The Shepherds Go

Scripture             Luke 2:8-20
Focus Verse        Luke 2:15b
“Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”

During the time of this unfolding story, shepherds are in a lower socio-economic class, uneducated, poor, and migratory.  While living with their sheep, they probably didn’t smell that great.  They were not always welcome then they showed up so it is quite possible that the ones who heard the story of the shepherds would have been offended that such lowly born people were the first humans to see the Messiah.

Perhaps when Jesus calls himself the good shepherd, he is identifying with those who saw him first, giving him an affinity for the poor and humble.  After the Heavenly Host disappear into heaven, the shepherds have a meeting.  Their fear has dissipated, and they are ready to go and see the newborn king!

Reflection:  Who are the poor and humble today?   What can we learn from the shepherds? How does their centrality in the Nativity change our perception of the outsiders in our culture?

If music is a spiritual pathway for you, listen to the a capella group, Home Free, sing "Do you Hear what I Hear?"  This is a song with a fascinating story, written in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis as a powerful plea for peace by a man, Noel Regney, who had experienced the horrors of war. 

Prayer: Breathing “The Jesus Prayer”       
Breathing in … Lord Jesus Christ
Breathing out … Have mercy
*pray by breathing this prayer repetitively until the prayer prays you. You’ll know the prayer is praying you when the words come to you at random times in random places.  You will simply feel the words on your lips, in sync with your breathing.  And you have begun the process of praying unceasingly through the power of the Holy Spirit! For more information about praying The Jesus Prayer, an ancient prayer form from the days of early Christian History, practiced by the Desert Mothers and Fathers, take this LINK ...