The Weekend Brew: The Shepherd’s Song (by Mary Geisen)
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:8-14 ESV)
Have you ever stopped to think about the shepherd’s song? The low hum of sheep mixed with the gentle calling of the shepherd to bring them all home again. The lives of the shepherd are lonely, isolated and centered on caring for sheep.
Have you ever considered how and why the shepherds were included in the story of the birth of Jesus? What is the significance of a group of solitary shepherds to the birth of our Lord?
My church has just completed a short series on Christmas: Behind the Scenes – a look at Christmas from the perspective of people who had a “behind the scenes” look at the arrival of Jesus. The first focus group were the shepherds who were an unimpressive people with dirty, lowly jobs. Yet God sent His angels to the shepherds to announce the good news of Jesus’ birth. The message that was sent on this day was that God will choose the least likely people to carry His message to join in a relationship with Him. When God chose the shepherds to be present and celebrate the birth of Jesus, He set a precedent of choosing the ordinary to share in His extraordinary-people like you and I.
Our weakness, lack of influence and lowliness is a call to step out in wonder at the mighty work of the Hands of God. Our faults become God’s strengths when we surrender them all to Him. The shepherd’s song is our call to follow mightily after God even when fear seizes us along the way.
Imagine the shepherds out in the field in the dark of night alone with their thoughts and their herd of sheep. Pause to picture the beauty of the night sky and the stillness surrounding them. Now look up and spot the brightest star-open your eyes and heart to the glory of God shining down on you.
The shepherds followed the Angel’s call and faithfully journeyed to see the baby Jesus with their own eyes.
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” Luke 2:15
[Tweet “The birth of Jesus is a sign for all of us. Our invitation to walk closely with Him.”]
The birth of Jesus is a sign for all of us – a sign that all are invited even the outcasts.
Jesus is a sign that God is involved-His hand in our life guides us to walk closer with Him.
Finally, Jesus is a sign of God’s investment. God brought His Son to Earth as the ultimate sacrifice to save us all.
May we all feel Jesus’ presence in our lives and know that He came especially just for us. His love and grace spilled out one night thousands of years ago was our call to walk with Him.
We are blessed that you joined the community at The Weekend Brew and we love to hear your stories. Thank you for linking up and sharing.
Now it’s your turn to share an encouraging post at The Weekend Brew.
1. Share a post, photo scripture — anything that breathes life and encourages.
2. Grab the button to use in your post (it’s in the footer of my site), or simply link back here.
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My heart is with the shepherds this week also! Thanks for the beautiful post & for hosting. May you and yours have a blessed Christmas!
I love that we were thinking alike. I was intrigued when I learned more about the shepherds and God’s intentionality in choosing them to come see the babe that night so long ago. Blessed you joined us here today.
I thank you for the reminder that our faults become God’s strength when we give them to Him. He is totally awesome. So amazing. Yes! He! Is! #bloggercaregroup
God is amazing and showing us over and over that He came for each of us no matter what our status is in life is so refreshing. Blessed you joined us here today.
Our pastor shared today a similar theme Mary. We talked about Jesus coming to the world as a Jewish baby, born to a teenaged mother. You’re so right, that he would come to us announced by lowly shepherds. His invitation is the epitome of inclusive. He bends low to open the door for all. Amen. Hope your day was great!
I love the invitations that God sends out to us. I pray we may all been low in humility and accept His call. Thank you for joining us today Lisha! Have a beautiful week!
Dear Barbie,
Just found your blog so thank you for the opportunity to share!
My link is not showing the thumbnail.
Could I repost?
Thanks so much!
Sure. I’ll go delete the link now so you can re-link. Blessings!
Thanks Holly. I love that God sees the little people, the ordinary people, and pours His treasure into them. How blessed the shepherds were!
Blessed you joined us today at The Weekend Brew.
So grateful for this invitation! Thank you for sharing these words, Mary. Beautiful and encouraging! Hope you are having a good weekend, sweet friend. xoxo
Thank you Holly! Blessed you joined us here today and thank you for your encouragement. I pray your weekend is going well. Love you friend!
Mary, what a beautiful message to reflect on this Sunday morning. My heart overflows with gratitude.
Much love to you.
xoxo
Barbie, congrats on your job!! So happy for you.
How wonderful to see you here this morning! Isn’t God amazing to invite us all to humbly join Him and follow Him with abandon? Thank you for joining in here and for your love. Hugs right back to you!
That was beautiful!
Thank you,
– Kenzel
So glad you popped over today and I look forward to seeing you here again! Blessings for a beautiful weekend!
I love your thoughts about the shepherds. I love how detailed God is, how nothing He does is haphazard or random. Every detail of His Son’s birth included!
Amen! God has a plan- a big plan! Choosing each piece of our plan is such a joy for Him as He hopes we choose to say “yes” for His glory. Blessed you joined us here today, Elizabeth! Have a beautiful weekend!
My image didn’t show in my link. 🙁 Sometimes this mobile technology gets the best of me. Lol.
The part where you asked the reader to pause to really think about that night… that is a perfect way for us to really reflect on the breadth of all that happened when Jesus was born into humanity. That’s why I love the song Silent Night. If I think … silence… I feel it. In my spirit.
Beautiful, Mary.
I love Silent Night too. May we all feel silence in our heart and in our lives as a reflection of centering and leaning into God for all. Happy weekend! Hugs friend!
Hi Mary,
Thank you for sharing such encouragement with us today. I particularly loved where you said, ‘God will choose the least likely people to carry His message to join in a relationship with Him.’ So thankful for our gracious God.
Blessings
Blessed to see you here and for your own encouragement. May we all humble ourselves to accept the invitation that God so graciously extends to follow Him even when we feel we are not worthy. Have a beautiful weekend!