Luke 2:13-20 (CEV)
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. 18 Everyone listened and was surprised. 19 But Mary kept thinking about all this and wondering what it meant.
20 As the shepherds returned to their sheep, they were praising God and saying wonderful things about him. Everything they had seen and heard was just as the angel had said.
We’ve read on days 21 and 26 of the angels appearing to the shepherds. Now we see what they do about it.
It would have been possible for the shepherds to hear the angel’s message and do nothing about it. To dismiss it as a vivid imagination on a cold night, or something altogether too scary to consider, or too much like hard work to move.
But they didn’t, they decided to go and investigate, to see what it was that God was wanting to show them.
As they arrive, things are exactly as God said – Mary and Joseph and the Son of God. Just as God said.
And they worship.
Mary, she took all this in, and wondered…
What was this all about? Where was it heading?
The shepherds, they went back to their sheep, but not to forget about it. I’m sure that night lived with them for the rest of their lives. They went back praising God – for all they had seen and all he had done.
God calls, delivers his message, It is up to us what we do about it. But if we ignore it, who knows what we might be missing. If we follow it, we will find everything just as God says.
God speaks.
Do I hear?
If I hear, do I do anything about it?
Do I leave it?
I am Very Busy.
I have Responsibilities.
Perhaps I was imagining it…
That wasn’t meant for me,
surely for someone else?
What might I miss out on?
Encounter with God?
A space of worship?
A chance to know?
Something to learn?
Lord,
when you call
may I hurry to you,
kneel before you,
find you
and know you
This year, several of us are reading Beginnings and Endings by Maggi Dawn and joining together to comment on it. Do join us at the Adventbookclub Facebook page, follow #adventbookclub on Twitter or comment below. If you are also reading and blogging on this book, let me know and I will link to your blog.
