlehem of Judea, in a small chapel built on the site where an angel of the Lord appeared and the glory of the Lord shone… where the good news of great joy, of the birth of our Savior, was first proclaimed to shepherds in the night. 

The small, circular chapel has the altar directly under a dome ceiling that is perforated with openings that let the light stream through freely, symbolizing the glory of God which shone upon the shepherds.  The words of the angelic song of praise line the base of the dome, along with figures of the angels that seem to descend along with the light down to the altar.  What struck me the most profoundly however was that which was below the altar; four statues of the shepherds, kneeling with their hands folded in prayer, their posture and facial expressions revealing the fear that filled the shepherds at the sight of God’s glory.  

What an intense moment that must have been; such brilliant light, such awesome power and glory that instilled holy fear in the shepherds.  Upon receiving the news of Christ’s birth, these men left immediately for the place which the angel told them.  We don’t hear of the shepherds again in the Gospel, which leads me to wonder, what ever happened to them?  Did they patiently wait for the Christ Child to grow up and begin his public ministry, heeding his charge to deny themselves and take up their cross?  Or, did the time gap between the angelic visit in the fields and the beginning of Christ’s public ministry prove to be too long for them to hold on to hope?  And, even if they did wait patiently for his ministry, did they, like so many other disciples, walk away when Jesus’ teaching to eat his flesh and drink his blood was too hard to swallow?

This Lent, I pray that in times when I encounter doubt or discouragement, I might remember those times when God chose to reveal Himself to me in a personal way, as He did for the shepherds so long ago.  I pray that I might not lose my zeal to wait for Him; to stand firm, placing my trust in the Lord, that He may fulfill the good work He has begun in me and purge me of my sinfulness like gold in the furnace.  I pray that each of you reading this might experience the same grace.

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Bruce Cargill is a Pre-Theology II seminarian for the Diocese of Metuchen.