Advent Reflections: The Joy of the Shepherds

On the third Sunday of Advent, we light a pink candle, which represents joy. On the official “Breedlove Advent wreath,” the joy of the third candle is connected to the shepherds, because it was to the shepherds that the angel declared, “I bring you good news of great joy!”

We know the end of the statement; we know why the news was a declaration of joy. “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” But perhaps these words are so familiar to us that we have lost sight of the joy. We frequently need to slow down, so that we can remember again and rejoice.

“Unto you.” From the beginning it is explicit—God is not just for those who deserve it, for some more worthy people. The Messiah is for you, his life is on your behalf. The poor shepherds were likely stunned, just as we should be, “For me? He is actually for me?”

“Is born this day in the city of David.” This is not a pleasant fiction, a story we tell to feel better. On a specific day, at a particular moment in history, in a particular place, the Messiah was actually born. He lay in his mother’s arms as real as every other baby, needing to be cleaned and fed and soothed. His tiny limbs and heart would bear the hatred and sin of the world, but he was real—God actually in the flesh, vulnerable and small.

“A Savior.” We spend our energy in a frantic attempt to secure life, to save ourselves. Yet every day is a testimony to the fact that we cannot ever do enough. We did not author life, and it is not under our control. We need a Savior, and it is a Savior who was born for us.

“Who is the Messiah, the Lord.” The shepherds didn’t need to be told why the birth of the Messiah was an occasion for joy! The arrival of the anointed one, the promised one, who would usher in the kingdom of God, reign from the throne of David, and restore God’s people was an obvious cause for celebration. But it should be staggering to us that we have been included in the kingdom of this anointed one. This Lord has said to us, “I want you to be one of my people, one of my restored ones.”

Every time Mary was confronted with the glory of her son, she treasured and pondered the moment in her heart. Do the same with the declaration of the angels and rejoice in what they said! “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”

Steven+