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Luke 2:8-17 (CEV)
The Shepherds
8 That night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep. 9 All at once an angel came down to them from the Lord, and the brightness of the Lord’s glory flashed around them. The shepherds were frightened. 10 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy. 11 This very day in King David’s hometown a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. 12 You will know who he is, because you will find him dressed in baby clothes and lying on a bed of hay.”
13 Suddenly many other angels came down from heaven and joined in praising God. They said:
14 “Praise God in heaven!
Peace on earth to everyone
who pleases God.”
15 After the angels had left and gone back to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about.” 16 They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and they saw the baby lying on a bed of hay.
17 When the shepherds saw Jesus, they told his parents what the angel had said about him.
What a night! It seemed such an ordinary night. There we were, doing what we always do, caring for the sheep. Then all of a sudden, this bright light. Blinding it was, terrifying. I thought the world was ended, that the moon was on fire or falling to earth, or, or… Who knows what was happening. Then, this voice. Light speaking into the darkness of the night,
Do not be afraid
Good news! Good job as I was scared half to death.
But he’d come to tell us that our saviour had been born. Not just ours, but for everyone. Light born into the darkness.
Then there were more angels, a proper party of praise, promising peace.
When they had gone, we had to go and see. If this was true, this is a game-changer, a life-changer, a world-changer…
God is here amongst us. Nothing will ever be the same again.
Into the ordinariness of life
you burst Lord,
light in our darkest hour,
coming into our everyday life,
our mundane activities,
our work.
You are not just for special times and places,
but for normality.
Help me
to see you
where I am,
to hear your message
and to respond to it.
Join us reading Walking Backwards to Christmas by Stephen Cottrell from SPCK Publishing this advent. Be part of #adventbookclub, share your thoughts here, on your own blog (and let us know we’ll link to it), on Twitter using #adventbookclub or on the Adventbookclub Facebook page
Pam's Perambulation 