The Wonder in the Working

Luke 2:8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. CONSIDER THIS As I write this, there’s a short viral video that’s making the rounds on the Internet that, honestly, has the makings of childlike wonder written all over it. The video shows six-year-old little Milo from the UK sitting in the back seat of his mother’s car. Apparently, he has just gotten out of school and couldn’t wait to share with her the part that he had been given in the school’s nativity play. “Guess what I am for the nativity?” Milo exclaims, “I’m a classic one!” His mother pauses for a moment and then responds, “Joseph?” “No,” says Milo. “One of the wise men?” his mother replies. Again, Milo shakes his head and gives a “No” with a smile. Milo’s mother, fresh out of guesses, says, “You’re just going to have to tell me then.” And that’s when Milo’s face lights up, and he says, “I’m Door Holder Number Three. I’ll be holding doors!” Incredible. I’m certain the video is viral because that’s not the answer you would have expected. But wait, it gets better—the next part is my absolute favorite. When Milo’s mother asked him what he did when he found out about the role, he simply said to himself, “I’m a door holder. Get in there . . . let’s go! Yes!”1 Milo may not have gotten the part he might have expected, but if he did want another role, you’d never know it. He was just thrilled to play a part, and even as Door Holder Number Three, he was going to get in there and hold that door like no one had ever held a door before. I wonder: Would our lives would look differently if we approached this day with that kind of childlike wonder? I love the way Eugene Peterson translates what the apostle Paul said in Romans 12:1–2, taken from the Message translation. “So, here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.” Paul, to the early church, was simply saying that we should keep open eyes and open hands to what God may be doing in and through us every single day. What a reminder to know that worship is not just something we attend; it’s a lifestyle. Today, we move back into Luke’s gospel, and we take a closer look at some other people found in our nativity scene that perhaps didn’t see themselves as key players in God’s greater story: the shepherds. To understand the shepherds of Jesus’s day, it helps to see them from a first-century perspective. Shepherds were the bottom of the social ladder. They were mostly uneducated and oftentimes considered as dishonest, unreliable, and unsavory characters—at least, that was the perception of the religious leaders of the day. One more occupational hazard that came with the job of tending the sheep: they weren’t allowed in the temple. Sheep required care seven days a week. So, unable to abide by the man-made Sabbath regulations, shepherds were considered by the religious leaders of the day to be ceremonially unclean, therefore keeping them from ever entering into the temple. Take that in for a moment. They had a job. They did it dutifully. But, amidst it all, they were overlooked, unseen, and church had no place for them because of the nature of their dirty job. Yet, the shepherds were seen, and to them, God would reveal the news of his Son coming into our world and story who would be for us all the Good Shepherd (John 10:11), and whose name would be the name above all names (Philippians 2:9). That, my friends, is the good news of the gospel. This is the God we worship. Perhaps you feel unseen, overlooked, and stained from whatever sin that’s still sticking to you, or maybe you have been given a label from the world. Hear this: you have value. You are not only seen by the Creator of the universe, but you are loved as well. Today, let’s get in there . . . let’s go! Yes! THE PRAYER  Gracious God, today we say, thank you. Just as you saw and used shepherds then, may we remember that you not only see us today, but you also value us, regardless of status or circumstances. May we hold to beauty found in this truth that intersects with our own lives today. Amen. THE QUESTIONS Do you have anything in common with the shepherds? Where’s the hope found in this story for each of us today?