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.
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