The Shepherds' Incredible Commission

"The shepherds returned,

glorifying and praising God

for all they had heard and seen,

as it had been told them."

(from Luke 2:1-20)

The shepherds' incredible commission goes from the field to the city to the world.

It begins with them gathered in a pasture tending to their flock when the night sky suddenly bursts forth with the glory of the Lord.

To the terrified shepherds, the angel of the Lord brings them peace telling them their Savior was born in Bethlehem.

Amazingly, the shepherds are chosen by the Lord to receive a message of Good News for all people, given a sign, and commissioned to find the child in a manger.

Searching for something extraordinary in an ordinary event will be a sign from God which they might not recognize right away. 

Seeking in unlikely places and finally finding the manger just they had been told.

With that discovery, and their mission complete, the shepherds, returned to their fields, praising God for what they had seen and heard.

Wait. What? the Savior in a manger?

With no room in the inn, where did Mary and Joseph have go?

Most likely, they rented a space in a small guest house with two levels, an upper for people and a lower for animals.

The manger is the last space available for Jesus.

Incredible as the shepherd's commission may seem, it assures us that God is already at work to remake the world as a realm of blessing for all through Jesus.

Jesus’ birth is good news for all people: those who might be marginalized, oppressed, or absent where good news is often proclaimed.

The shepherd's commission encourages us to enlarge our vision of God’s purposes, and to join God in the movement of a renewed world by looking in unlikely places for God's presence. 

In your prayers, ask God to reveal unlikely places disclosing God's purposes.

God With Us.

Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall name him Emmanuel,”

which means, “God with us."

(From Matthew 1:18-25)

As Elaine and I move closer to Christmas, we feel a deep need to know that God is with us.

One deeply loved relative suddenly succumbed to alcoholism and another was called home to the Lord.

I am sure we're not the only ones experiencing deep losses that surface painfully at this time of year.

That's what make this passage so meaningful.

Matthew isn't stating facts, he is confessing his faith in God keeping promises.

God's promises to Israel and the whole world begin with the Creation story which includes the Spirit blowing across the waters and the birth of Adam.

In this passage, the Spirit is active again creating in Mary what Matthew understands as "new Adam".

The primary promise God makes to David is creating descendants forever, not just to Israel but all of us.

That is why Jesus is named Emmanuel, "God with us".

Matthew's confession of faith is that the God who created long ago, is still creating and will continue to create in order to redeem and renew creation and all of us.

God’s continuing creations and promises are seen most fully in the baby Jesus, born of Joseph and Mary. 

Matthew's confession of faith is that Emmanuel speaks words of mercy, hope and grace to all who listen. 

So, like all who are experiencing a dark time of the soul, I am confident the Lord will speak those words. 

What Are You Expecting?

And John to him,

“Are you the one who is to come,

or are we to wait for another?”

Jesus answered them, “

Go and tell John what you hear and see."

(from  Mt.11:2-11)

What are you expecting?

Ed was a lover of jazz who had an informal jazz band. For his 80th birthday, his sons gave him tickets to hear the Preservation Hall Jazz band in New Orleans.

In his mind was some form of a concert hall with a stage and seats.

Instead, he found a small building squeezed between other small buildings in the French Quarter.

Instead, he sat on a bench. The remaining 100 people either sat on benches, floor cushions, or stood.

It wasn't his expectation, but he saw and heard Preservation Hall's fantastic jazz.

John the Baptist ended up in a prison cell because he was expecting Emmanuel.

From his prison cell, John heard about Jesus' ministry so he sent his disciples to ask, “Are you Emmanuel, the Messiah, to lead us from captivity?” 

Jesus answered, “Go and tell John what you see and hear: the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised."

Jesus says to tell John what you see, a different kingdom than you were expecting.

Jesus’ answer asks all of us what we are expecting. 

What alternative are you expecting if you are confined to one of life's prison cells like addiction?

What alternative are you hoping for when if feels as though the cards are stacked against you during chemo?

The Good News is that Jesus is coming to ease your suffering, to show you an alternative to your life's stacked deck.

Jesus is coming but it may not be what you expect.

Jesus is coming to heal the condition of all God’s people, as described in Isaiah.

Jesus is coming to fulfill God's promise of hope.

Repairing Your Spiritual Road

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

This is the one of whom the prophet

Isaiah spoke when he said,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

(From Mt.3:1-12)

Willie Nelson's early life was an incredibly rough road.

I enjoy "On the Road Again" sung by this gravel-voiced, pig-tailed singer wearing a red bandana.

 

However, his idealistic song about being on the road with friends making music like a band of gypsies, is far from his real life.

Abandoned by his mother and his father, Willie was raised by his grandparents.  

Growing up in the Depression, Willie, at age 13, decided it was time to build his road for the future. 

From the wilderness of this inequity, he worked through high school by singing and playing his guitar in dance halls, taverns, and honkytonks. 

John the Baptist cried out in the wilderness calling people to repair their spiritual roads for the coming of the Lord.

John says to prepare for a truth-telling time at the coming of the Lord.

Repent, confess your sins by turning from the status quo of violence, injustice, and bigotry

Repent. Turn around. Change your mind.

Repair your spiritual road by joining the movement to build God's Kingdom through resisting evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.

Repair your spiritual road by filling in the potholes of illiteracy by searching the scriptures for knowledge and wisdom.

John calls us toward the wilderness, a place of danger and testing, but also moves us into the safety of God's care.

It's in the wilderness, away from the stuff of human traditions and powers, where we may see and hear God’s call to repair more clearly. 

By the Grace of God, we walk a straight path from the ways of this world to practices appropriate for the time of God’s coming through Jesus' teachings.