“Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:10-12, NLT).

After picking my daughter up form the bus stop, she remarked that Christmas is only six days away. She then went on to recall the time she had announced to her classmates that Christmas was only eighty-six days away . . . it’s funny what we remember & what we look forward to. I have yet to work as a shepherd in the regular sense. As a pastor, I help take care of the church, which is like a flock, and shepherd the soul (so I guess we’re like sheep), and maybe that’s similar to what normal shepherds deal with day in and day out. I don’t know. I’ve only read up on the subject. I have yet to spend long hours in the field keeping watch under a scorching sun or a full moon in the dead of night. Neither have I been roused from shepherding duties by an angel of the Lord, as the shepherds outside of Bethlehem were that first Christmas. How explicitly strange & wonderful it must have been!

The norms of Christmas – the movies, the meals, the songs, the stories, the sweaters, the decorations, the traditions, the parties, the etc, etc, etc – are good, but in a way lack soul. How vividly alive those shepherds must have felt in their fear and wonderment. God is here but as a baby and, strange, in a feeding trough. It’s so weird it’s got to be true!

I know. I know. You’re busy. End of the year isn’t just Christmas programs and parties. There’s a lot of other things going on as well. And it’s also dark, cold and cloudy. This can affect our mood. Yet it’s also great weather to hunker down in the study and re-read the story of Christ. How it can warm our bones and light a flame in our hearts! Notice, for example, that the shepherds needed a clue in order to “recognize” Jesus. The Greek for that particular word is sēmeion, which can be translated as sign, miracle or wonder. Our desire is to keep Christ in Christmas. How about wonder? Do you see? Slow- cold weather makes for warm-quickening of the spirit.

Merry Christmas my friends! May you be filled with wonder and be drawn closer to Jesus as the shepherds were. Only God can do it. And He is faithful & true. He loves you. That’s why He came, and that’s why we have Christmas.

It’s a Great Time to Grow,

Pastor Aaron