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The Shepherds' Return

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.... " Luke 2:8-20


The season of Advent reminds us of the essence of the Kingdom of God - hope, peace, joy and love. Each week we concentrate on one of these, but perhaps they are supposed to build upon one another and form our foundations; perhaps they are meant to weave intricately together and shape our lives. We can only discover hope if we have the confident expectation in the goodness of God; we can have peace when we experience the fullness of Emmanuel, God truly is with us; we find joy when we finally realise that Jesus’ burden is ‘free and light’ and we cast our worries onto him; and we experience genuine love when it is freely given, and we learn to love because he first loved us. These things are almost impossible to articulate, they’re better experienced. This is why Jesus asked a ragtag bunch of disciples to follow him before he explained why, what they would encounter and the suffering they would experience on the road ahead; this is why the angel called Mary ‘Blessed One’ before she had to leave her land as a refugee, before she had to mother the Son of God and then watch him die; and this is why we’re called to trust and love Jesus in readiness for the unexpected.

 

On this the third week of Advent, we light the candle of Joy. This is also called the Shepherd’s Candle and reminds us of the joy that comes through Jesus’ arrival. It is about celebration.

 

Each Advent season we remember what Bernard of Clairvaux called the three comings of Christ. These are of course, the incarnation, Jesus as a baby, born to Mary in Bethlehem; the second coming of Christ at the end of the age; and the third or ‘middle’ one where Christ comes to us today, in the context of our daily lives.

 

For our shepherd friends back in first century Palestine, they experienced a wild encounter with angelic hosts and the baby Jesus. Much has been said of this encounter. Yes, it’s wonderful that God chose these forgotten men out in the wilderness tending sheep and not some royalty or people of influence; yes, they let their curiosity lead them and found Jesus; yes, they worshipped him as Lord and then proclaimed it; and yes, Mary treasured all these things in her heart. It certainly feels very joy-filled!

 

But as I read this passage in Luke 2 once again, I’m struck by three words towards the end of the story – ‘The shepherds returned…..’. They went back to the sheep, back to their ordinary lives, back to their routine, and we never hear from them again. The incarnation is the treasured moment in human history that I would consider the most beautifully profound, transformative and wondrous event in our story. There is no other event in our history where one could accurately say that everything changed from this moment onwards. I wonder if it did for the shepherds? Did they continue to worship? Were their lives forever changed because of this encounter with the Christ?

 

We all have to come down from the mountain, the highs come to an end. The big question is, can we hold onto our joy? Well, I think the process is important here. As mentioned above, hope and peace play their part in our holding onto joy. God loves our world, that’s why he sent Jesus (John 3); Jesus loves the world, that’s why he sends the Spirit to us; the Trinity love the world and are dedicated to its healing and transformation. Does this bring peace to our hearts? Well, it does to mine. In moments of trial and uncertainty, the hope of the coming Kingdom (both now and not yet) is enough to ease my anxious mind and inner world. This in turn restores peace and therefore allows me to freely receive all the gifts, love and wisdom that God freely bestows. Oh my, then may joy abound in abundance.

 

If what we focus on is enlarged in our lives, let’s focus on the joy that we’re invited to experience and share as we live with Jesus; let’s focus on how He changed humanity forever; let’s focus on the love, compassion, grace and kindness that we have received and that we are called to give; and let us focus on the joy that is to come, in the new age, when all things are renewed and restored in and through the life, essence, goodness and justice of Jesus.

 

May joy rise up in our hearts, for the Lord is near; and may hope, peace, joy and love be enlarged in our lives!


Jon Timms

Director, Scotland and Northern England

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