​<Luke 2: 8-14>

 Fred Craddock is one of the most famous preachers in the United States today.  He was once invited to deliver a lecture in Ontario, Canada.  He arrived on a Saturday night, but because of the blizzard, the lecture was canceled.  The next morning, Craddock went to a bus depot diner that was about a block away from the hotel to eat breakfast.  The diner was full of people who sought to escape the bitter cold.  Craddock was able to find a seat to sit down in.

  Just as Craddock sat down, a very shabbily dressed woman walked into the diner.  The diner’s owner, with a grease-stained apron draped in front of him, came over to the woman to take her order.  “What would you like?”  The woman answered, “Can I get a glass of water?”  The owner brought a glass of water and sat it down in front of the woman and asked, “Now, what would you like to have?”  The woman replied, “Water is fine.  I don’t want to order any food.”

 The owner’s face hardened at this response.  “You cannot occupy a seat without ordering food.  You cannot stay here if you do not order!”  The owner, in a very rude manner, expressed his displeasure.  The woman pleaded, “Can I stay here until I warm up?”  The owner once again spat out, “Lady, listen!  Either you order something from the menu, or you leave!”  But the woman had no money to order food.  So she pitifully rose from her seat and left the diner.

 The other customers, who saw this, started to leave one by one.  Finally, Craddock and everyone else in the diner were about to quietly leave the diner.  All of a sudden, the diner owner became desperate to keep his customers.  He shouted,  “Everyone please wait!  Please go back to your tables.  I’ll let the woman stay in the diner!”  Not only did the owner let the woman warm up in his diner, he even brought out a warm bowl of soup for her.

  Craddock, upon seeing this, asked a gentleman sitting to his side.  “Who’s that woman?”  The gentleman answered, “I am not sure.  I have never seen that woman before.  But one thing I do know.  If that woman is not welcome in this diner, than no one is.”  Craddock immediately thought of Jesus when he heard the gentleman’s reply.  Jesus, who came to this world without welcome that image of Jesus is the image of this poor woman in the diner!

 As we greet Christmas, we must understand one thing.  If we cannot welcome with warm hearts those who are unfortunate, then we cannot welcome Jesus, either!  Jesus speaks to us through Matthew 10: 42.  “And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”  In Matthew 25: 40, Jesus also tells us that things we do for the smallest person is akin to things to do for Him.

  During this Christmas, we need to look around us to see if there are any less fortunate people out there.  Because welcoming them is the same as welcoming Jesus.  Treating them with love is the same as loving Jesus.

 Let’s take a look at today’s scripture.  The news of the birth of Jesus spread to the shepherds who were tending to their sheep outside of Bethlehem.  The people who lived in the ancient Near East some 2,000 years ago would have been greatly surprised upon hearing this news.  Why did the news of the birth of God’s Son spread first to the shepherds?  Ancient people would have been perplexed at this question.  Shepherds, in those days, were the people of the lowest class.  Shepherd lived among animals, not other humans.  Their clothes always reeked of sweat and animal odor.  They always wore ragged, smelly clothes.

 Shepherd was an occupation reserved for those who were poor and uneducated in those days.  In fact, shepherds were people hired by rich livestock owners to protect the sheep from wild wolves in the Judean plains.  Because they lived among animals, these shepherds often could not follow the strict and complicated provisions of the Hebrew religion.  They could not avoid certain foods that their religion prescribed, and they could not practice the custom on washing hands before and after a meal.  They had to work through Sabbath watching sheep.  They could not even go to the Jewish synagogue or the temple to offer worship.

 Moreover, shepherds tended to sheep almost without any supervision from their masters.  Therefore, majority of the shepherds stole sheep from their masters and grazed them on someone else’s land.  Because so many of the shepherds stole sheep and proved themselves to be untrustworthy, courts did not recognize shepherds as credible witnesses.  Buying sheep, sheep hair, or sheep’s milk from a shepherd were forbidden by law.  It was because those items could be stolen items if shepherd sold them.  It is understandable in what way the traditional Jews looked at these shepherds.  They probably treated them just as bad as the way they treated the Pharisees and the scribes.  In another words, they did not treat the shepherds like human.

