Monday, December 4, 2023
- Reflection by Rev. Winston D. Persaud, PhD
15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.17When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
The passages in Scripture which lead us through Advent to the birth of Jesus are filled, explicitly and implicitly, with the command and invitation to listen, so that we may hear the good news which God has for the whole world. This means we are included. The text above from the Gospel of Luke begins after the angels had praised God and then departed. Their song of praise to God bursts forth after an angel had announced to shepherds the birth of the Saviour, the Messiah, the Lord (v. 11).
In the face of their responsibilities to their sheep in a world of Roman imperial rule, which reminded them of their status as a subject people, the shepherds listened to what the angel told them about the Saviour who had been born. Their lives could not remain unchanged by the birth of this child. Impelled by what they had heard—they had listened!—the shepherds decided to act and, without delay, to “go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us” (v. 15). Given their history of subjection to the power of the Empire, they must have known that their obedience could come at a cost!
There are other voices that we hear today, some of which we can choose with positive results to shut out. However, there are many other voices we are powerless to shut out. Precisely, in such circumstances the Holy Spirit keeps calling us and empowering us to listen to God’s word of promise: Jesus Christ is God’s gift; he is Saviour who comes in humility and love for us; for the whole world.
We need to hear the good news of Jesus’ coming in love that God’s righteous rule will be enacted for sake of all.
Prayer: O God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, help me to listen to your promise that Jesus Christ, the Saviour and Lord, has come for the world, and that I am included. For the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen.