Luke 2: 8-20

Soeren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a renowned philosopher and the theologian from Denmark. Kierkegaard often explained truths of Christianity through simple metaphors. One of his metaphors called ‘The King and the Maid’ directly delineates the true meaning of Christmas. Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, a king fell in love with a maid. Despite the enormous rift between their social statures, the king decided to marry the maid.

But the king was at odds on how to proclaim his love for the maid and his decision to marry her to the rest of his people. So he gathered his trusted advisors and wisest scholars to gain their opinion and advise on the matter. Their response was a uniform one. Every one of them said, “Your majesty, there is no issue here. You are the most powerful person in this kingdom. This entire kingdom belongs to you, and no one is willing to challenge your authority. So if you favor the maid, then call for her; she will be yours.” The thing that bothered the king, however, was something that his advisors told him about the maid. It was true that he could easily call on the maid to become his wife, if he so wished. However, what the king wanted was for this girl to return his love, to love him back.

Deep in his heart, the king wanted a reciprocal love, not one-sided, unilateral love. He sought not his own authority and glory, but the authority and glory of the little servant girl. The king debated and deliberated over this issue for several nights and days, bereft of food and sleep, before he realized the truth and arrived at his conclusion. “Yes, freedom for the beloved demands equality with the beloved.” One night, the king, dressed in an old servant’s garment, sneaked out of his castle and went to the humble and obscure dwelling of his beloved maid. There, on his knees, he confessed his love for her and proposed to her. In order to seek the love of the maid, the king assumed same stature as the maid he became her equal. Christmas is the day in which God, out of His great love for us, became like us. In order to gain our love, God became human like us on Christmas day.

Therefore, during Christmas, we must welcome, with joyous and grateful hearts, the God who seeks our love. I’ve asked and pleaded with each of you to decorate your hearts while waiting for the birth of Christ during the past three weeks of Advent. I’ve said that during the first week, we must decorate our hearts with ‘Joseph’s righteousness.’ During the second week, I have said that we need to embroider our hearts with ‘Mary’s faith.’ Over the past two weeks, did you diligently decorate your hearts with these ornaments? Today, I will introduce the joy that the shepherds felt when Christ was born. There are some interesting facts when comparing the story of the wise men from the East, which will be shared with you next week, and the story of the shepherds.

The wise men were the wise and educated men from the East who studied the stars. While studying the stars, these men came to learn that Christ was born. During those times, the rumors of the arrival of a Messiah ran rampant throughout the region; hence, discovery of an unusually large and bright star gave an instant indication of the birth of the Messiah. The wise men followed that star to Bethlehem. As you will learn in detail next week, the wise men carefully prepared a gift to offer Christ while paying respect to Him at the manger. In another words, the wise men received or rather, welcomed the Baby Christ with the utmost of preparation. Therefore, Christ did not actually sought and found the wise men; rather, the wise men carefully researched the stars and found Jesus with meticulous preparation.

The polar opposite of the wise men were the shepherds, uneducated and ignorant men of low social stature. Shepherds tend after sheep and cows. In that society, the shepherds were usually the most destitute and ignorant bunch. Because they spent so much time around the animals, the shepherds tend to dress in tattered, ragged clothes, and their daily diet was no better off then their disheveled appearance. Their clothes were matted and pickled in malodorous sweat that accumulated over the years, and people who came near them tended to turn their nose and seek sanctuary from the stench.

The shepherds of those days were hired by the wealthy livestock owners to protect the livestock from the predatory wolves and wild animals in the plains of Judea. Most of their times were spent in the field with the animals, away from their homes; naturally, the loneliness drove most of the shepherds to alcohol and into sharing lewd, bawdy rumors amongst themselves. Then a surprising thing happened. Right after Christ was born in a manger in Bethlehem, an angel appeared before the shepherds in the field. Strangely, the angel delivered the news of the birth of Christ to the shepherds first, before anyone else. The wise men learned of the birth of Christ under their own accord, by studying the stars; yet, God sent the angel to the shepherds to deliver the news.

The wise men learned of Christ’s birth on their own; the shepherds, on the other hand, learned of this news through God’s grace. The wise men voluntarily discovered the Baby Jesus under their own will while the shepherds automatically found Jesus, regardless of their will, by the grace of God. The wise men made a long journey, over mountains and across waters, to pay a visit to Jesus after He was born. They came to Jesus after expending a great deal of efforts.

Yet the shepherds came to Jesus without having to lift a finger through the grace of God, they came peacefully and effortlessly to the manger where Christ was born. Another interesting difference between the wise men and the shepherds concern gifts. Whereas the wise men brought gold, frankincense and myrrh as gifts, the shepherds did not bring anything to Christ. Although they came empty handed, they expressed the joy they felt in their hearts as the angel delivered the news of Christ’s birth. The wise men and the shepherds paid respect to Baby Jesus.

The wise men from the East “fell down and worshipped” (Matthew 2: 11) Jesus, while the shepherds “returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen.” (Luke 2: 20). The commonality lies in the fact that both welcomed Jesus with great joy and happiness. When comparing the wise men and the shepherds, we can discover a lot of interesting facts.

In a way, we can say that there are ‘wise men’s faith’ and ‘shepherd’s faith’ among those who profess to be Christians. Those with wise men’s faith attempt to learn about God through diligent efforts and meticulous preparation. Those with shepherd’s faith experience God at any given moment and arrive at certain truth, without any prior efforts or preparation. In a financial sense, those with wise men’s faith are similar to life-long, prudent investors who accumulate vast wealth, while those with shepherd’s faith are akin to lottery winners. Yet, no matter how they get there, both types end up with money. Why did the news of Christ’s birth get to the shepherds first and foremost? Why did the news get to the lowly shepherds first, instead of enlightening kings, priests, wealthy men, scholars, or those with power and authority? Is this because God loves those who are weak, poor, uneducated, or social outcasts? Or is there a different reason?

I personally think there are two reasons. First, the news of the Messiah’s arrival was probably the most joyous and welcome news for those who were politically oppressed, financially exploited and religiously persecuted people. This point is illustrated by the fact that the likes of King Herod and those with authority were troubled and showed less than enthusiastic response when hearing about the birth of Christ. For those with power to rule and authority, the news of the Messiah’s arrival was a bad news; however, for the weak and the oppressed, it was a great news. In a way, the shepherds represent the masses at the fringe of society, whom, through oppression and exclusion, were expelled and cast off from the middle class and mainstream society.

The birth of Christ was the best news for those oppressed and destitute people; therefore, the new of Baby Jesus first went to the shepherds. Second, the image of the shepherd, who tends after the sheep, coincides with the image of God, Who tends after our lives.

Our Lord Jesus Christ referred to Himself as the ‘good shepherd’ in the gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11. Jesus Christ, a good shepherd, climbs the highest of mountains and crosses the deepest of waters to find the one sheep that has gone astray.

Because He was a good shepherd, He gave up his life for His sheep. Psalms 23: 1 states, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Don’t you think the news of Christ’s birth went to the shepherds first since both God and His only Son are both shepherds? Were shepherds notified of Christ’s birth before anyone else as a premonition of Christ’s fate, our good shepherd? The shepherds, in essence, were looking at themselves as they saw Christ in the manger in Bethlehem. The shepherds were looking at a good shepherd.

They were looking at “the great Shepherd of sheep,” (Hebrews 13: 20) who knew the names of each one of His sheep, knew their voices of His sheep, and died for His sheep. Today’s introduction has been kind of long, so we’ll jump to the sermon’s main point. Over the past three weeks, I have stressed that we need to decorate our hearts during the Advent. What comes to your mind when you think of the shepherds? It should be joy and happiness. Take a look at verse 10 of today’s scripture. “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.” The good tidings that the angel brought were the news of the birth of Christ. Upon hearing this news, the shepherds were so filled with joy that they immediately departed for Bethlehem. Take a look at verse 15. “So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”” To confirm the veracity of the angel’s news, the shepherds departed for Bethlehem.

Upon arriving in Bethlehem, they were able to confirm that the angel’s news was true, and after returning all glory to God and sing in His praise, they returned to the pasture where they tended to the sheep. Of course, they came to Jesus empty-handed. But the depths of their hearts were filled with great joy of Christ’s birth. Their joyous hearts were their gifts to the Lord. Christmas is a season of happiness. What other day can be as good and joyous as Christmas, the day that Christ came to this land for me? Joy is contagious. If one or two people quietly fill their hearts with joy, then rest of our church and our entire community will be filled with joy. As Christmas comes near us, we need to feel this joy. We have every right and reason to feel happy.

I hope that all of us can decorate our hearts with joy. Do you know the leading cause of blindness and eye-related injury in France? Champagne corks. During parties and celebrations in France, many people injure their eyes from popping corks of the champagne bottles. During Christmas and the holidays, there will be ample opportunities to attend parties and celebrations. However, the joy and happiness that these parties and celebrations afford us may be short and ephemeral, all the while wearing out and fatiguing our bodies and minds. But attending the celebration of our Lord in heaven gives us eternal joy. It is a joy that will renew our bodies, souls, and spirits.

Christmas is heaven’s celebration of the birth of Christ. Attend this holy celebration with joy in your hearts! In a few days, Baby Jesus will return to this land. Are you not all happy? Decorate your hearts with the joy that result from hearing this great news. In will concluded today’s sermon by reading verse 14 of today’s scripture. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men!” Christmas is the day that brings glory to the heaven and peace on earth. It is a time of peace and good will towards men and to all. For all of us who celebrate with joy the birth of Christ, peace will be with us. If you are joyous, peace will be with us. Let great peace and joy be with each and every one of us! Amen.