 But the angel of God appeared in front of these shepherds.  The angel did not appear in front of the royalty, the noblemen, the religious leaders, or the wealthy.  According to verse 9, the ‘glory of the Lord,’ which should have shone on the likes of Moses, shone on the shepherds.  When the angel stood in front of them and the glory of God shone upon them, the shepherds were terrified.  Does verse 9 not say, “they were greatly afraid?”   They were afraid because they believe that such things could not happen to such lower-class citizens like themselves. 

 But to the trembling shepherds, the angel speaks.  Take a look at verses 10 and 11. “Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”  It is clear why the shepherds should not be afraid anymore.  There is great news for them.  What is that great news?  In the city of David, Bethlehem, a Savior Christ the Lord is born to them.

 What is the greatest news in this world to you?  When your spouse earns a promotion at work?  When your children get accepted into a good college?  When you get a raise?  When the Korean soccer team advance to the World Cup Semifinals?  When Muhyun Roh gets elected as the President of Korea?  All these news only bring temporary happiness.  They do not bring the fundamental, lasting happiness in our lives!

  But the news of the birth of our Savior is different.  The news that Christ the One who is anointed to take on all the sins of this world is born cannot be compared to any great news of this world.  The news that the Lord of all things came to this world is truly the greatest news that we can hear.

 Let’s think about this.  Who in this world can rescue you from sins and death?  Buddha, Confucius, Mohammed, the President, the psychiatrist, and such cannot save you.  Only the Son of God, Jesus, can save us from sins and death.  Only our Savior, our Christ, our Lord Jesus can give us salvation and everlasting life!

 Ephesians 2: 4-5 tells us, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grade you have been saved).”  1 Timothy 1: 15 tells us, “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of who I am chief.”  And Romans 8: 1-2 proclaims, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” 

 God’s angel delivered great news to the shepherds.  To the lowest people the news of the birth of our Savior, Lord Jesus Christ, was delivered.  To the shepherds, who lived in the midst of sin and despair, this great news was delivered first.

 Some say that the shepherds in today’s scripture are those who raised the sheep that were used as sacrificial sheep every morning and evening at the temple of Jerusalem.  The shepherds who raised flawless sacrificial sheep now had the opportunity to see the young Lamb who were to take on all their sins!  The sheep that raised, no matter how flawless, could not cleanse their sins.  Yet, the young Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, could cleanse this entire world of its sins by becoming a sacrificial lamb Himself!

 ​Robert Ingersoll was the most famous atheist of 19^th century America.  On the day of his funeral, Ingersoll’s younger brother delivered the following eulogy.  “Life is a narrow vale between the cold and barren peaks of two eternities.  We strive in vain to look beyond the heights.  We cry aloud, and the only answer is the echo of a wailing cry.” 

 A world without God is unimaginable.  A world without Jesus is full of death and despair.  Through Christmas, we must thank God for sending Jesus to this world.  We need to thank God for giving great tidings to us, who are lowly beings like the shepherds.  Most of all, we need to thank Jesus for opening the door of hope for us the hope of heaven.

 I would like to conclude my sermon with the following story.  There was a soldier, who, with the rest of the platoon, collected intelligence on the battlefield during war.  One day, he went to report to his commanding officer the information he collected.  His commander asked him, “What is the situation like out there?”  This soldier was a born optimist, and he answered with great conviction, “Sir, we can attack in any direction.  We are surrounded by the enemy.”

 This soldier was a man of hope.  He did not see the current situation as one of defeat and death.  He did not give a pessimistic report out of fear.  Even though they were surrounded by the enemy, he thought that this was a great chance to attack in any direction and seize the initiative!

 As we await the birth of Christ, we need to take on the same positive attitude.  Jesus came to this world as its hope.  He became the seed of hope in a manger in Bethlehem.  Wherever this seed of hope in sown, a great tree of heaven will arise and that tree will bear many fruits.

 The Bible promises us that regardless of what kind of lives we lived, as long as we embrace Christ we will be forgiven.  Jesus gave us the hope of the water and bread that will eternally quench our thirst and hunger, above and beyond what this secular world holds for us.  No matter what kind of lives we lived, Christ wants to become the seed that gets sown into our hearts!

 Just as the great news was delivered to the shepherds, I hope that all of you can hear the great news of hope before you return home today.  Amen.